Dimbula Athletic & Cricket Club
| Abbreviation | DA&CC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1856 |
| Type | Sporting club |
| Headquarters | Radella |
The Dimbula Athletic and Cricket Club (also known as the Radella Club) is a sporting club formed by British tea planters and founded in 1856. It is the oldest sporting club in Sri Lanka outside of Colombo, with activities including rugby, cricket, squash, billiards, snooker, tennis and badminton.
The club is most synonymous with rugby, as Dimbula A&CC was the only up country club to win the coveted Clifford Cup, in 1953 and again in 1959. This achievement wasn't matched until 1992 when the Kandy Sports Club were successful in winning the cup.
The first up country cricket match was played in 1868 at the club's grounds in Radella against Dickoya, becoming an annual fixture in the region.
In 1878 one of its members, Frank Hadow, a planter who was on Carlabeck Estate, won Wimbledon men's singles.
The club's first official rugby match was played on 7 March 1880 against fellow Up Country club, Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club, in Darawella, with Dickoya winning 9–3. Both clubs played a return fixture the next week this time at Radella, where Dickoya were again victorious 3–nil. The annual rugby match between Dimbulla and Dickoya, is one of the oldest rugby competitions in Sri Lanka.
In 1908 the club was one of six founding rugby clubs which formed the Ceylon Rugby Football Union.
In the following year the club introduced Badminton to the country, with its own indoor court, becoming the first badminton club in Ceylon. Dimbula conducted two badminton tournaments annually from 1911 until 1926.
On the 17 April 1954 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited the club as part of their tour of Ceylon, as the country was previously known.
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