85th Battle of the Saints on March 1st

COLOMBO (News 1st) - A press conference in line with The 85th Battle of the Saints, the annual cricket encounter between St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College was held yesterday (February 12). This year's Battle of the Saints will be played on March 1st and 2nd at the P. Saravanamuthu Stadium (Oval Grounds), Colombo.   Rev. Fr. Trevor Martin, Rector of St. Peter's College added his thoughts on sportsmanship at the press conference.   He said that both St. Joseph's and St. Peter's are bound to their duties. They intend to carry out the encounter elegantly and to be a role model for all the other schools. He added that no matter what the outcome of the match is he would expect the highest standards of discipline from both schools.   The very first Battle of the Saints was played in 1933 at the St. Peter's Grounds and St. Joseph's clinched the victory by an inning and 105 runs.   Rev. Fr. Travis Gabriel, Rector of St. Joseph's College also shared his views on the event.   He noted that it was not particularly about the match between the two teams it was about the friendship and the fellowship that the old boys share. He added that this was a great opportunity for all the old boys to get together, enjoy themselves and cherish their school memories. He went on to say that he has seen old boys coming from overseas to watch the big match and the ODI. He also added that this opportunity would help everyone inculcate good values.   In the past 84 encounters between these two prestigious schools, St Joseph’s have won the trophy 12 times while St Peter’s have bagged the trophy 10 times.   This year the Josephians will be led by off-spinner, Ashain Daniel. The Peterites will be under the captaincy of the all-rounder, Ranmith Jayasena.