From left: Avanka Fernando (Principal, Wesley), Wesley Vice-Captain, Linal Subasinghe (Captain, Wesley), Chamath Chathurya (Captain, St. Benedict’s), Vice- Captain, St. Benedict’s and Dr. Rev. Bro.. Pubudu Rajapakshe (Director, St. Benedict’s) (Pic by Sudath Malaweera)
The third annual Inter-School Big Match between traditional rivals St. Benedict’s College and Wesley College for the Rev. Bro. Cartman Cup, will be played on March 17 and 18 at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo.
This year’s encounter will be of great significance as the match will be played at a neutral venue for the first time after they had played the first two Big Matches on their respective College Grounds.
In addition, the two schools will also play their limited overs encounter for the Rev. Bro. Luke Gregory Shield on March 25 at the SSC Grounds in Maitland Place with both games open for the spectators.
The two Trophies are named after two reputed Principals of St. Benedict’s and Wesley College, who will also celebrate their 150th anniversary next year.
The Cartman Cup has been named in memory of former Principal of Wesley Rev. James Cartman and the Luke Shield is in memory of former Director of St. Benedict’s Rev. Bro. Luke Gregory FSC.
These details were revealed by the Director of St. Benedict’s Dr. Rev. Bro. Pubudu Rajapakshe and the Principal of Wesley Avanka Fernando during the official media launch held at the Jet Wing Hotel in Colombo on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the first innings of each innings will be restricted to 65 overs and a new ball will be available after 50 overs in an attempt to transform the contest into a more exciting one.
St. Benedict’s with a history of 158 years have produced some outstanding cricketers with all-rounder Meheesh Theekshana as the latest sensation while leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay has brought honour to Wesley by representing the country at the highest level.
In addition, the Wesleyites have the honour of producing one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Mahadevan Sathasivam, who brought a huge number of laurels to the country with his batting heroics both at home and overseas.
St. Benedict’s and Wesley first met on a cricket pitch more than a century ago in 1896 and this time the encounter celebrates 127 years of legacy. However, in 2021 the two schools came to a mutual understanding that they should play this game as a traditional encounter with all the pomp and pageantry, associated with some of the other Inter-School Big Matches played in the country. The inaugural fixture and the second match of the series between the two schools ended in a tame draw but this time St. Benedict’s Skipper Chamath Chathurya and the Wesley Captain Linal Subasinghe are determined to make a good match of it. In fact, both teams have performed extremely well this season and have successfully made it to the quarter-finals of the Under-19 Division One Two-Day Tier ‘A’ Cricket Tournament.
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