Smashing sixes by the seaside with 100 appearances for Ventnor

Whoever has played against Ventnor CC since 2022 has probably shuddered at the thought of facing Sri Lankan opening batter Dineth – the club’s illustrious overseas player, who has an impressive Cricinfo page.

I was fortunate enough to chat with Dineth halfway through his fifth season at the club.

Advertisement

Dineth has made over 100 appearances for Ventnor, surpassed 5,000 runs, ranks highly in the all-time run scorers, and currently holds the record for the most centuries for the club on Play-Cricket.

Having already scored two tons and five half-centuries for Ventnor this season, as well as one hundred for IW against the MCC, it is easy to see why he professes, "I enjoy all my games all the time."

However, Dineth concedes that the early 2026 season was "quite hard", having broken the same index finger twice within the space of three weeks, the overseas player had to overcome a notoriously nasty injury that opening batters would rather avoid.

Advertisement

Reminiscing over his time, Dineth confessed the reason why he keeps on coming back to the Island is because he has a "wonderful" experience, and the people are "really friendly."

Though the overseas player has grown accustomed to "so many sledges" from the opposition teams he faces every year, Dineth finds that Ventnor CC’s team environment allows him to carry on performing to a high standard.

Dineth recalls his favourite innings for the club being his debut, stating that he will "never forget" the 151 he scored during his first innings for Ventnor, which also saw him breaking one of the clubhouse’s windows after smashing a ball for six runs.

Advertisement

He also remembered a century he scored on his birthday, despite batting with a swollen foot because of a footballing accident he attained earlier that week.

Evidently a loyal Ventnor cricketer, Dineth’s aims for the 2026 season centre on promotion in the Southern Premier League from Division One to the Premier League, stating, "I’ll try my best [to get the team promoted]."

Click here to read article