All set for 'sixes' cricket in Darrawela

C B Ratnayake Trophy on offer:

By S M Jiffrey ABDEEN- Kandy Sports Corr

The annual six-a-side inter-club Cricket Tournament for the C B Ratnayake. Trophy organised by the Nuwara Eliya District Cricket Association will be worked off at the picturesque Darrawela grounds owned by Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club at Dickoya on Saturday and Sunday (January 8th and 9th) will play commencing at 9 am each day.

This tournament which was earlier scheduled to be held towards the tail end of last year was twice postponed due to bad weather.

The Secretary of the Nuwara Eliya District Cricket Association Jagath Jayasundera said that a 24 teams have entered this tournament from areas like Nuwara Eliya, Hatton, Hanguranketha, Ginigathena, Maskeliya, Talawakelle, Kotagala, Norwood, Radella and other areas.

Nuwara Eliya District CA this year had in a sporting gesture opened the doors for 8 new clubs who are not Affiliated to participate in this tournament.

Last years championship was won by Trout Sports Club a new club from Nuwara Eliya but this year they will receive tough opposition from the Dimbula Athletic and Cricket Club, the Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club, Silver Orchids SC Grand Hotel SC and Sinha SC.

Dimbula Athletic and Cricket Club founded in 1856 is the oldest outside Colombo with a recorded history of 154 years.

But the Victorian Style Club house with an antique clock on top of the pavillian razed to ground in the mid sixties.

But the planters reconstructed it within a short time to its present status.

This was the ground which was once visited by the Queen Elizabeth in the mid fifties on her official visit to Ceylon.

Radella grounds has a record of many foreign teams playing like England, Australia, New Zealand and more recently Zimbabwe in the eighties.

Dimbula has also produced an All Ceylon cricketer in P F Haddow who played county cricket for Middlesex before coming over to Ceylon to take up planting at Carlabeck Estate and Ledgirawatte Estate.

In 1878 he went over to England and beat A W Gore to become the Wimbledon Champion.

Though a British by birth is the only player from the Asian region to win the highest prized trophy in the world of tennis.

Dickoya Maskeliya CC has its grounds at Darrawela - a beautiful grounds in the midst of tea plantations in the English Village style.

This ground too has a beautiful stream running on the far side and has its origins in the Agarapatana Valley.

Darrawela grounds has a rich history with England an Australian cricketers playing here in the past.

During one of those visits England Cricket Captain legendary Sir Jack Hobbs was so capitivated with its beauty and charm that he named his home in "Old Blighty" Darrawela.

Dickoya Maskeliya CC has a history of 141 years founded in 1869 and is full of activity though the out door activities is not what it used to be in its glorious past.

But the present committee headed by former Trinity and Upcountry ruggerite D J Ratwatte is making an all out efforts to revive cricket and rugby in a big way.

Both Clubs have had a glorious past but the nationalisation of Estates and the exodus of planters to other areas had a telling effect on them but they have bravely survived this situation and could back forward to better days.

Coming back to cricket the participating in this tournament are Dimbula C and AC, Dickoya Maskeliya CC, Tea Research Institute Talawakelle, Maskeliya CC, Trout SC, Nuwara Eliya Police SC, Municipal SC, Nuwara Eliya, Yardly SC, Grand Hotel SC, Kent SC, Summer Hill SC, Jayashakthi SC, Hanguranketha SC, Silver Orchids SC, Ginigathena SC, Young Rovers SC.

The Tournament Committee lead by its President and former Minister of Sports C B Ratnayake along with Secretary Jagath Jayasundera, District Coach, K Karthigasen, Harshana Dissanayake are sparing no pains to make this tournament a big success.

Minister C B Ratnayake will be Chief Guest and officials from S L C like C P P Raj, Malcolm Perera, Suraj Dandeniya, Kapila Dandeniya, Ronnie Gunaratne and many other are expected to grace the occasion.