Former Secretary of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board Neil Perera passed away on January 23. He was 95.
Perera, who worked in the Cricket Board for 25 years also an engineer at the Ceylon Electricity Board.
He was the Secretary of the Cricket Board from 1972-1975 and 1992-1995. He was the one who made the proposals on behalf of Sri Lanka to the International Cricket Council to host the 1995-1996 Cricket World Cup in the Asian region.
At a time when several countries which were due to participate considered Sri Lanka as an insecure country, Perera’s efforts to hold the tournament in Asia together with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka should be appreciated. He was the Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket and the Manager of the national cricket team for many years. He was awarded “Lifetime Achievement in cricket” at the Sri Lanka Cricket Awards Ceremony in 2016.
Perera also worked hard to raise the game of cricket in the Kalutara district. He also served as a former cricket captain and chairman of the Panadura Sports Club and served as its patron until his death. A former student of St. John’s College, Panadura, he also served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. John’s Girls’ School.
His body lies at the Jayaratne Funeral Parlour, Colombo. The funeral will be held at the Borella Public Cemetery today at 4.00 pm.
