The 142nd cricket encounter between the Royal College in Colombo and St. Thomas’ College in Mount Lavinia, which was scheduled for September, has been postponed once again until further notice due to the current pandemic situation in Sri Lanka.

This was announced in a statement jointly issued by the Warden of St. Thomas’ College, Rev. Marc Billimoria and the Principal of Royal College, M.V.S. Gunathilaka.

A unanimous decision was taken to postpone the cricket march in consultation with the respective sports councils, cricket advisory committees, the joint organizing committee and others, according to the statement.

The cricket encounter – dubbed ‘Battle of the Blues’ – was scheduled to be played behind closed doors at the Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota from 9th to 11th of September, 2021.

“The situation today is not what it was when the Joint Organizing Committee started making plans in June/July when all sports activities (apart from contact sports) were permitted, and it is also not what it was when we applied for and obtained the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities in July.

“The selected dates in September were to be always contingent on the pandemic situation and the ground realities given the players involved are schoolboys whose health, safety and welfare are of paramount importance to us.”

The respective cricket advisory committees and the Joint Organizing Committee will now explore all options to ensure the playing of this cricket encounter at a future point later this year, when the ground situation is more conducive to do so, the statement read further.