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THE TRINITY-ANTONIAN LIMITED OVERS SERIES IN NUMBERS
by Afzal Laphir
The Trinity-Antonian limited-over Cricket Encounter for the Sir Richard Aluvihare Trophy will be played for the 42nd time on Saturday, 23rd March 2024 at Katugastota. This will be the first game at Katugastota since 2018, as Asgiriya hosted on the last three occasions, by the Antonians relinquishing their hosting rights in 2022 as a goodwill gesture to mark the sesquicentennial anniversary of Trinity College. The teams will be led by Thisara Ekanayake (SACK) and Manula Kularatne (TCK).
This limited-over series commenced in 1980 at Asgiriya, under the captaincy of Angelo Leanage (SACK) and former national star Ravi Ratnayake (TCK) and has continued as an annual fixture over the last four decades except in 2001, 2020 and 2021. Out of the 41 matches played so far, TCK has 19 wins, SACK 17 wins, one game was tied (2014) and four other encounters were abandoned due to rain, including last year’s game (1993, 2003, 2008 and 2023). The Antonians kicked off the series in great style by winning the first nine of the eleven games, but Trinity has clawed back since to take the lead, starting with consecutive wins in 1991 and 1992 by the narrowest of margins against formidable Antonian sides.
Trinity’s recent domination includes a run of nine games without being beaten since 2013 (7 wins, a tie and a no-decision) with the last Antonian win coming in 2012 under Kanishka Ranaraja. On this occasion, the Katugastota boys turned the tables on the much-fancied Trinity outfit led by Niroshan Dickwella to win by 10 runs, a week after being soundly beaten in the Big Match. This outcome resembled the year 1992 when Trinity registered a win in the one-dayer after losing the Big Match outright. Last season, the
two sides played an additional game in the U19 Division 1 Limited Over Tournament at Thurstan College grounds, which was won by Trinity by two wickets. This game is not considered part of this series.
The only tie in the 41 games played to date came in 2014 at Katugastota when Trinity’s Srimahan was run out off the second ball of the last over. Apart from the tied game, there were many other close encounters, but none closer than the one-wicket wins registered by SACK in 1989 at Katugastota, helped
by 30 extras conceded by the visitors and by TCK, just two years later, in 1991 mainly through a brilliant all-round performance by A.K Ekanayake (58 and 4/42). In terms of victories by runs, TCK’s 2-run win in 2011 and their 3-run win in 1992, both at Asgiriya, are the narrowest of them all.
TEAM RECORDS
| Venue | Period | Played | TCK wins |
SACK wins |
Tie | No Decision |
| Asgiriya | 1980 – 2023 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Katugastota | 1981 – 2018 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| All Venues | 1980 – 2023 | 41 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 4 |
MAIDEN VICTORY
| Venue | TCK | SACK |
| Asgiriya | 1986 – by 60 runs under T Weerasuriya | 1980 – by 122 runs under A Leanage |
| Katugastota | 1982 – by 2 wkt under P Yainne | 1981 – by 86 runs under F Majeed |
LAST VICTORY
| Venue | TCK | SACK |
| Asgiriya | 2022 – by 4 wkts under A Muthalib | 2006 – by 27 runs under S Munas |
| Katugastota | 2018 – by 149 runs H Boyagoda | 2012 – by 10 runs under K Ranaraja |
LARGEST VICTORY MARGINS
| Venue | Type | TCK | SACK |
| Asgiriya | by runs | 60 runs (1986) TCK 168 (49.1 Ov); SACK 108 (43.2 ov) |
122 runs (1980) SACK 276/8 (50 ov); TCK 154 (49.3 ov) |
| by wkts | 6 wkts (1998) SACK 228/9 (50 ov); TCK 229/4 (41 ov) |
9 wkts (1990) TCK 109 (41.1 ov); SACK 111/1 (17.1 ov) |
|
| Katugastota | by runs | 149 runs (2018) TCK 305/7 (50 Ov); SACK 156 (41 ov) |
160 runs (1983) SACK 231/9 (50 ov); TCK 71 (25.5 ov) |
| by wkts | 9 wkts (2016) SACK 89 (31 ov); TCK 90/1 (9.4 ov) |
7 wkts (1987) TCK 94 (26 ov); SACK 95/3 (22 ov) |
NARROWEST VICTORY MARGINS
| Venue | Type | TCK | SACK |
| Asgiriya | by runs | 2 runs (2011) TCK 230 ; SACK 228 |
