Royal-Thomian Big Match (Battle of the Blues)
Played every March since 1879, the Royal Thomian is one of the world's oldest unbroken cricket series and the peak of Colombo's school big match season.
Every March, two of Colombo's oldest schools, Royal College and S. Thomas' College, meet for three days of cricket in the Royal Thomian, known as the Battle of the Blues. The first recorded match was played on Galle Face Green in 1879, and the series has been played every year since without a break, through both World Wars. That makes it the second oldest uninterrupted cricket series in the world, older than the Ashes.
Today the match is played at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground in Colombo 7, a short drive from Independence Memorial Hall, for the D.S. Senanayake Shield. The cricket is serious, but for most people the match is just as much about the crowd. Old boys of both schools come back in their thousands, set up tents around the ground, and spend three days with friends, food and drink, while students in the stands sing and cheer to the sound of papare bands.
The Royal Thomian is the best known of the "big matches", a whole season of school cricket rivalries played across Sri Lanka in February and March, from Colombo to Kandy, Galle and Jaffna. If you are in Colombo during the Royal Thomian, you will hear the bands and see the school colours in the streets.
Tickets are sold at the gate for the public stands. Expect heavy traffic around the SSC, and bring a hat and plenty of water.
That very first match in 1879 ran over three days in July, with schoolmasters playing on both sides, and the Colombo Academy, as Royal College was then known, won it. One of the many old boys who later played in the series was D.S. Senanayake, a Thomian who became the country's first prime minister, and the shield the schools play for today carries his name.
For visitors, the public stands on one of the first two days are the best place to soak it all up, with room to sit and enjoy the bands and the banter. Expect a party atmosphere, loud music and very packed roads around Colombo 7 for the whole three days.
At a glance
- When: Usually in March
- Duration: 3 days
- Venue: Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground, Colombo 7
- Organizer: Royal College and S. Thomas' College
- Entry: Ticketed at the gate