Shelley Wickramasinghe dies at 85

Shelley Wickramasinghe, who was known as the Grand Old Man (GOM) of Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, died at his home in Colombo on Wednesday at the age of 85.

The 119-year old Bloomfield club is one of Sri Lanka's oldest cricket clubs and Wickramasinghe had three stints as its club president - from 1972-73, then 1976-77 and the third a 21-year span from 1979 to 2000.

Wickramasinghe also served as president of the Mercantile Cricket Association and chairman of the National Sports Council. He was also vice-president of Sri Lanka Cricket in the mid-eighties.

Wickramasinghe was closely associated with former India and Bombay captain Ajit Wadekar, and several Bombay cricketers, including Vasu Paranjpe, played for his club in the local domestic tournament.

Paranjpe, who was coach of Bombay and also at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, coached Bloomfield for three seasons during which they won the Division I club title three times.