Sangakkara & Jenkins on role of Cricket - a great leveller
 Kumar
Sangakkara's stirring speech at the MCC where with graphical eloquence
he argued that in spite of the trauma of the 30-year-old civil war,
Cricket not only survived but rose above the ashes to make us World
Champions. Thankfully with the war being ended by gutty leadership we
now enjoy the freedom to play the game in peace. One of the great
levellers during this traumatic period was Cricket where regardless of
ethnicity, race or religion the country came together. Sangakkara
recounts how the game of cricket and "rounders" in his backyard during
the race riots where oppressed Tamils were invited to seek refuge,
diffused any semblance of tension. The vibrant tradition of school
cricket pervaded the moods of many a household, and Sangakkaras was no
exception.
No surprise then that Christopher Martin-Jenkins, President, M.C.C
observed : of all the cricketing countries I have visited over my years
as a cricket correspondent, I have never seen a country so in love with
cricket as Sri Lanka. Nor is there anywhere in the world where youth and
school cricket is stronger. The reason for Sri Lanka's continued success
at international level is based on this great tradition of school
cricket.
And so with School cricket being at the very heart of our National
game, it was a pleasant occurrence that here in London, after the mental
and physical exhaustion and gruelling two months, covering the Sri Lanka
cricket team's tour to the UK, sometimes in sun shine, but most times in
bone chilling cold and rain, to make it to attend the 23rd Annual
Festival of Cricket organised by Sri Lankan Schools' Old Boys'
Associations in the UK on Sunday and unwind.
I was the guest of two former Peterites, Collin Fernando and Cassim
Jaleel and walking in to winchmore Hill Cricket Club, the first
cricketer I met was David Heyn who needs no introduction. Then there was
Sunil Fernando, Maxwell Anandappa, Victor Wickremasinghe and Joe
Selvaratnam.
Sunil and Maxwell played for St.Benedict's College in the mid 1960s.
Sunil is the younger brother of Ranjit. Sunil led the 1964 team that
beat St.Joseph's College after nearly 50 years. That year SBC emerged
inter-school cricket champions.
Great success
Wickremasighe and Selvaratnam played for St.Joseph's. Wickremasinghe
later turned out for Nomads and met with great success as a left-arm
leg-spinning all rounder. Selvaratnam opened batting for the school.
It was also a pleasant surprise to meet Elmo Rajasooriya. An Old
Thomian sportsman, Elmo has been a Past President of SLCOBA in the UK
and is a Life Member. He is a livewire and is dedicated to serve the
cause of cricket and the ideals for which the SLCOBA was formed. Elmo is
a dear friend of brothers Prakash and Kishin Butani. He has many stories
to relate. More about that later.
Then meeting and talking to Dr.Gamini Wickremasinghe, Chairman of
Bank Of Ceylon, I was able to gather that the BOC is sponsoring the
festival for the 5th year. He says it is a worthy cause and will
continue as sponsors. He is a former Ananda College rugby captain and
nephew of former Nalanda off-spinner Mahinda Athulathmudali.
Excerpts of messages
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka in his message:
'Acknowledged as the biggest annual gathering of the Sri Lankan
community in the UK, this cricket festival is a keenly contested event
with the promise of good sport, transcending barriers of ethnicity and
creed to build stronger brotherhood among the Sri Lankan community.
'I note with great appreciation, the commitment of the organizers of
this Festival of Cricket to make a substantial donation to the
Maharagama Cancer Hospital in Sri Lanka and for Cancer Research Work in
the UK from the proceed of the festival'.
Aruna Tiskumara, President, Festival of Cricket: 'Our main objective
is to raise funds through this festival to support cancer research in
the UK and the Cancer Hospital in Sri Lanka. Also, an equal distribution
of funds will go to all 26 participating OBAs to help the development of
schools in Sri Lanka'.
Boost to cricket
Hugh Robertson, MP, Minister for Sport and the Olympics: 'I am sure
that the day will not only fun but will give a boost to cricket. The
Government believes that sport has considerable power to engage, unite
and motivate people; It can break down barriers, promote social
inclusion, and improve health. Regular participation can reduce obesity,
improve fitness levels and especially in young people, improve
concentration, self-esteem and behaviour'.
Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe, Chairman - Bank of Ceylon: 'This is an
occasion to share the joy of sports. We can also draw analogy to the joy
of economic success of our mother nation in her forward march to
becoming a developed nation.
'In this drive, more than facing challenges, all Sri Lankans living
abroad will have more opportunities to share the success through active
participation in economic activities. This is an opportune time...yet
your participation will benefit twenty million people living back in Sri
Lanka'.
The death of 'News of the World'
It was sad to watch the demise of the best selling newspaper with a
readership of 7.5 million the 'News of the World' in the UK.
Having experienced the closure of the 'Times Group of Newspapers' for
which I worked in Sri Lanka, it would have brought sadness and tears to
the near 200 staff that slaved for the 168-year old newspaper.
The 'News of the World' was sensationally killed off by Rupert
Murdoch for phone hacking scandals. During its time the 'News of the
World' came out with startling scoops and its readership grew to 7.5
million.
The last copy rolled off the press on Sunday, July 8, and I was one
of the lucky ones to grab a copy that will certainly be a collector's
item.
The closure was announced with the headlines - HACKED TO DEATH and
THANK YOU AND GODBYE after 168 years, we finally say a sad but very
proud farewell to our 7.5 million readers.
It had many exclusives from news to sports and some of the sports
exclusives were on Boris Becker, David Beckham and the latest was
headlined - CAUGHT- on how the paper smashed a multi-million pound
cricket match-fixing ring which rigged the Lord's Test between England
and Pakistan.
The culprits were Captain Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed
Aamer for bowling no balls at a given time. The three cricketers are now
facing bans from the game.
'News of the World' was always news and millions of readers will miss
it every Sunday morning.
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