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Sport in the Central Province of Sri Lanka has produced sports people in Sri Lanka for a wide range of sports. Sport in the Central Province is mainly dominated by Kandy who have produced national captains of cricket and rugby, and athletes that play at the highest level of all sports. [1]
Cricket has been played in the Kandy District since around 1863. It was mainly played in the Knuckles/Rangala areas and the Kandy city had the Kandy Dancing, Boating, and Rowing Club. In 1896 this club became the Kandy Sports club.
Ceylon's first unofficial test was played at Bogambara Grounds in 1889. The Kandy Sports Club was an exclusive European club however from 1920 onwards invited locals to play. In 1914 and 1916's Bogambara and Trinity College Grounds Asgiriya hosted overseas teams and in 1935 an Indian University Occasionals team met Up-Country cricket team.
16 August 1946 saw the revival of the Kandy District Cricket Association with Dr. V.H.L. Anthonisz as Secretary and Col. Gordon Pyper President. Shortly after the Central Province Cricket Association was formed with Dr. V.H.L. Anthonisz as President, the Dr. V.H.L Anthoniez shield was established for competition amongst Clubs in the Kandy District. The teams that participated in the shield were Kandy Sports Club, University Scheme SC, Kandy YMCA and the Kandy Young Men's Buddhist Association Sports Club. The first tournament was won by Francis Amerasinghe led Kandy Sports Club. In 1947 the Ceylon Cricket Association conducted a Zonal Tournament in which the Central Province Cricket Association participated. The Kandy District team was styled as the Central Zone and was led by Phillip Bultjens in the two-day matches.
Central Province Cricket Association hosted many international teams including the 1st Commonwealth Team in 1950, 2nd Commonwealth Team in 1951, MCC in 1952, All India in 1956, Pakistan 1964, Hyderabad Blues 1966, State Bank of India 1967, MCC 1969, Australia 1969, MCC 1973, India 1974 and Pakistan 1976 played three matches against Board Presidents XI, while Joe Listers Team played a two-day match against the Government Services CA at the Campus Grounds Peradeniya.
Sri Lanka's test era in the Central Province in Kandy began with a five-day match on 22 February 1983 against the Australians at Asgiriya Stadium making it Sri Lanka's third test venue and the 54th Test venue in the World. Since this game almost every team visited has played at this ground, till the last Test held in 2007. The inaugural test with Australia began in April 1983 then came New Zealand, India, Pakistan, England, and South Africa. [2]
The first Netball game was played in Sri Lanka by Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School in 1921. [3]
Rugby union is the most popular sport in the region. This is because of the local rugby union club, Kandy Sports Club being the reigning Club Rugby Champions in the national league for almost a decade, as well as the fondness and support the local schools treat the sport with. The Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's tournament is an annual international rugby union event held at the local Bogambara Stadium, attracting nations from all over the world.
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 is situated in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Historically the local Buddhist rulers resisted Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion and occupation.
Asgiriya Stadium, is a cricket stadium situated in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Asgiriya Stadium is the private property of Trinity College, Kandy. It is around a 10-minute walk from the centre of the city. The venue would usually be used when an international team toured Sri Lanka for a Test Match. Asgiriya became Sri Lanka's the second Test venue, after the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, when it hosted Greg Chappell’s Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1982–83.
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 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.
The 1999–2000 Sri Lankan cricket season featured a Test series between Sri Lanka and India. Sri Lanka then played a further series against Pakistan.
Radella Cricket Grounds is a Cricket ground in Sri Lanka situated in Radella, a village close to Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. The grounds are also known as Dimbula Cricket Club Ground.
Bogambara Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka It is one of the oldest grounds in the country. Stadium is currently used mostly for Rugby matches and hosted the games of the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's. It has a capacity of 30,000.
Kandurata cricket team was a Sri Lankan first class cricket team based in Kandy, that represented Central Province of Sri Lanka. Kandurata competed in all three provincial tournaments:the first class cricket competition known as the Inter-Provincial First Class Tournament, the List A cricket competition known as the Inter-Provincial Limited Over Tournament and the Twenty20 competition known as the Inter-Provincial Twenty20.
Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 160,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
The Kandy Cricket Club, also known as Kandy CC, is a cricket club based in Kandy, Sri Lanka which plays in divisional cricket tournaments organized by the Kandy District Cricket Association (KDCA) and Sri Lanka Cricket.
Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. Although the Sports Ministry named volleyball the national sport, the most popular sport is Cricket. Rugby union is also popular. Other popular sports are water sports, badminton, athletics, football, basketball and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
Kandy Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team, based in Kandy, Sri Lanka, competing in the Dialog Rugby League. The club has been the most successful Sri Lankan club in the Sri Lanka Rugby Championship, winning 18 league titles in the last twenty years, which is the most wins by any club since the expanded competition commenced in 1950. The club has also won twenty Clifford Cups and in the period between 1995 and 2012 the club did not lose a Clifford Cup title, although in 1998 there was no tournament and in 2006 the club withdrew from the tournament. Kandy SC had won the league title for a record nine consecutive years between 2000 and 2009.
Football in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. Despite not being as well-regarded as the country's cricket team, football is the third biggest sport in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka national football team uses the 25,000-capacity Sugathadasa Stadium for their home games.
Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club are a Division 'A' rugby union team, based in Sri Lanka. It is the rugby union team of the Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club.
The Sri Lanka Rugby Championship, known as the Nippon Paint Inter-Club Rugby League for sponsorship reasons, is the major national rugby union club competition, held between the top Division 'A' rugby sides, in Sri Lanka. The annual home and away competition, featuring eight Division 'A' teams, has been held since 1950. The competition has been held between November and February for the last three seasons. The first round of the tournament runs for seven weekends with the final match of the first round in early January, no games are played over the Christmas holiday period. The second round also runs for seven weekends, with the final match in the beginning of March.
The Clifford Cup is the most prestigious club rugby knockout tournament in Sri Lanka, and arguably the oldest rugby tournament in Asia. The Clifford Cup commenced in 1911 and has been played continuously since 1950, having completed 79 seasons. The tournament began as a competition between the mercantile executives in Colombo and planters in the hill country.
The Kandy Garden Club is a social and sports club in Kandy, Sri Lanka, which was established in 1878 for the exclusive use by British coffee planters to play tennis. It is one of the oldest operating sports clubs in the country and the second oldest in Kandy.
Ajith Abeyratne was a Sri Lankan rugby union player, administrator, commentator and coach.
Sonny Yatawara was a Sri Lankan first-class cricketer. He gained reputation for his fiery temperament and for his never-say-die attitude among cricketing fraternity and social circles. He was regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in Sri Lanka during his playing career. He also worked at Ceylon Tobacco. He played two first-class matches between 1960/61 - 1961/62 domestic seasons playing for Saracens Sports Club and Singhalese Sports Club.