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| Sunday, 5 December 2004 |
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Golden Oldies to 'sing' in 2006 by Srian Obeyesekere Not about winning or champions! Far flung from highly festered competitive cricket, the game's 'Golden Oldies' version - the 40-year olds, christened - the 'Golden Oldies World Cricket Festival' will sing in Sri Lanka in 2006 with an altogether different passion. For a change, fun, fellowship and fraternity will unite the cricketing world from April 23 to the 30, 2006. Doing the honours in a different role from his World Cup winning exploits will be epoch captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who as Deputy Minister of Tourism will be Festival Ambassador taking the country to a jet set age. For a twin cricket-tourist promotional campaign raking in a colossal Rs. 450 million foreign exchange revenue. A theme best illustrated in the words of Festival Director, Harry Solomons that 'Colombo will be like a linement factory where Sri Lanka will have to open up all its massage parlours' for some 850 participants and over 1,000 tourists gracing the occasion. An Air New Zealand concept, it will mark its 21st year with its 13th edition to be hosted by Sri Lanka on an invitation from Solomons to Ranatunga, regarded as the island nation's most illustrious captain. The 7-day event in the words of Ranatunga, who as the Deputy Minister of Tourism has his 'first love' cricket at heart, 'will have the fullest support of my ministry to make the festival a grand success.' Ranatunga, who is 'batting' for several cricket-tourist related promotional drives such as having a Sri Lankan cricketer as a promotional goodwill ambassador at world trade fairs, saw Solomon's proposal to host the Golden Oldies as an honour to the country. The 40-over tournament competed by some 50 teams from seven countries allows six bowlers to bowl eight overs each with a run-up of 10 metres and a batsman required to retire on reaching 35, but entitled to resume his innings after all team members have batted. The 'sunshine' of the extravaganza would be friendly cricket and jest culminating with overflowing beers, wine, entertainment and massages in the words of Festival Director, Solomons, a Sri Lankan born cricket addict domiciled in Australia where he has set up the Kingsgrove Sports Centre. Schooled at St. Aloysius, Galle, Solomons, who set his eyes on Sydney having represented his school and then Ceylon as well, saw it as an honour for Ranatunga to grace the occasion as the next Festival Ambassador after Australia's legendary Allan Border at the 2004 festival held at the Queensland Sunshine Coast. A seven-member festival committee headed by Solomons has former Secretary of the then Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, Kushil Gunasekera, who was a 'live wire' in the successful organisation of the 2001 Youth World Cup in Sri Lanka, advising in the staging of the 2006 event as consultant. Solomons, known to have presented the Waugh twins bats when they cut their teeth in the game as kids, saw the whole exercise as a 'gain for Sri Lanka from underprivileged rural cricketers who will benefit from some 50 cricket kits where 'we will take nothing back' to its commercial gains. "Sri Lanka will also be the better by Rs. 300 million from the festival. And if SriLankan Airlines gets involved with this venture it would net in a further Rs. 150 million. Further shopping and jewellery industries would also gain. The impetus from Golden Oldies would be enormous tourism-wise for Sri Lanka where we don't see Sri Lanka push in global tourism," elaborated Solomons stressing on the county's exotic natural resources and culture. Stephanie Coory, a co-organiser from New Zealand associated with Kingsgrove Sports, Sydney, explained that there was tremendous scope in the European market for Sri Lanka to exploit. Solomons and Coory are here to lay the groundwork due to the interest generated in this part of the sub-continent. Incidentally, the festival is making its maiden journey to Asia having been confined to Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Canada. Already, clubs from the UK have shown an interest in the event. Locally, as many as ten teams have shown an interest. The event was as an opening to more Golden Oldies of different types that would boost our tourism, according to the Chairman Tourist Board, Udaya Nanayakkara. Sri Lanka expected to increase its tourist growth rate beyond expectations from 2005 with an event planned for every year. There had been a 12 per cent increase in tourist growth this year with the highest growth recorded in October as against 2003. The dollar spending had increased from $ 63 dollars to $ 78 per day. The Golden Oldies Cricket Festival should not only generate tourism. It should also be an eye opener to our hotels and casinos which were open beyond closing hours and should adhere to times like in other countries like the U.K. and Bangalore which closed shop by 11.30 p.m. However, Thursday's confab at the Tourist Board Auditorium had a hiccup where the showing of an educative video of Golden Oldies came belatedly after the briefing and the refreshments, much to the dismay of the New Zealand Festival Organiser, Stephanie Coory who remarked to the Sunday Observer that 'not having shown it at the confab itself was indeed a stalemate.' |
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