Joseph Brooke-Bailey, the acting headmaster, introduced cricket at Royal College. However, in 1876, when Mr. Ashley Walker arrived, a noticeable change took place, making the youngsters interested in cricket and infusing the spirit of sportsmanship that still lives on to this day.

Since 1879, the prestigious encounter between Royal College Colombo and St. Thomas’ College in Mount Lavinia for the D. S. Senanayake Memorial Shield, “Battle of the Blues,” has been played every year and is the second oldest annual encounter in the world.

Cricket at the College includes age groups of U-13, U-15 as junior cricket, and U-17, and U-19 as senior cricket, where practice sessions happen from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm on weekdays from April to August for the U-13 and U-17 teams, and U-15 and U-19 teams from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm on weekdays from September to March simultaneously in both the Junior Grounds and the Senior Grounds.

The selection process for these squads takes place about two weeks before each season commences. Out of about 100 students, roughly 40 students are selected to represent each age group for that season. The selection process consists of a series of matches played between two teams of 11 players each, and the squads are selected based on the performances at those matches.