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The Richmond–Mahinda Cricket Encounter, popularly referred to as the Lovers' Quarrel, is an annual cricket big match played between the first XI cricket teams of Richmond College and Mahinda College in Galle, Sri Lanka. It is one of the longest cricket match series in Sri Lanka, having been played for over 119 years.[1] It is played at the Galle International Stadium. Lovers' Quarrel began in 1905, under the two principals Rev. James Horne Darrel of Richmond College and Sir. Frank Lee Woodward of Mahinda College. [2]
| Other names | Lovers' Quarrel |
|---|---|
| Sport | Cricket |
| First meeting | 1905 |
| Latest meeting | 2024 |
| Next meeting | 2025 |
| Stadiums | Galle International Stadium |
| Statistics | |
| Most wins | Richmond 24 - Mahinda 23 |
Match history & Series summary
edit
Richmond - Mahinda cricket big match was played for the first time in 1905 at Galle esplanade, with the two principals, Rev. J. H. Darrell of Richmond and Mr. F. L. Woodward of Mahinda, officiating as umpires. Richmond College won the inaugural match and went on to win the next two matches in 1906 and 1907. Mahinda College's first victory was registered in 1908 and their last victory in a big match was recorded in 2008,[3] while Richmond College's last win was recorded in 2019. Having broken a 30-year-long deadlock of draws, Mahindians registered an emphatic 10 wicket win over Richmondites in the 2008 encounter. After a 45-year-long winless streak, Richmondites also registered a win by an innings over Mahindians in the 2014 encounter and continued to a second consecutive win by an innings in 2015.[4][5][6]
In 1953, Mahindian Somasiri Ambawatte captured all ten Richmond’s wickets in an innings to claim the bowling record of the series and in the same match he scored a century to record the finest all round feat in the history of the big match.[7] In 1972, Prasad Kariyawasam of Richmond College erased a 33-year-old big match record of 155 runs held by Mahindian Sirisena Hettige, with an unbeaten 156 runs. On the very next day of the same match Mahindians piled up the highest score by a team, when they totaled 359 with their top order batsman P. H. K. H. Ranasinghe scoring 162.[8] It is the current record for the highest individual score by a batsman in the big match series.[7] Jayantha Dias of Richmond College holds the record for most centuries in the big match, scoring consecutive centuries in 1968 & 1969.
Notable persons who have played
editPast results
edit| Result[N 1] | Total | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond College (won) | 24 | 1905, 1906, 1907, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1926 (w/o), 1929, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1960, 1969, 2014, 2015, 2019 |
| Mahinda College (won) | 23 | 1908, 1909, 1916 (w/o), 1918, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1933, 1938, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1949, 1962, 1966, 1976, 1978, 2008 |
| Match drawn | 67 | 1930, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1945, 1948, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| No match | 6 | 1910, 1911, 1912, 1942, 2020, 2021 |
- (w/o) - Walkover
Past records
editNotable performances
edit| Name | School | Performance | Record / Remarks | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. S. Thuduwewatta | Richmond | 6 for 19 & 5 for 23 | First 10-wicket match haul of the series | 1917 |
| Sirisena Hettige | Mahinda | 155 runs | First century of the series | 1939 |
| R. M. M. de Silva | Richmond | 8 for 19 & 7 for 6 | Best bowling performance of a match | 1922 |
| S. Ambawatte | Mahinda | 10 for 44 | Best bowling performance in an innings | 1953 |
| S. Ambawatte | Mahinda | 103* runs, 10 for 44 & 5 for 61 | Best all-round performance of the series | 1953 |
| R. M. M. de Silva | Richmond | 97 runs, 8 for 19 & 7 for 6 | Best all-round performance of the series | 1922 |
| Basil Gunasekara | Mahinda | 99* runs | First player to stranded on 99 | 1944 |
| Jayantha Dias | Richmond | 111 runs & 117 runs | First and only player to score consecutive centuries | 1968 & 1969 |
| P. H. K. H. Ranasinghe | Mahinda | 162 runs | Highest individual score in an innings | 1972 |
| Prasad Kariyawasam | Richmond | 316 runs (156* in 1972) | Highest aggregate of runs in the series | 1969-1972 |
| S. Ambawatte | Mahinda | 30 + wickets | Highest aggregate of wickets in the series | 1949-1953 |
| Malsha Tharupathi | Richmond | 100 off Just 70 balls | Fastest Century in the History of Lover’s Quarrel | 2024 |
- * - Remained not out
Centuries
edit| Name | School | Score | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sirisena Hettige | Mahinda | 155 runs | 1939 |
| Somasiri Ambawatte | Mahinda | 103* runs | 1953 |
| Jayantha Dias | Richmond | 111 runs | 1968 |
| Jayantha Dias | Richmond | 117 runs | 1969 |
| Prasad Kariyawasam | Richmond | 156* runs | 1972 |
| P. H. K. H. Ranasinghe | Mahinda | 162 runs | 1972 |
| Ruwan Korala | Richmond | 102 runs | 1981 |
| C. Hewamanna | Richmond | 102 runs | 1987 |
| Chandima Mendis | Richmond | 129 runs | 1988 |
| Dhammika Sudarshana | Richmond | 100* runs | 1995 |
| Thushara Rupasinghe | Mahinda | 109 runs | 1998 |
| Mohammed Faizer | Richmond | 115 runs | 2002 |
| A. K. Tyronne | Richmond | 137 runs | 2014 |
| Charith Asalanka | Richmond | 100 runs | 2015 |
| Dhananjaya Lakshan | Richmond | 102* runs | 2017 |
| Dhanuja Induwara | Mahinda | 101 runs | 2023 |
| Chehan Subasinghe | Richmond | 100 runs | 2024 |
| Malsha Tharupathi | Richmond | 111 runs | 2024 |
| Dinura Kalupahana | Mahinda | 124 runs | 2024 |
See also
editNotes & references
edit- ^ Results of the matches played up to 1976 were obtained from the records kept by Rev. W. J. T. Small of Richmond College, Galle.
- ^ Sri Lanka junior stars in focus at Lovers’ Quarrel
- ^ Richmond, Mahinda clash in Centenary year
- ^ Southern Sri Lanka awaits action at 106th Lover’s Quarrel Archived 2011-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ‘Battle of Lovers’ in Matara for first time Richmond, Mahinda clash in Centenary year
- ^ "Richmond-Mahinda evenly matched for a draw". Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
- ^ Richmond with balanced team has edge over Mahinda
- ^ a b In 1957 five brothers Sisira (Captain), Raya, Stanley, Percy (Wicket-Keeper), and Tissa from Amendra family played together against Richmond is a world record, which is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. iRichmond looks to break Mahinda stranglehold
- ^ Epasinghe, Premasara. "Cricketer now one of Sri Lanka's top Diplomats". The Island Online. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- Souvenirs, that were released to mark the 71st Richmond–Mahinda cricket encounter in 1976 & 97th encounter in 2002.