27 runs (2006) SACK 152 (49.1 ov); TCK 125 (46.3 ov) |
| by wkts | 2 wkts (2015) SACK 236/6 (50 ov); TCK 238/8 (48.3 ov) |
2 wkts (1994) TCK 190/8 (50 ov); SACK 192/8 (39.3 ov) |
|
| Katugastota | by runs | 149 runs (2018) TCK 305/7 (50 Ov); SACK 156 (41 ov) |
10 runs (2012) SACK 182 (47.5 ov); TCK 172 (38.3 ov) |
| by wkts | 1 wkt (1991) SACK 164/9 (42 ov); TCK 165/9 (41.2 ov) |
1 wkt (1989) TCK 119 (39.1 ov); SACK 120/9 (43.2 ov) |
HIGHEST TOTALS
| Venue | Team | Highest total |
| Asgiriya | TCK | 240/8 (50 overs) in 2000 |
| SACK | 276/8 (50 overs) in 1980 | |
| Katugastota | TCK | 305/7 (50 overs) in 2018 |
| SACK | 276/5 (45 overs) in 1993 |
LOWEST TOTALS
| Venue | Team | Lowest total |
| Asgiriya | TCK | 73 (35.5 overs) in 1984 |
| SACK | 92 (43.1 overs) in 2013 | |
| Katugastota | TCK | 71 (25.5 overs) in 1983 |
| SACK | 89 (31 overs) in 2016 |
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
The record books of the Trinity-Antonian limited-over series should register Marlon Von Hagt’s name in indelible ink, as his tally of 447 runs (at 89.4, 2 hundreds, 2 fifties) is unlikely to ever be surpassed. With scores of 84 in 1980, 111 runs in 1981, 70 in 1982, 139 in 1983 and 43 in 1984, Marlon had the rare distinction of being the highest scorer in each of the first five games of the series, from either team. His 139 (135 balls, 15 fours, 4 sixes) at Katugastota remains the highest individual innings in the history of this series. Such was Marlon’s dominance in this innings that no other batsmen from either side reached 20. In addition to the one-day runs, Marlon has also accumulated 465 runs in six Big Matches, giving him 912 runs in total against Trinity in First XI cricket and underlining his dominance against Trinity College.
Hasitha Boyagoda scored the solitary century for Trinity, during his match-winning knock of 109 at Katugastota in 2018. Antonian Kanishka Uggalpaya’s 102 in 2015 is the only century registered at Asgiriya in the limited-over series, from either team.
HIGHEST SCORES
| Venue | Team | Highest Scores |
| Asgiriya | TCK | 96 – Nushan Weerasinghe (2015) |
| SACK | 102 – Kanishka Uggalpaya (2015) | |
| Katugastota | TCK | 109 – Hasitha Boyagoda (2018) |
| SACK | 139 – Marlon Von Hagt (1983) |
CENTURIES
| Score | Player | Venue | Year |
| 139 | Marlon Von Hagt (SACK) | Katugastota | 1983 |
| 123 | Ajaz Shafeek (SACK) | Katugastota | 1993 |
| 111 | Marlon Von Hagt (SACK) | Katugastota | 1981 |
| 109 | Hasitha Boyagoda (TCK) | Katugastota | 2018 |
| 102 | Kanishka Uggalpaya (SACK) | Asgiriya | 2015 |
Notes:
- Marlon Von Hagt and Kanishka Uggalpaya are the only batters to have scored centuries in both the Big Match and the one-dayer.
- Only one century has been registered at Asgiriya which was scored by Antonian Uggalpaya in 2015 and the last of the series was scored by Hasitha Boyagoda in 2018, who incidentally is the only centurion for TCK.
NERVOUS NINETIES
| Score | Player | Venue | Year |
| 96 | Nushan Weerasinghe (TCK) | Asgiriya | 2015 |
| 92 | Ishan Ratnayake (TCK) | Katugastota | 2004 |
BEST BOWLING
| Venue | Team | Best Bowling |
| Asgiriya | TCK | 6/23 – Abishek Anandakumar (2019) |
| SACK | 4/25 – Muthiah Muralitharan (1990) | |
| Katugastota | TCK | 5/52 – Sachith Pathirana (2007) |
| SACK | 5/24 – Kasun Ekanayake (2007) |
FIVE-WICKET HAULS
| Wkts | Player | Venue | Year |
| 6/23 | Abishek Anandakumar (TCK) | Asgiriya | 2019 |
| 5/24 | Kasun Ekanayake (SACK) | Katugastota | 2007 |
| 5/32 | Amrit Srimahan (TCK) | Asgiriya | 2013 |
| 5/49 | Suresh Perera (TCK) | Asgiriya | 1980 |
| 5/52 | Sachith Pathirana (TCK) | Katugastota | 2007 |
BEST ALL-ROUND PERFORMANCES
| Performance | Player | Venue | Year |
| 58 and 4/42 | AK Ekanayake (TCK) | Katugastota | 1991 |
| 32 and 4/26 | Thilana de Silva (TCK) | Katugastota | 1995 |
| 73 and 3/22 | Kaushalya Weeraratne (TCK) | Asgiriya | 1998 |
| 50 and 4/45 | Adil Reyal (SACK) | Katugastota | 2010 |
| 38* and 3/29 | Charith Sudharkar (TCK) | Katugastota | 2014 |
