Dharmaraja–Kingswood Cricket Encounter is the annual cricket match between two of the largest government-run national boys' schools in Kandy, Sri Lanka: Dharmaraja College, Kandy and Kingswood College, Kandy. It is the oldest cricket match series in the central province and second oldest in Sri Lanka, having been played for years. It is also known as the Battle of the Maroons, referring to the school colours of the two schools.

History

The first match was played in 1893, with the Dharmaraja team captained by Don Baron Jayatilaka, then-incumbent principal of Dharmaraja College, and the Kingswood team captained by A. E. Spencer. It was played at the Bogambara Stadium, which is no longer a cricket venue. This match, along with a few subsequent matches, were not exclusively schoolboy matches, with staff members from each school included in the teams. The first all-schoolboy Big Match was played in 1899, with J. C. de Mel captaining Dharmaraja and T. B. Marshall captaining Kingswood. All big matches were played at the Asgiriya Stadium until 2010, and since 2011, all big matches have been played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The One Day Encounter between Dharmaraja College, Kandy and Kingswood College, Kandy began in the year 1989 with Prasanna Dahanayake as the captain of Dharmaraja College.

Series summary

Currently, Dharmaraja leads with 37 wins against 19 by Kingswood, with 61 matches ending in a draw. All matches from 1981 to 2010 ended in a draw. The last time a decision was possible during the series was in 1980 when Dharmaraja defeated Kingswood by nine wickets under the captaincy of Janaka Mendis. Kingswood's last win was in 1958 under C. M. Fernando. On 26 March 2011, Dharmaraja College registered a seven-wicket win under the captaincy of Hemal Munaweera at the Pallekale International Cricket Stadium, ending nearly 30 years of indecisive matches. Latest test match was played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Dharmaraja College college won the match and the latest limited-over match was played at the same venue and Kingswood College won the match.

Highlights

Overall result

Results of the 2024 encounter

The 117th Battle of the Marrons encounter at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium was won by Dharmaraja College. The 35th limited over match was won by Kingswood College by 9 runs.

Squads for the 2024 encounter

Above squads are according to the 117th Battle of Marrons encounter and 35th limited over encounter.