Sri Lanka Cricket

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Sri Lanka Cricket
SportCricket
JurisdictionSri Lanka
AbbreviationSLC
Founded30 June 1975; 48 years ago (1975-06-30)
AffiliationInternational Cricket Council
Affiliation date21 July 1981; 42 years ago (1981-07-21)
Regional affiliationAsian Cricket Council
Affiliation date19 September 1983; 40 years ago (1983-09-19)
HeadquartersSinhalese Sports Club
Location35 Maitland Place, Colombo 7
PresidentShammi Silva (disputed)
Secretaryvacant
Men's coachChris Silverwood
Women's coachHemantha Devapriya
Other key staff
Operating incomeSL Rs. 4,309 million (2020)[1]
Sponsor
ReplacedBoard of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL)
Official website
srilankacricket.lk
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka on 30 June 1975 as a national sports body. The board was renamed in 2003.

The SLC operates all of the Sri Lankan national representative cricket sides, including the Men's, Women's and Under-19 sides. The SLC is also responsible for organising and hosting Test tours and one day internationals with other nations, and scheduling the home international fixtures.

History[edit]

Cricket was brought to the nation when it was colonized by the British. As everywhere that the British arrived in numbers, cricket soon followed and it is reasonable to assume that the game was first played on the island by 1800. The earliest definite mention of cricket in Ceylon was a report in the Colombo Journal on 5 September 1832 which called for the formation of a cricket club. The Colombo Cricket Club was formed soon afterwards and matches began in November 1833 when it played against the 97th Regiment.[3]

Throughout the 20th century, the game became increasingly popular in Sri Lanka. It was in the 1975 inaugural Cricket World Cup that they made their international debut. They lost to the West Indies by 9 wickets.[4] They did however turn heads at the same tournament with an excellent display in their match against Australia. The national team won the ICC Trophy in 1979.[5] On 21 July 1981, Sri Lanka was admitted to full membership of the ICC and was awarded Test Match status. The inaugural Test was played at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo in February 1982 against England but Sri Lanka lost by 8 wickets.[6] Sri Lanka won the 1996 Cricket World Cup by defeating Australia.[7] Sri Lanka won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 by defeating India.[8]

In 2023, SLC faced accusations of corruption and declining standards, with Minister for Sports Roshan Ranasinghe having considered its board to be "traitorous and corrupt". After being eliminated from the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Ranasinghe called for the resignation of the SLC board. On 6 November 2023, after the board's secretary Mohan De Silva resigned, Ranasinghe removed the entire SLC board and replaced them with a seven-member interim committee led by Arjuna Ranatunga—captain of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup team.[9][10] The next day, in response to a petition by the board's president Shammi Silva, the Appeal Court ruled that the previous board was to be reinstated for a period of two weeks pending hearings.[11]

On 10 November 2023, the ICC suspended SLC for failing to meet "the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration".[12][13] While the board of the ICC ruled that the suspension would not affect Sri Lanka's day-to-day participation in international cricket, the country was stripped of its rights to host the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[14][15] On 28 January 2024, the ICC lifted the suspension, after its board ruled that SLC were no longer in breach of membership obligations.[16]

Domestic competitions[edit]

Sri Lanka Cricket oversees the progress and handling of the major domestic competitions in the country:

T20
First Class
List A

They also organize and host the Inter-Provincial Cricket Tournament, a competition focusing on provincial-level teams with pooled talent rather than on individual cricket clubs.

Former Competitions[edit]

Leadership[edit]

Presidents[edit]

Name Tenure
Ceylon Cricket Association (1914–1948)
Col. Dr. John R. Rockwood 1914–1933
Edwin M. Karunaratne 1933–1934
Chandrarajan Sivasaravanamuttu 1937–1948
Board of Control for Cricket in Ceylon (1948–1972)
Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu 1948–1950
A. E. Christoffelsz 1950–1952
Junius Richard Jayewardene 1952–1955
Lt. Col. Sabdharatnajyoti Saravanamuttu 1955–1956
Robert Senanayake 1956–1972
Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (1972–2000)
Sai Senanayakerajah 1972–1976
Maj. Gen. Bertram Heyn 1976–1978
Dr. N. M. Perera 1978–1979
T. B. Werapitiya 1979–1981
Gamini Dissanayake 1981–1989
Lakshman Jayakody 1989–1990
Manane Chandrarajah 1990–1991
Tyronne Fernando 1991–1994
Anandarajasingh Punchihewa 1995–1996
Upali Dharmadasa 1996–1998
Thilanga Sumathipala 1998–1999
Rienzie Wijetilleke 1999–2000
Thilanga Sumathipala 2000–2001
Vijaya Malalasekera 2001–2002
Hemaka Amarasuriya 2002–2003
Sri Lanka Cricket (2003 – present)
Thilanga Sumathipala 2003–2004
Mohan De Silva 2004–2005
Jayantha Dharmadasa 2005–2007
Arjuna Ranatunga 2008
S. Liyanagama 2008–2009
Somachandra de Silva 2009–2011
Upali Dharmadasa 2011–2012
Jayantha Dharmadasa 2013–2015
Sidath Wettimuny 2015–2016
Thilanga Sumathipala 2016–2019
Shammi Silva 2019–

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Annual Report 2020 SLCB" (PDF).
  2. ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket". Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ^ "97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot". Famous Units. National Army Museum. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs West Indies 4th Match 1975 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  5. ^ "Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs Canada Final 1979 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  6. ^ "Only Test, Colombo, Feb 17 - 21 1982, England tour of Sri Lanka". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Full Scorecard of Australia vs Sri Lanka Final 1995/96 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  8. ^ "Full Scorecard of India vs Sri Lanka Final 2013/14 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  9. ^ "Sri Lanka sports minister sacks cricket board; Arjuna Ranatunga to helm new interim board". The Economic Times. 2023-11-06. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  10. ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket Board Sacked After Poor World Cup Show, Arjuna Ranatunga Named Chairman of Interim Board". News18. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  11. ^ India Today, India Today. "Sacked Sri Lanka Cricket Board restored following court order". India Today. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Sri Lanka suspended over government interference". BBC Sport. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket suspended by ICC board". Cricnews.live. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  14. ^ "ICC Board lifts suspension on Sri Lanka Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  15. ^ "ICC shifts Men's Under 19 World Cup from Sri Lanka to South Africa". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  16. ^ "ICC lifts ban on Sri Lanka Cricket". Cricbuzz. 28 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  17. ^ Thawfeeq, Sa'adi (12 August 2011). "Shelley Wickramasinghe dies at 85". ESPNCricinfo.com. ESPN. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

External links[edit]