Dickoya-Maskeliya CC has one of the oldest scorebooks

S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen, Kandy Sports Corr

Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club which was founded 140 years ago in 1870 by the British planters who came here to plant coffee and later tea is the proud owner of the oldest cricket scorebook which is 138 years-old. It may be one of the oldest scorebooks in the world.

This scorebook is a priceless treasure and it has details of all the cricket encounters between Dimbula Athletic and Cricket Club and Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club starting from their inaugural fixture played in 1872 at Radella.

This score gives in detail of planters battle from 1872 upto 1954 when the British planters started leaving the country. But over the years, the Dickoya Club authorities have preserved this cricketing treasure for posterity and it is carefully stored in a glass case and away from public view as it is risky and also constant handling could damage the pages some of which are over 130 years-old.

This book has a fine greenish blue cover and it does not tell its true age unless one goes through the pages. This is not all then, there is the minutes book of the meetings of the club from 1948 onwards and the oldest of these meetings 62 years-old.

This scorebook has hidden somewhere, a record which is unsurpassed. Former Middlesex County cricketer P F Haddow holds the record of having scored three successive centuries in successive weekends for Dimbula in their ‘Derby’ against Dickoya. A plaque to mark this unique performance could be seen at the Dimbula Club.

But P F Haddow a British by birth and nationality has done something which no one from Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was known then had performed. He won the Wimbledon in 1878 beating the defending champion A W Gore in two straight sets. He was planting at Carlabeck Estate, Radella and practised his tennis here.

When on furlough (home leave) he challenged the defending champion and beat him to crowned as the Wimbledon Champion of 1878 before returning to his totem in Ceylon.