Of Sunny’s Greek and Dada’s Grill
Cricket Club Cafe is a popular restaurant-cum-bar which is known more for the memorabilia than the delectable cuisine that goes by cricket players’ names.
The owners of a popular joint here have had top cricketers of the world visiting their place, but are still waiting for the day Indian stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid come calling.
Cricket Club Cafe is a popular restaurant-cum-bar which is known more for the memorabilia than the delectable cuisine that goes by cricket players’ names. The Indian flavour is not prevalent as of now, much though the owner Australian couple would like it to.
“We have one of Sunil Gavaskar’s caps, a sweater that Kapil Dev wore and trousers that belonged to Mohammad Azharuddin, all of them bought at auctions,” says Gabrielle Whight as she shows us around the five-room property.
Her husband, James, caught the bug of collecting souvenirs after family friend Ray Lindwall, that of the famous Lindwall-Miller pace bowling pair, gave him a jersey and cricket ball. The collection began accumulating and by 1995, the couple had decided to set up the place, a good 20 years after James made his maiden visit to Colombo for one of his surfing stints and taken a fancy for it.
“We had the place up by August 1996 and have been residents here since then. We wanted to make it the ‘Hard Rock Cafe’ of cricket,”says Gabrielle, who proudly shows original pictures of Sir Don Bradman, autographed by the run machine who saw quite a bit of himself in Sachin Tendulkar. One can also see the Don’s ‘baggy blue’ cap that he turned out in for New South Wales in domestic cricket and Shane Warne’s hat-trick ball, but the most prized possession is the bat with which Sir Gary Sobers became the first man to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket, brought out only on request.
“Steve Waugh, Justin Langer, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and several Sri Lankan players make it a point to visit this place whenever possible. They have also been liberal in donating stuff that we could use,” says Gabrielle.
Gabrielle is quick to tell you about the love Steve Waugh has for Murali, not the player but the dish that goes by his name — Murali’s Mulhgatawny, a spicy Sri Lankan rice preparation. You also have Gavaskar’s Greek (salad), Sachin’s Sausages and Mash and Ganguly’s Grill (chicken) on the menu.
Moving around the ‘mini museum’, one can see autographed miniature as well as regular bats, and shirts, many of them by full national teams.
The increasing commercialization of cricket has meant that the visits to Christie’s auctions have become more frequent. “Though players have been keen to give their apparel in the past, they have not been so liberal in recent years,” concedes Gabrielle.
Cricket Club Cafe is a popular restaurant-cum-bar which is known more for the memorabilia than the delectable cuisine that goes by cricket players’ names. The Indian flavour is not prevalent as of now, much though the owner Australian couple would like it to.
“We have one of Sunil Gavaskar’s caps, a sweater that Kapil Dev wore and trousers that belonged to Mohammad Azharuddin, all of them bought at auctions,” says Gabrielle Whight as she shows us around the five-room property.
Her husband, James, caught the bug of collecting souvenirs after family friend Ray Lindwall, that of the famous Lindwall-Miller pace bowling pair, gave him a jersey and cricket ball. The collection began accumulating and by 1995, the couple had decided to set up the place, a good 20 years after James made his maiden visit to Colombo for one of his surfing stints and taken a fancy for it.
“We had the place up by August 1996 and have been residents here since then. We wanted to make it the ‘Hard Rock Cafe’ of cricket,”says Gabrielle, who proudly shows original pictures of Sir Don Bradman, autographed by the run machine who saw quite a bit of himself in Sachin Tendulkar. One can also see the Don’s ‘baggy blue’ cap that he turned out in for New South Wales in domestic cricket and Shane Warne’s hat-trick ball, but the most prized possession is the bat with which Sir Gary Sobers became the first man to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket, brought out only on request.
“Steve Waugh, Justin Langer, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and several Sri Lankan players make it a point to visit this place whenever possible. They have also been liberal in donating stuff that we could use,” says Gabrielle.
Gabrielle is quick to tell you about the love Steve Waugh has for Murali, not the player but the dish that goes by his name — Murali’s Mulhgatawny, a spicy Sri Lankan rice preparation. You also have Gavaskar’s Greek (salad), Sachin’s Sausages and Mash and Ganguly’s Grill (chicken) on the menu.
Moving around the ‘mini museum’, one can see autographed miniature as well as regular bats, and shirts, many of them by full national teams.
The increasing commercialization of cricket has meant that the visits to Christie’s auctions have become more frequent. “Though players have been keen to give their apparel in the past, they have not been so liberal in recent years,” concedes Gabrielle.