Sinhalese Sports Club Celebrates a Century and a Quarter of Sporting Excellence
Colombo : The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) is excited to mark 125 years of its illustrious history with a grand celebration at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo, scheduled for the 28th of March. The event will honor the club's storied past and bright future, with the President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, attending as a distinguished guest. Highlighting the event will be appearances by cricket luminaries Nasser Hussain, former England cricket captain, and Simon Taufel, the esteemed former international umpire. Adding to the significance, ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle is set to deliver the keynote speech, underlining the club’s rich cricketing heritage and its contributions to the sport.
This celebration by the Sinhalese Sports Club underscores its longstanding commitment to promoting sports and nurturing talent, commemorating a journey of pride and achievement that spans over a century.
SSC issued an official Statement on this Prestigious event
SSC to celebrate 125 years of existence with a grand celebration
• President Ranil Wickremesinghe to attend as Chief Guests
• Former England captain Nasser Hussain and former ICC Elite Umpire Simon Taufel are among the invited guests.
• Mr. Ranjan Madugalle- ICC chief Match Referee to deliver the “Key Note Speech’
The Singhalese Sports Club, one of Sri Lanka’s most distinguished sports clubs, will celebrate 125 years of existence with a grand celebration to be held in the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, on March 28, 2024, with the participation of the President of the Democratic Socilaist Republic of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Ranil Wickremesinghe, and his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe.
Speaking to the media, the club officials said the club has also invited former England captain Nasser Hussain and former ICC Elite Umpire Simon Taufall to be among the distinguished gathering, which will see former World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga and several former players who went onto captain the national team being present, along with former and present club administrators.
Marking the 125th anniversary, SSC will launch a special stamp and a first-day cover, thus stamping the club’s iconic legacy into the future.
A book detailing the 125-year history of the club will also be launched during the celebrations.
“SSC has been standing tall and firm in its 125-year history and aspires to be a leading institution that will help drive the sporting passion of this nature into the future,” said the President of the Club, Mr. I.S De Silva.
In the meantime, the club, which considers ‘Cricket’ as its core sport and also owns the SSC Ground, which is one of the oldest test venues in the country, plans to invest in developing facilities for the game in view of its 125-year anniversary.
The club plans to establish flood lights to hold day-night cricket, increase spectator capacity, and also modernize the ‘Press Box.’
“We are looking to develop and enhance our facilities, covering mainly the game of cricket, and be ready to face the future with much strength and carry the SSC's cricketing legacy forward,” said Mr. Vasantha Wijesekara Honorary Secretary of the SSC.
Since its commencement in 1938, SSC has been a 33-time winner of the Main Club Cricket Competition and a 10-time winner of the Limited Over Club Tournament, since its commencement in 1988,
The club proudly wishes to state that SSC has produced 130 players to represent Sri Lanka, with 85 players representing the nation after gaining test status.
Starting from Anura Tennakon, who led Sri Lanka in the 1975 World Cup, many more SSC players went onto Captain Sri Lanka and bring glory to the nation. The epic moment of its was 1996, when Sri Lanka won the ICC Men’s 50 over World Cup. Stated Mr. Samantha Dodanwela- Chairman Cricket House Committee
