Jaffer Bilgrami visits the renowned CCC in Colombo

The rapturous applause with jeers and booing was noisy and deafening but it wasn’t an unusual scene at this café. Called the ‘Cricket Club Café’ but known more widely as CCC, this is perhaps the only venue of its kind anywhere in the world which has adopted the game of cricket and the culture surrounding it as its theme, drawing not only on the history of the game but also its lexicon and references to prominent cricketing personalities.

Located in the heart of the city, the café is owned by a cricket loving Australian couple, James and Gabriel, who came to the island for their love for surfing back in the early ‘90s but fell in love with the country and decided to make it their permanent abode.

The couple felt the absence of an off beat bistro-like restaurant in a city which has many luxury hotels. Realising the fanatical love for the game of cricket amongst the local population they decided to set up the theme café. Undoubtedly, their Australian heritage was a sound credential for them to embark upon a business behind which cricket was the inspiration.

Using their Australian connections, both James and Gaby started collecting cricket souvenirs and memorabilia and packed the café with an astounding array of cricket related items. To begin with, Ray Lindwall, Australian pace bowler of the ‘60s, gifted his test playing pull to them. More and more items kept on pouring in, turning the café into a museum or, as often described, a cricket shrine.

Fortunately, commercialisation of cricket related souvenirs was not in practice at that time. However, the café’s most prized possession was the bat of the all-time great Garfield Sobers, with which he punctuated six sixes in an over in a match against England.

A signed bat by former Australian pace man Dennis Lillee and autographed shirts by Wasim Akram are a few of the prized items placed on the walls of the café. Some faded newspaper clippings of the invincible Australian tour of 1948 to England and cuttings heralding Bradman’s exploits of the 1930 tour are some of the items that attract the attention of any individual who has any interest in cricket. Since a bar is a special place in the café it is named after Bradman.

Signature dishes at the café are creatively inspired by the names of past and present players. The menu boasts of Ganguli’s Grill, Murali’s Mulligatawny, Imran’s Pakistani Pumpkin, Gevaskar’s Greek Lettuce, Viv’s Vegetable and Dickie Bird’s Burger, to name a few. Sections of the café have been divided into various pavilions earmarked to all the cricket playing nations.

Each pavilion is adorned with life-size action portraits of important players or ceremonial group photographs that are usually taken before the commencement of any match or series. These bifurcated pavilions are dotted with used cricket bats, stumps and blazers ranging from New Zealand to South Africa and to the West Indies. The theme of cricket runs through everything, from the decor to the menu and the cutlery.

With an innovative menu all encompassing cricket, the Cricket Club Café has very rapidly achieved popularity not only amongst the locals but also among the expatriate community in Sri Lanka. The quaint colonial style building houses the main restaurant which sprawls into various segments, while a lawn is also there to greet you with a wooden traffic signal giving directions to prominent cricketing centres.

The ongoing World Cup and Sri Lanka’s status as a co-host has given further impetus to the CCC’s business as the chance of running into a cricketing hero is always there. No wonder the cricketing café has been ranked 36 in the listed 200 ‘things to do’ in Colombo by guide books.