Trinity–Antonian Cricket Encounter

The Battle of the Blues (Kandy), also referred to as the Trinity–Antonian Cricket Encounter or Hill Country Battle of the Blues, stands as the sixth oldest traditional school cricket match, commonly known as a Big Match, held annually in Sri Lanka. Dating back to 1914, this encounter sees Trinity College, Kandy, and St. Anthony's College, Kandy, engage in a two-day cricket contest. The John Halangoda Memorial Trophy is bestowed upon the victor of the match, determined by either an outright win or, failing that, a first innings triumph. It is noteworthy that a first innings victory does not formally register as a win for the respective team in the records.

Furthermore, following the conclusion of the two-day match, a limited overs encounter is typically held a week later. This series was inaugurated in 1980, and the winning team is awarded the Sir Richard Aluwihare Trophy.

History
Both Trinity and St. Anthony’s College embraced cricket as a sporting pursuit during the late 19th century, inaugurating their respective 1st XI programmes soon after. The initial cricket fixtures between the two institutions featured teams consisting of both staff and students. However, these early encounters are not recognised as official 1st XI inter-school matches and are consequently excluded from the schools' overall records.

The first official 1st XI cricket match between the schools was played in March 1914 at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy with St. Anthony’s emerging victorious by 42 runs. C. E. de Silva captained Trinity with C. C. Senaratne captaining St. Anthony’s. Trinity won the encounter in 1915 but due to exigencies created from the ongoing World War I, the series was suspended in 1916.

It recommenced in 1917, which was won by St. Anthony’s. Trinity went on to record 11 consecutive victories from 1918 to 1928. During the period following the culmination of World War I, St. Anthony’s were deprived of their cricket ground and practice pitches due to the British Army occupying the land.

A disagreement between the two schools, regarding the age rule resulted in the cancellation of the encounter in 1956 and 1957.

In 2001, the encounter was not contested as Trinity terminated their season early due to disciplinary reasons.

The centenary encounter of the series was held in 2017 with the two schools taking on each other on 10-11 March 2017 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele.

The matches were postponed and eventually called off in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The trophy
In 2005, a tribute was established in memory of John Halangoda, an alumnus of Trinity College who later served as a cricket coach at St. Anthony’s. This commemorative trophy, known as the John Halangoda Memorial Trophy, was introduced to honour his legacy. It is awarded to the victorious team at the conclusion of the two-day match.

The victors of the limited overs cricket contest are honoured with the Sir Richard Aluwihare Memorial Trophy. This award pays homage to the distinguished legacy of Sir Richard Aluwihare, the first Ceylonese Inspector General of Police and a veteran of World War I. Sir Richard Aluwihare, an alumnus of Trinity College, excelled not only as a cricket stalwart but also as the head prefect during his time at the institution.

The venue
The two-day encounter is alternatively held at Asgiriya Stadium, which is the home ground of Trinity and St. Anthony’s College Cricket Stadium, which is the home ground of St. Anthony’s. Bogambara Stadium and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium also had been match venues in the past.

The same principle applies to the limited overs series as well, with the visiting team at a particular year's two-day encounter assuming the role of the host for the subsequent limited overs engagement.

Summary of results
In the 105 matches contested thus far in the two-day series, Trinity has emerged victorious 23 times, while St. Anthony’s has secured victory in 11 encounters. St. Anthony’s last secured an outright win in 1992 under the leadership of Umesh de Alwis, whereas Trinity's most recent outright victory occurred in 2012 under the captaincy of Niroshan Dickwella.

Trinity holds the lead in the limited overs series as well with 20 victories compared to St. Anthony's record of 17 wins. Out of the 42 encounters played up to 2024, one match concluded in a tie (in 2014), while four matches were abandoned due to inclement weather conditions (in 1993, 2003, 2008, and 2023).

List of fixtures and results
Key
 * Year denotes the cricket season in which the encounter takes place.
 * Series denotes the encounter number.
 * Venue denotes the cricket stadium where the encounter was contested at.
 * Asgiriya Stadium has been abbreviated as Asgiriya. St. Anthony’s College Cricket Stadium as Katugastota, Bogambara Stadium as Bogambara, and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium as Pallekele.
 * TC Captain denotes the captain of Trinity College 1st XI.
 * SAC Captain denotes the captain of St. Anthony’s College 1st XI.
 * Result denotes which side won the encounter outright, or if it was drawn.

Batting and bowling records
Source: Trinity Antonian Encounters – A Statistical Analysis

Batting and bowling records
Source: The Trinity-Antonian Limited Overs Series in Numbers

Notable people who have played

 * Trinitians
 * Richard Aluwihare
 * Edward Buultjens
 * Harindra Dunuwille
 * Niroshan Dickwella
 * Lakshman Jayakody
 * Lakshman Kadirgamar
 * Matheesha Pathirana
 * Ravi Ratnayeke
 * Kumar Sangakkara
 * T. B. Werapitiya
 * Kaushalya Weeraratne


 * Antonians
 * Sajith Fernando
 * Mahes Goonatilleke
 * Ruwan Kalpage
 * A.C.M. Lafir
 * Muttiah Muralitharan
 * Damien Nadarajah
 * A. H. Sheriffdeen
 * Marlon Von Hagt
 * Piyal Wijetunge