Leila Abeykoon Archives

Meet the pioneers of Sri Lanka women’s cricket in Centenary year-BY KKS PERERA Leila Abeykoon-Beverley Roberts Source:Sundayobserver Long before the island enlisted foreign coaches, a woman from the West Indies, CG Roberts, settled in Panadura to teach English literature and coach: Pioneered by St. John’s College Panadura in 1923, women’s cricket in Sri Lanka has a rich history. They were coached by GC Roberts, a skilled cricketer who had previously been a member of the West Indies (Barbados) cricket squad in the late 1910s. Roberts moved to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in the early 1920s and settled in Panadura, where he joined St. John’s schools as an English literature teacher and cricket coach. During this time, there were no girls’ schools in Sri Lanka that had ever considered playing cricket, making it difficult to form a team for friendly matches. However, in 1933, a significant milestone was achieved when a ...

Centenary of Women’s Cricket Three Johnians in 1st Intl. vs England in 1948-by KKS Perera Source:Dailymirror JOHNIANS team of 1933 [first interschool match] SLC with a record profit of Rs 6.3 billion made in 2022 could easily allocate more funds for developing women’s cricket. Times have changed. The gentlemen’s game is not only meant for men; today it is the ladies’ game too. The Ceylon Times headline on November 2, 1948 — “Ceylon team goes down fighting.” ‘….a catch which any first-class cricketer would have been proud to make, a brilliant one-handed effort above her head with which Beverly Roberts ended centurion Hide’s innings.” Ceylon Observer same day wrote, “Ceylon’s women cricketers though beaten decisively as anticipated, nevertheless made a decided impression not only on the large crowed that watched them play against the English women’s team at the Oval, but also on the visitors who were amazed to hear ...