Battle of the Blues Archives

The Originator of the “Battle of the Blues” – By S. S Perera Source : THOMIANA Newsletter – May 2023 To the present generation of Royalists, it might sound strange that an Englishman was originally responsible for the duel. Ashley Walker was one of those Empireminded Englishman, who sailed East – not for business— not to make money—but to contribute to the game of cricket. He came to teach the Royalists of the 1870’s how to play cricket. How well he succeeded can be seen by the development of the game at Royal. Ashley Walker went to Westminster College and then to Cambridge. He played in the Oxford Cambridge matches in 1864, 65 and 66 and was awarded his “Blue”. Later, he played for Yorkshire in the County Championships. Ashley Walker arrived in Ceylon in 1877, as a Senior Assistant Master at the Colombo Academy, as Royal College was then known. ...

Royal-Thomian Big Match from Oct. 28-30 at SSC-by Dhammika Ratnaweera Source:Dailynews After several postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 142nd Battle of the Blues Inter-School Big Match between the traditional rivals Royal College and S. Thomas’ College will be played behind closed doors from October 28 to 30 at the SSC Grounds in Maitland Place. The two teams and match officials will be following all COVID-19 protocol and health and safety guidelines of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) that will regulate playing conditions, as well as be within a bio-secure environment as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health Royal led by former Sri Lanka Under-19 cap, Ahan Wickramasinghe, will take on the Shalin de Mel-led Thomian outfit for the coveted D. S. Senanayake Memorial Shield. ...