Colombo Malay CC veterans come together in nostalgia

At the felicitation seated from left: Roshan Allang (CMCC President), Captain Hamza Deane, Dr. Sandy Musafer, Dennis Rosayro, Thajone Swangsa, Haafiz Musafer. Standing from left: Iqram Cuttilan, Shaffie Cader, Mohamed Kaizer, TY Raheem, Hussain Jayah, PG Sunil, Azad Jurangpathy, Iqbal Hamidon and Azwan Bangsajayah 

A forgotten tribe that took care of the beginnings of Sri Lanka Cricket helped shape the careers of many a sportsman of an unsung era

The Colombo Malay Cricket Club (CMCC), founded in 1872, held a felicitation ceremony for its senior hockey veterans at The Padang (clubhouse) in Colombo 2 last Saturday.
The felicitation enabled the veterans many of whom played for the country (then Ceylon) to rekindle the good old days which will never ever be the same as it was in the past.
Among them were several pioneers of hockey in Sri Lanka that included the versatile Dennis Roysaro, (also a stalwart of the Burgher Recreation Club), all of whom exchanged what was called old stories and camaraderie with the present generation of players who were able to learn a few tips that even present day coaches may not be aware of.
In 1970 the Colombo Malay CC became the first team in the country to go on an overseas tour when they made a sojourn of India to play in a series of hockey matches.
Many members of the Colombo Malay CC served in the British Army in the island and played cricket encounters against the British army that enabled them to procure a ground of their own at Rifle Green which is now the home ground of Air Force in Colombo 2.
Unknown to many the Colombo Malay Cricket Club played host to the first meeting of the Ceylon Cricket Board at the time before it came to be known as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka and now Sri Lanka Cricket.
It is the oldest cricket playing club in the island and Saturday’s felicitation was initiated by the club’s Vice President Hussain Jayah who also played hockey in the late 1970s well into the late 1980s. It also played a role in the birth of the Colombo Hockey and Football Club now better known as CH and FC that plays inter club rugby.
Supported by the current and effervescent CMCC President Roshan Allang and his Committee, the event was one to cherish and behold.