He said that there is a lead up to the big match by way of preliminaries, which take the form of light-hearted sporting events between the members of the staff of both colleges, the respective old boys, giving way to the subsequent dinners and stag nites. These events, held prior to the big match have kindled a healthy spirit of camaraderie, bonhomie and fellow feeling, that has grown through the years since the first big match in 1934 - And filtering down to the respective teams, to give of their best in the true spirit of the game and the traditions of their Colleges.
There was concern, that of the 62 encounters held thus far, 44 were left drawn with only 18 ending decisively St. Joseph's winning on 11 occasions, to St. Peters 7. St. Peters won last in 1978 under Suraj Abeysekera and St. Joseph's in 1972 under Rohan Fernando.
The prefect of games of St. Josephs College, Fr. Trevor Martin, was of the view that there must be a positive approach displayed by both teams, in order to ensure a result in this 63rd encounter at the P. Sara Stadium.
The match commences on Friday, March 14 and ends on Saturday 15, with a minimum of 95 overs to be bowled on the first day and 100 overs inclusive of the 20 mandatory overs on the second day.
The winners will receive the Fr. Le Goc Memorial Cup, with awards for the best batsman, bowler, Fielder, All-rounder and man of the match.
The chief Adjudicator will be Mr. Hemantha Devapriya, supported by Ashley de Silva and Darrel Wimalaratne.