Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

is the most popular sport in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Sri Lanka is one of the twelve nations that take part in

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

and one of the six nations that has won a

cricket World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), e ...

. Cricket is played at professional, semi-professional and recreational levels in the country and international cricket matches are watched with interest by a large proportion of the population. Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) was occupied by the British in 1796 and became a British colony in 1815. As in all places that the British arrived in large 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 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, and is headquartered at 31 Maitland Crescent, Colombo 7, close to the headquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket. Hi ...

was formed soon afterwards and matches began in November 1832. Since then, the sport has grown domestically with major events such as the Premier Trophy (dating from 1938) and the Premier Limited Overs Tournament (starting 1988–89). Sri Lanka's

one day international A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

debut came in the 1975 Cricket World Cup. The country was awarded

status by the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

in 1981.

Governing body

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Cricket for Sri Lanka (BCCSL) on 30 June 1975 as a national spo ...

, formerly the Board for Cricket Control in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), is the controlling body for

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. It operates the Sri Lankan cricket team,

Sri Lanka A cricket team The Sri Lanka A cricket team is a national cricket team representing Sri Lanka. It is the second-tier of international Sri Lankan cricket, below the full Sri Lanka national cricket team. Matches played by Sri Lanka A are not considered to be Test ...

Sri Lankan women's cricket team The Sri Lanka women's national cricket team represents Sri Lanka in international women's cricket. One of eight teams competing in the ICC Women's Championship (the highest level of the sport), the team is organised by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) ...

and

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

within Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a full member of the

and the

Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council also known as ACC is a cricket organisation which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional ...

. Sri Lanka co-hosted the

1996 Cricket World Cup The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 after the Wills Navy Cut brand produced by tournament sponsor ITC, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was the second World Cu ...

and the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Domestic competitions

Sri Lanka Cricket oversees the progress and handling of the major domestic competitions: the First-class tournaments – SLC Tier A and B Premier Trophy, the List A tournament – Premier Limited Overs Tournament and the

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

competition –

SLC Twenty20 Tournament SLC Twenty20 Tournament was a Twenty20 wikt:domestic, domestic cricket competition in Sri Lanka held by Sri Lanka Cricket. It was conducted from 2004 to 2007 and was held between the list of Sri Lankan cricket teams, clubs in Sri Lanka. From 2 ...

, in which the following first-class teams may take part: *

Badureliya Sports Club Badureliya Sports Club is a first-class cricket team in Sri Lanka. It plays its home matches at Surrey Village Cricket Ground, Maggona. In late 2008, the club threatened to boycott the Sri Lankan domestic tournaments due to their objections to b ...

( Maggona) * Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club (

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

) * Burgher Recreation Club (Colombo) *

Chilaw Marians Cricket Club Chilaw Marians Cricket Club are a first-class cricket team based in Chilaw, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerl ...

(Colombo) *

Colts Cricket Club Colts Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They have won 6 first class tournaments of Sri Lanka domestic league as in 1991/92, 1999/2000, 2001/02, 2004/05, 2008/09 and 2011/12 and 2 Premier Limited Overs Tourna ...

(Colombo) *

Galle Cricket Club Galle Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team based in Galle, Sri Lanka. They play their home games at Galle International Stadium, which was reconstructed after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In the 2016–17 season, they took part in the ...

(

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

) *

Kalutara Town Club Kalutara Town Club are a first-class cricket team based in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. They played one season of first-class cricket, in the 1996–97 Saravanamuttu Trophy. They had previously been the inaugural winner of the Daily News Trophy in 1938 ...

(

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

) *

Kandy Customs Cricket Club Kandy Customs Sports Club is a first-class cricket team based in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Founded in 2019, they were one of the 24 teams to take part in the 2018–19 SLC Twenty20 Tournament, starting on 15 February 2019. In their opening match of the ...

(

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

) * Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club (

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

) *

Lankan Cricket Club Lankan Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team in Sri Lanka. History Lankan Cricket Club played in the Premier Trophy from 2005–06 to 2012–13. It was one of six clubs that lost their places when the competition was reduced from 20 teams ...

(Colombo) *

Moors Sports Club Moors Sports Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. History Moors Sports Club was founded by members of Colombo Grand Mosque at New Moor Street in the Colombo neighbourhood of Pettah. Like most clubs founded during the c ...

(Colombo) *

Negombo Cricket Club Negombo Cricket Club is a cricket team in Sri Lanka. In March 2017, they made a legal challenge against Sri Lanka Cricket after they were removed from Tier B of the 2016–17 Premier League Tournament. This prevented the 2016–17 Premier Limited ...

(

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...

Nondescripts Cricket Club Nondescripts Cricket Club (also known by its initials NCC) is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The team plays at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground. History The club was founded in 1888. The name "Nondescripts" is derived ...

(Colombo) *

Nugegoda Sports and Welfare Club Nugegoda Sports and Welfare Club is a multi-faceted Sri Lankan club founded in 1870. It is based in the Colombo suburb of Athurugiriya which is just to the north of Nugegoda. It is best known for its first-class cricket team which was formed be ...

