The club was founded on 26 December 1896 known as the Bambalapitya Recreation Club,[2] with membership restricted to the Burgher community. The first president was A. W. Raffel, the hon. secretary was O. H. Poppenback and the club captain was V. O. Wright.[3] The club won its first cricket match on 9 November 1901.
In 1902 the club moved from Bambalapitiya to Havelock Park. On 31 May 1915 the club changed its name to the Burgher Recreation Club.[3][4] In 1925 the club was adjudged cricket champions. In 1947 B. R. Heyn was appointed the captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team.[4] In the 1950s the club opened its membership to the wider community. The club won its first P. Saravanamuttu Trophy in the 1955–56 season.
The club competed at first-class level in the Premier Trophy from 1988–89 to 2012–13, but lost its first-class status when the number of teams in the competition was reduced from 20 to 14 after the 2012–13 season. It is eligible for promotion back to first-class status, depending on its results in non-first-class competitions.
Honours
1955–56 – P Saravanamuttu Trophy
Current squad
These players featured in matches for Burgher Recreation Club in 2019/20.[5]
Players with international caps are listed in bold