It Was The English Planters Who Introduced Cricket To Sri Lanka
By Hafiz Marikar
Cricket is a game of records as it inspires cricketers to produce their best. Right now in Sri Lanka, big matches are in full swing and there will be many records created like when two weeks back St. Peters did just that.
Cricket is perhaps the oldest competitive sporting event in Ceylon as it was then known. This sport was first introduced to Ceylon somewhere around 1824, by early English settlers. It has been said that wherever the Union Jack was planted cricket too was given pride of place.
Some of the military men stationed in Ceylon in the 1830’s and 1840’s wee competent cricketers and they brought the game to Colombo, Kandy, and Galle and even took it to far off places such as Radella , Darawella, and Badulla. It is said that they would travel between 40 to 50 miles on horse back through wild country footpaths just to play cricket.
In the Radella Pavilion (Dimbulla ACC) an interesting picture of the two teams that played in the first match between the planters of Dickoya and Dimbulla in 1870 shows the type of men who made planting and cricket a successful combination.
Before air travel helped cricket teams to get to other cricket playing nations quickly, teams from England and Australia travelled to and from their countries by sea often breaking journey in Colombo to play exhibition matches with local Colombo, Kandy, Galle teams and of course the planting sector. The first team to stopover in Colombo was the English team of 1882 led by Ivor Eligh on their way to Australia in quest of the Ashes.
At that time only England and Australia played test cricket.
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