(

Nugegoda Nugegoda ( si, නුගේගොඩ) is a large, densely populated suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is located in the border of Sri Jayawardenapura Municipal Council limits and Dehiwela Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council limits, just outside Colombo ...

) *

Panadura Sports Club Panadura Sports Club is a first-class cricket team based in Panadura, Sri Lanka. Their home ground is the Panadura Public Ground History Panadura Sports Club has been in existence since 1924. The team has played first-class cricket since 1988– ...

(

Panadura Panadura ( si, පානදුර, translit=Pānadura; ta, பாணந்துறை, translit=Pāṇantuṟai) is a city in Kalutara District, Western Province in Sri Lanka. It is located approximately south of Colombo and is surrounded on ...

) * Police Sports Club (Colombo) *

Ragama Cricket Club Ragama Cricket Club are a first-class cricket team based in Ragama, Sri Lanka. Their home ground is the Free Trade Zone Sports Complex. History Ragama Cricket Club was formed in 1989. It achieved promotion to first-class status in 2001. At the ...

(

Ragama Ragama ( si, රාගම ta, ரா௧ம) is a suburb of Colombo, located in the Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by the Ja-Ela Pradeshiya Sabha. History In July 1874 a rail line, known as the Breakwater line, ...

) *

Saracens Sports Club The Saracens Sports Club (Saracens SC) is a Sri Lankan first-class cricket team that competes in the Premier Trophy The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri L ...

(Colombo) *

Sinhalese Sports Club The Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. Singhalese is the most successful club in Sri Lankan domestic cricket, having won the Premier Trophy a record 32 times to 2017. Although the name is correctly spelt wi ...

(Colombo) * Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club (

Katunayake Katunayake ( si, කටුනායක, ta, கட்டுநாயகம்), is a suburb of Negombo city in Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is the site of Bandaranaike International Airport or Colombo Airport, the primary international air g ...

) * Sri Lanka Army Sports Club (

Panagoda Panagoda is a town in Western Province, Sri Lanka of Sri Lanka. It is 20 km away from Colombo. Situated there is the Panagoda Cantonment, the largest military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the m ...

) * Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club (Welisara) *

Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club Ace Capital Cricket Club is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. It was originally founded in 1989 as the Seeduwa/Raddoluwa Cricket Club. In 2011, it became the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club. The SLPA withdrew sponsorship in October ...

(

Seeduwa Seeduwa (/sīðuvə/; Sinhalese: සීදුව ''Seeduwa'' pronounced īðuvə Tamil: சீதுவை ''Seeduwai'' pronounced ītuvai is a suburb of Negombo city, in Katana Divisional Secretariat, Western Province of Sri Lanka. It i ...

) *

Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club Tamil Union Cricket & Athletic Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They play their home games at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium. History The club can trace its roots back to the final years of the 19th century in which t ...

(Colombo) Several competitions have been arranged where teams were formed out of each of the major provinces, independent to the above clubs: * Inter-Provincial Cricket, established 1990, currently with 5 teams ( Basnahira North, Basnahira South, Kandurata,

Ruhuna The Principality of Ruhuna, also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, T ...

, and Wayamba) * Super Four Provincial, established 2017, currently with 4 teams (Colombo, Dambulla, Galle, and Kandy)

National cricket team

The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national

team of

. The team first played

One day international A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

cricket in the 1975 Cricket World Cup and were later awarded

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

status in 1981, which made

the eighth Test cricket playing nation. The Sri Lankan team transformed themselves from the

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

status to a leading cricketing nation during the 1990s. Sri Lanka currently holds the record for the highest Team total in Test Cricket Sri Lanka have won the

Cricket World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), e ...

in 1996, the

ICC Champions Trophy The ICC Champions Trophy is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. The 2013 tournament was intended to be the final edition of the Champions Trophy, but it was extended to 2017 due to i ...

in 2002 (Co-champions with India), the

ICC World Twenty20 The ICC Men's T20 World Cup (earlier known as ICC World Twenty20) is the international championship of Twenty20. Organised by cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament consists of 16 teams, comprising t ...

in 2014. They are also Six times champions of Asia Cup in 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008, 2014 & 2022 and have been

runners up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, 2011 Cricket World Cup,

2009 ICC World Twenty20 The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that took place in England in June 2009. It was the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugural ...

and 2012 ICC World Twenty20.

Women's cricket team

The Sri Lankan women's cricket team is the team that represents Sri Lanka in international

women's cricket Women's cricket is the form of the team sport of cricket when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries around the world and 108 national teams participate internationally. 11 of them have WTest and WODI ...

matches. Sri Lankan women's cricket team's international debut came in 1997 with a three match ODI series against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Since then, the team has represented Sri Lanka in international women's cricket tournaments.

References

External links

List of Sri Lankan CricketersOfficial Home of Sri Lanka CricketCric Info – Sri LankaSL Cricket – A Forum for Sri Lankan Cricket fans to beIsland Cricket – A Sri Lanka Cricket fan site powered by User Generated Media
{{Sri Lanka topics

Governing body

Domestic competitions

National cricket team

Women's cricket team

See also

References

External links