Roma Capannelle Cricket Club celebrates its illustrious 40th anniversary this year and are the proud hosts of the European Cricket Series Rome starting Monday in Rome. Five-time Serie A champions, Italian Cup winners ten years straight from 1986-96, Roma Capannelle can be classed serial winners in Italian cricket, boasting a thriving youth system and remain ever willing to give home-grown players a run.
Preparations are well underway ahead of the European Cricket Series Rome which starts on Monday in the Italian capital.
Date Founded: 1980
Club President: Francis Alphonsus Jayarajah
Championships won:
Serie A: 1988-90, 2000, 2013
Italian Cup 1986-96 (ten years straight)
European Winners’ Cup 2nd place - 1992 in France
Women Serie A: 2009-10
U19 (2005), U17 (2004 & 2009), U15 (2002-3, 2008, 2018) U13 (1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2017-18)
All-time leading wicket taker: Massimo Da Costa
All-time leading run scorer: Massimo Da Costa
Biggest Rival Club: Historically Lazio, currently Pianoro CC
Ground: Roma Capannelle Cricket Ground. Home of Italian Cricket since 1983! Great wicket, nice outfield, good facilities and only 10 minutes from the centre of Rome!
Major inspiration behind the club? Francis Alphonsus Jayarajah
Roma Capannelle was not built in a day – A History
Cricket flourished in Rome in the sixties at a superb ground which looked across to St. Peter's Dome from Villa Doria Pamphili. The Australian and British Embassies, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Commonwealth War Graves Association, the Venerable English College and Beda College all fielded teams which competed for the Rome Ashes until the seventies when the Villa became a public park.
When cricket resumed in Rome on other grounds at the end of the seventies, four of the Villa Doria Pamphili era players formed the Doria Pamphili team in 1978: the Italian-Sri Lankan Alfonso Jayarajah, the Italian-Indian Massimo Da Costa, the Australian Desmond O'Grady and the Syrian Sam Kahale.
In 1983, Rome's Capannelle hippodrome provided a ground for the team right in the middle of the racecourse. Under the guidance of Jayarajah and Da Costa, who both alternated as captains, the club was renamed Capannelle Cricket Club. Under their coaching and encouragement, several homegrown players were developed, including Peter Bonapace, Alberto Bet and Andrea Amati.
In the magical season of 1988, the team won all four tournaments organized by the Italian Cricket Association - still the only team to do so in the history of Italian cricket when eight club members were selected to play for the national team.
In 1989 and 1992, Capannelle took part in the European Club Cricket Festival in Durham, England, finishing second and third in its particular section. Quoting "Cricket World" in September 1989: "The Durham Villages took Capannelle of Rome to their hearts... their excitable nature made a wonderful atmosphere at the grounds where they played at."
In the nineties, the club continued its policy of promoting home-grown players and started up a junior section, winning a host of trophies in all age groups.
Capannelle won the Serie A title in 2000, leading to a big change in the starting eleven, with some talented young players breaking into the team. In the new millennium, the team finished runners-up on several occasions and even lost the title on run rate to rivals Pianoro in 2007.
Roma Capannelle Recap!
Over the last four decades, the club has provided several talented players to the Italian national team including skippers Jayarajah and Da Costa, Peter Bonapace, Alberto Bet, Andrea Amati, Massimo Crisanti, Riccardo Maggio, Gayashan Munasinghe, Vincenzo Pennazza, Peter Petricola, Leandro Jayarajah and Carl Sandri to name but a few.
Changing the name of the club to Roma Capannelle Cricket Club with thriving Under 13, U15, U17 sections, 1st XI, 2nd XI and even an Over 40’s eleven, together with our women’s team. The women’s team won the Italian Serie A championship, twice in succession from 2009.
The first eleven is now captained by Leandro, son of the team founder, and boasts several Italian home-grown players like Michele Morettini, Giuseppe Piperno, Giorgio Scalco, Niccolò Barca and Emi Ghulam, Kevin Kekulawala. Together with players like Suresh Kekul, Ijaz Ahmed, Michael Bates, Peter Petricola and Carl Sandri, the club won their fifth scudetto in 2013.
Importantly, the club hosts Italian school kids for lively cricket training sessions, with over 5000 students having their first go at cricket in 2019 and also a very special under sevens “Little Cricket” course as well.
Contact
Email: info@rccc.it
Website: http://www.rccc.it/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/capannelleroma
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/romacapannellecc/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RomaCapannellec
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