The Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. It is the oldest in the country, having been formed in 1863,[2] and is headquartered at 31 Maitland Crescent, Colombo 7,[3] close to the headquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Colombo Cricket Club
Personnel
CaptainSri Lanka Ashan Priyanjan
CoachSri Lanka Tharanga Dhammika
Team information
ColoursMaroon  [1]
Founded1863; 161 years ago (1863)
Home groundColombo Cricket Club Ground, Colombo 7
Capacity6,000
History
Premier Trophy wins6
Premier Limited Overs Tournament winsnone
Twenty20 Tournament wins1
Official websitegymkhanaclub.lk

History

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The idea of a gentlemen's team for British colonists in Ceylon was first mooted among the patrons of the Colombo Club- a social club for the British upper class then located at the Galle Face Green (not to be confused with the 1871 club of the same name and location).[4] The beginnings of the club proper can then be traced back to a notice in the Colombo Journal of 5 September 1832, which called for "...gentlemen who may be inclined towards forming a Cricket Club..." to "...meet at the Library (located in the Pettah) at 2 o'clock precisely on the 8th instant".[5] Sources then differ as to the exact date of the formation of the club, some citing 8 September,[5] October,[6] or November[7] of the same year, with all sources agreeing that a cricket club was formed sometime in 1832.[8] The newly formed club was located in Slave Island, on the land that later became the Rifle Green (now the site of the Defence Services School).[8] The first officially recorded game of cricket in the country was that between the eventual CCC and a team fielded by the 97th Regiment of the British Army stationed in Ceylon at the time, in November 1832.[8][9][10] The club soon became a hub for cricketing activity in the country, becoming the de facto governing body for cricket in Ceylon.[11]

The Colombo Club went through an expansion phase in 1863, becoming the Colombo Gymkhana Club, a parent/umbrella organisation that acted as a social club while at the same time administering a number of different sports clubs- the CCC included (alongside the CH&FC for rugby and hockey in 1892 and the Queen's Club for tennis and squash in 1899).[4][8] The CCC is thought to have been formally named with its current name sometime in 1863, and moved to Galle Face Green sometime during this period as well.[4]

In 1894, the club moved again, this time to its present address at Maitland Crescent.[8] It remained a Europeans-only club until 1962,[12] and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2013.[4][8]

Honours

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  • Premier Trophy
    • Winners (5): 1979–80, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1995–96, 2006–07, 2012, 2021

Current squad

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Players with international caps are listed in bold. Updated as on 31 July 2022

Name Age Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batsmen
Lasith Abeyratne 31 Right-handed Vice-captain
Pavan Rathnayake 22 Right-handed Right-arm off spin
Nimesha Gunasinghe 29 Right-handed Right-arm off spin
All-rounders
Ashan Priyanjan 35 Right-handed Right-arm off spin Captain
Pawantha Weerasinghe 23 Left-handed Right-arm off spin
Wanindu Hasaranga 27 Right-handed Right-arm leg spin
Chamindu Wijesinghe 24 Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast
Malinga Amarasinghe 27 Left-handed Right-arm medium-fast
Lahiru Madushanka 32 Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium
Sonal Dinusha 23 Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox
Wicket-keeper
Minod Bhanuka 29 Left-handed
Spin Bowlers
Malinda Pushpakumara 37 Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox
Lakshan Sandakan 33 Left-handed Slow left-arm unorthodox
Pace Bowlers
Lahiru Gamage 36 Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium
Vishwa Fernando 33 Right-handed Left-arm fast-medium
Nuwan Thushara 30 Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast

References

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  • Wisden Cricketers Almanack (annual)
  1. ^ "Domestic Clubs#Colombo Cricket Club". Srilankacricket.lk. Sri Lanka Cricket. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Test venues in Sri Lanka: The Oldies". The Papare. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Colombo Cricket Club". Sri Lankans Cricketers' Association. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d "The 'Gymkhana' For All Reasons Celebrates Its 150 Year Rhapsody". Serendib. Serendib Magazine/SriLankan Airlines. October 2013. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  5. ^ a b Mangan, J.A. (2005). "Imperial Origins: Christian Manliness, Moral Imperatives and Pre-Sri Lankan Playing Fields- Beginnings". In Hong, Fan; Mangan, J.A. (eds.). Sport in Asian Society: Past and present. Taylor & Francis e-Library. ISBN 0-203-49742-2.
  6. ^ Marikar, Hafiz (1 December 2012). "Cricket in Sri Lanka during the good old days". Dailynews.lk. Daily News Sri Lanka. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  7. ^ Lorgat, Haroon (20 November 2012). A New Dawn- Confidential Report for SLC Executive Committee (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Pathiravithana, S.R. (10 November 2013). "CHOGM, CCC and the cricket legacy". SundayTimes.lk. The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  9. ^ Perera, Ajith C S (2 November 2003). "A Peep in to Sri Lankan Cricket History". Thinking Cricket with Ajith C S Perera. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  10. ^ "97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot". Famous Units. National Army Museum. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  11. ^ Little, Charles (2012). "Cricket, Sri Lanka". In Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (eds.). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 215. ISBN 978-1-59884-301-9.
  12. ^ Gunawardena, Charles (2005). Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. p. 94. ISBN 9781932705485.
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