Shelley 81 not out
CRICKET: The amiable Shelley Wickremasinghe, an administrator
par excellence and beacon light of Bloomfield C & AC, celebrates his
81st birthday today (Sunday). Wickremasinghe fought a relentless battle
to get a permanent abode for the one-time "Park Club" on four wheels.
Thanks to his erstwhile friend, the then Minister of Sports, the late
K.B. Ratnayake, who acted without fear or favour, answered
Wickremasinghe's clarion call with the century old club getting a
permanent abode at Reid Avenue.
K.B. Ratnayake, a product of Jaffna College, had the services of
Wickremasinghe to frame the Sports Law of 1975. Wickremasinghe comes
from the Kalutara district.
Unassuming, he never says no to help a fellow being in his hour of
need. Be it Kataragama or the disabled home at Rajagiriya,
Wickremasinghe, does a lot for the needy apart from promoting sports,
particularly cricket, where he was the President of the Mercantile
Cricket Association (MCA) and Bloomfield for a number of years. He even
served the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) and has the
pavilion at Bloomfield named after him.
Despite facing many setbacks in his personal life, he took it with
courage being a devout Buddhist. Its Karma he says.
-- "A friend" |