Some people consider Cricket as a very sacred thing. We see dying heart fans that would not miss a single match. It doesn’t matter whether it is a test match or a one-day match and it does not matter where it is held these crazy cricket lovers would travel to the corner in the world to watch the match. The majority of these cricket lovers are males. And on that day we can see another battle in houses over the TV channels other than the battle of two cricket teams on the ground.
Inter-school cricket matches are something very famous in Sri Lanka. There is a special season called “Big Match” where two schools have cricket matches every year. The country is a unique fiesta during this period. Because of these things school, cricket takes a very special place in the Sri Lankan education system.
How did Cricket start in Trinity College?
Cricket in Trinity College Kandy is very famous because the school has contributed so many talented cricketers to the nation. How cricket started at Trinity College https://www.trinitycollege.lk/ is very intriguing. It came to the school in Eighteen Ninety-Two. Trinitians had their first cricket battle with Royal College Colombo. They had their official match in Eighteen Ninety-Eight with St. Thomas College Mt. Lavinia. Since then they played with schools such as St.Joseph’s, Zahira, Dharmaraja, Kingswood, St. Anthony’s and also Ananda College.
The developments
The Trinity College Cricket team recorded their first victory against Royal College Colombo was in the year Eighteen Ninety-Six.
In the beginning, the cricketers in Trinity cricket did not perform well. They were collecting experiences by practising and battling with the other colleges’ teams. But as time passed, pathways started to change. The time period between Nineteen Twenty-One and Nineteen Twenty-Four was a golden era in Trinity College Cricket history. The cricketers were making unbeatable records creating autonomy in winning trophies.
In Nineteen Thirty-Seven they started to record back to back winnings. O L Izzadeen was the captain this year. And they defeated the St. Thomas team and Wesley team without any effort. T B Marambe was one of the players in this team. You might know him as a great coach.
Nineteen Forty-Four and Nineteen Sixty-Six are another two golden years that had outstanding cricket teams. Harendra Dunuwille was a player from the 66 teams.
The Trinitians who became Famous Cricketers
Trinity College provided the finest training to the student cricketers which eventually help them to mould the best cricketers who brought pride to the country and the school.
Narendra Ekanayake, Laskhman Kadiragamar are some of the Trinitians who became cricket players in International cricket teams and clubs.
Kumar Sangakkara, Graeme Labrooy, Ranjan Madugalle, Ravindra Rathnayake and Nilantha Rathnayake are some of the players who played in the Sri Lankan National cricket team.
And the Trinitians who are currently in the Sri Lankan National team are Kaushalya Weeraratne, Sachith Pathirana, Niroshan Dickwella and Lahiru Kumara.
Asgiriya Cricket Stadium
Trinitians did not have a proper location to do their practices. They had a small area inside the school where you can see the school chapel at present. It was not sufficient. And Rev Fraser badly needed to acquire a proper place to build ground. Even though the Trinitians did not have a proper space they still made outstanding performances in cricket.
The concept of building a cricket pitch came to the table in Nineteen hundred four when Rev Fraser was acting as the principal. He rented the land in Asgiriya which was an unused wasteland. And the college got permission to build the ground. And in Nineteen Fifteen the ground was complete and the first inter-school Match with St. Thomas College Mt. Lavinia.
Becoming an International Stadium
This happened due to the idea of Gamini Dissanayake who is an Old Trinitian. By then he was working at the Sri Lanka Cricket council. And he brought the Trinity grounds to international level within a hundred and fifty days. He is also one of the best cricket players in college history.
The ground became an International Cricket Stadium after upgrading the ICC required facilities in Nineteen Eighty-One. In Nineteen Eighty-Two it was officially opened as an international stadium. The first and the foremost cricket match that took place here was the Australia Vs Sri Lanka match. It is also a noble location that hosted the Nineteen Ninety-Six World Cup.
The pavilion of the ground has 3 stories. The ground floor is for the players, umpires and other administrators. And over 1500 visitors can sit and enjoy the matches and events from the other two floors in the pavilion. It is also embedded with a media box that has all the modernised equipment and also has a technologically advanced scoreboard.
The current situation of the Stadium and Trinity Cricket
Today, it caters ample avenues to the young Trinitians to polish their talents and skills to become talented players who will spread the noble name of the college as well as the country. Even the world-famous cricketers believe that the stadium is one of the best grounds with a picturesque view.
Currently, Trinity College cricket is in a good position. The Trinity cricketers are making outstanding performances and even world records. Kavisha Senadeera became the runner up at the Dialog 4G Schoolboy cricketer. He got this award as the best bowler in the series. Also, the first XI team became the Al Island runners up. And Hasitha Boyagoda became the Mobitel School Boy Cricketer. He managed to keep a world record at the Under Nineteen world cup by scoring hundred and ninety-one runs.
A massive credit goes to the coaches for their hard work. And the staff of the college and the well-wishers also provides immense support to make Trinity College Cricket what it is today. Also, they look forward to making it better and create more world-famous players.
