Prestigious memories of a proud cricketing nation
Sri Lanka is known as one of the proudest cricketing nations in the world. Cricket has given the Sri Lankan public fond memories which will be remembered for many years to come.
At the Sri Lanka Cricket Museum the 1996 Wolrd Cup (bottom left), the ICC T20 World title (bottom right) and other historical items are on display - Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
For a cricket crazy country like Sri Lanka, a museum can be the best thing that the passionate fans would ask for, to celebrate their heroes and at the same time it can act as an inspiration for the future generation.
No sooner one enters the museum, one is able to see all the major achievements of the National team over the years. From the day Sri Lanka Test status in 1982, all the memorable moments are on display, which brings tears of joy to the cricket loving public.
When the Lions won their first Test against India in 1985, a special trophy was presented by the then President J.R. Jayawardane
Sri Lankans still cherish the winning feeling when the national team won the ICC World Cup in 1996. It gives the public a moment to savour. It changed the way how the world looked at Sri Lanka as a nation. Cricket fans still remember how Aravinda de Silva scored the match-winning hundred against Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The 1996 World Cup trophy is displayed in a unique manner to commemoratehe greatest moment in Sri Lanka’s cricket history. This is the first time after the victory, the trophy has been displayed for public viewing.
In 2002 Sri Lanka was crowned as joint Champions with India at the Champions Trophy. Sanath Jayasuriya was the captain. As Sri Lanka hosted tournament it was another remarkable success by the Lankan lions, some memorable photographs from the tournament are displayed so that the public can relive those wonderful memories.
Sri Lanka has been one of the hardest teams to beat in Asia, they have won the Asia Cup five times. It reminds the way how the Sri Lanka Lions have dominated the tournament over the years.
There is a separate area for our achievements in Test Cricket. In 1998, Sri Lanka won its first game against England. They have displayed all the Test trophies along with the respective opponents who were defeated. Similarly, they have allocated areas for the other two formats as well.
They have given significance to Test cricket while all the past and present players who represented Sri Lanka are also pictured prominently. The public is also able to see all the past ODI, T20 and Women’s captains, in an area called the ‘Hall of Fame’
In 2014, Sri Lanka won the World T20 title in Bangladesh. It was the tournament where two legends, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane bid farewell to the shortest format of the game after Sri Lanka won a global tournament in 22 years.
The Trophy and the Scoreboard from that memorable victory are displayed in a special area specially designed to remember the historic moment of joy. The museum would be a must visit place for any passionate Sri Lankan cricket fan, and in other words it’s a pilgrimage that should be made to this prestigious cricket museum, at least once in a lifetime.