CCC School of Cricket celebrates 25 years
The CCC School of Cricket, which was formed by Nelson Mendis after his retirement from Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC, on the invitation of Thilanga Sumathipala and Shammi Silva, two stalwarts of CCC Gymkhana Club, who also happened to be two cricketers from Nalanda College under the renowned coach, will celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The CCC School of Cricket, which was inaugurated on February 2 of 1998 with only six students, initially on weekends on the solitary concrete pitch of CCC, has now grown to become one of the leading cricket academies of the country.
After completing its first year, the academy attracted 60 students, who trained under two coaches, held its inaugural Inter-Group Cricket Tournament at the MCA grounds. By the end of 2000, the academy had to shift to the CCC Indoor Nets when foundation was laid for a shopping complex, in the area surrounding the concrete pitch. The new Indoor Pavilion which comprised of two nets, bowling machines and a small gymnasium which a big boost for the students, which by then had increased to nearly 100. By then practice days had increased to three, and similarly the coaching staff also increased to five with three new additions.
In 2000, the academy introduced the House System, and four Houses were named after Sir Don Bradman, Sir Gary Sobers, Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, and in the same year undertook the first inbound tour to Kurunegala and followed it by pioneering a foreign tour to Chennai and Bangalore. With the foreign tours in the calendar, many students started joining the academy, and in April 2003, they took part in the first international tournament, the ‘Pepsi’ Cup, organised by the Imtiaz Ahmed Cricket Academy in Bangalore, after which the now famous ‘Nelson Mendis U-14 International Invitational Cricket Tournament was introduced.
By now CCC School of Cricket has contributed to the development of junior cricket, by introducing an invitational international tournament for the Under-14s, as well as local invitational tournaments for the Under-11s, Under-12s and Under-13s, through which many have benefited. The academy has won many titles, at local and international Inter-Academy Tournaments during the past 25 years while many students have gone beyond the expectations and even represented the country at the highest level. Today, as the premier cricket coaching school in Sri Lanka with over 350 students and 14 coaches, CCC School of Cricket has become the greatest contributor in nurturing the budding cricketers of the country.