Singhalese Sports Club to celebrate 125th anniversary with grandeur tomorrow

SSC club officials addressing the media (from left): Cricket House Committee Chairman/ExCo member Samantha Dodanwela, Treasurer Nilanka Peiris, Secretary Wasantha Wijesekera and President I.S. de Silva

• President Ranil Wickremesinghe as Chief Guest
• Former England captain Nasser Hussain, former ICC Elite Umpire Simon Taufel among invited guests
• ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle to deliver Keynote Address

The Singhalese Sports Club (SSC), one of Sri Lanka’s most distinguished sports clubs will celebrate 125 years of existence with a grand celebration to be held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo on 28 March with the participation of President Ranil Wickremesinghe as chief guest with his wife Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe.

At a media conference held at the SSC on Monday, club officials said SSC has invited former England captain Nasser Hussain and former ICC Elite Umpire Simon Taufel to be among the distinguished gathering, which will see former World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga and several former players 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 125th year history and aspires to be a leading institution that will help drive the sporting passion into the future,” said SSC President IS de Silva.

The club, which considers Cricket as its core sport 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 125th year anniversary.

The club plans to set up flood lights to hold day-night cricket, increase spectator capacity, and 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 SSC Secretary Vasantha Wijesekara.

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.

“SSC has a proud record of producing 130 cricketers who have gone onto represent Sri Lanka, with 85 players representing the nation after gaining Test status. Starting from Anura Tennekoon, who led Sri Lanka in the 1975 World Cup, many more SSC players went on to captain Sri Lanka and bring glory to the nation. The epic moment was in 1996 when Sri Lanka won the ICC Men’s 50-over World Cup,” said SSC Cricket House Committee Chairman Samantha Dodanwela.