Major General Deshabandu Bertram Russell Heyn was a Sri Lankan general and cricketer. He was a former Commander of the Ceylon Army.
Peter David Heyn is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played in 18 unofficial Test matches from 1966 to 1976, and two One Day Internationals in the 1975 World Cup. Heyn is widely regarded as one of the best cover point fielders ever to represent Sri Lanka. In September 2018, he was one of 49 former Sri Lankan cricketers honoured by Sri Lanka Cricket for their services before Sri Lanka became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Michael Hugh Tissera is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played in the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
Cricket was introduced to Sri Lanka in the first quarter of the 19th century, following colonisation of the island by the British. The earliest known match was recorded in 1832 and the earliest first-class one in 1926. The national team has played Test cricket from 1982. The national team has achieved international success by winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup and the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. Cricket is played nationwide with Test venues in Colombo, Galle, Kandy and Moratuwa. The country's most notable players include Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Rangana Herath, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas. Administration and governance are performed by Sri Lanka Cricket, which was founded in July 1922 as the Ceylon Cricket Association (CCA). The main domestic competition is the Premier Trophy which attained first-class status in 1988.
The Major League Tournament is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988–89 season are not considered first-class. Relaunched as the Lakspray Trophy in 1988–89, it was renamed as the P. Saravanamuttu Trophy in 1990–91 and as the Premier Championship in 1998–99. There was a change of format in 2015–16 when it became the Premier League Tournament which was split into Tiers A and B the following year.
Gehan Dixon Mendis is a former cricketer who was an opening batsman for Sussex and Lancashire between 1974 and 1993. He was part of the Lancashire team that won the 1990 Benson & Hedges Cup and 1990 NatWest Trophy. Mendis scored over 21,000 runs in his first-class career.
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.
International cricket teams raised by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) have visited Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, on 23 occasions from 1911-12 until the most recent tour in the winter of 2000-01. Eleven of the teams were England national cricket teams raised by MCC during the period when it held responsibility for Test cricket played by England. The other twelve were MCC teams per se which did not take part in Test cricket.
The M. J. Gopalan Trophy was an annual first-class cricket competition played between Ceylon and Madras between 1952–53 and 2007–08.
Sri Lanka is one of the twelve nations that take part in Test cricket and one of the six nations that has won a cricket World Cup. 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.
Clive Clay Inman was a Sri Lankan cricketer who played first-class cricket for Ceylon from 1956 to 1966 and for Leicestershire from 1961 to 1971.
Sabapathypillai Illangaratnam was a Sri Lankan cricketer who played in the era prior to Sri Lanka gaining Test status.
The Indian national cricket team toured Ceylon in November 1956 and played two internationals against Ceylon. As Ceylon had not then achieved Test status, the internationals are classified as first-class matches. Both games were played at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo and ended as draws.
Ishak Shahabdeen is a Sri Lankan double international who represented his country in both Cricket and Hockey.
The Pakistan national cricket team toured Ceylon from mid-March to mid-April 1949 and played four matches including two internationals against the Ceylon national team. As neither country had yet achieved Test status, the internationals are classified as first-class matches. Both games were played at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo and Pakistan won them both: the first by an innings and 192 runs; the second by 10 wickets. These two matches were the first four-day internationals played in Ceylon. Pakistan were captained by Mohammed Saeed and Ceylon by Derrick de Saram.
Charles Edward Manoharan "Mano" Ponniah is a Sri Lankan architect and engineer who played first-class cricket in Sri Lanka and England from 1964 to 1969.
Vernon George Prins was a Sri Lankan cricketer who captained the Ceylon team in first-class matches from 1955–56 to 1959–60.
Anurudda "Anura" Polonowita is a former cricketer who played for Ceylon from 1960 to 1969. He later became a prominent cricket administrator and groundsman. In September 2018, he was one of 49 former Sri Lankan cricketers felicitated by Sri Lanka Cricket, to honour them for their services before Sri Lanka became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Lucien Edward de Zoysa was a Ceylonese cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1947 and 1954. He became a stage actor, playwright, author, and cricket commentator on radio.
Hugh Cecil Aldons was a Sri Lankan–Australian sportsman, a triple international who represented Ceylon at three sports in the 1950s: hockey, cricket and rugby union. He captained the national hockey and cricket teams. He migrated to Australia in 1957.
