Sri Lanka reject (Elvis) Presley churning out Desert Cubs

Qualified national level coach runs one of the best academies in the entire Gulf:

by Allaam Ousman

DUBAI: Sri Lanka seems to be consistently producing uncut diamonds who strike gold in the desert after their talents are ignored in their own country. Presley Polonnowita is another sparkling example of discarded sport stars who have carved a niche outside the shores of Sri Lanka.

A fast bowling allrounder who represented the Sri Lanka Under 18 team led by Marvan Atapattu on a tour of England in 1988, he must have dreamed of representing the senior team. It was not to be, only going as far playing for the Sri Lanka Board President's XI before embarking on his desert adventure in 1994.

The UAE has become the second home for Polonnowita since, where he is heading one of the leading cricket academies in the Gulf.

"We are the only academy and school in the entire Gulf region to have centre turf wickets at our premises," said Polonnowita, head coach of Desert Cubs Cricket Academy (DCCA).

UAE national coach and Pakistan World Cup winner Aaqib Javed hailed the DCCA as the best academy in the region after officially inaugurating it at their main centre in Sharjah English School.

"Desert Cubs took a lead from other academies in terms of facilities and in terms of professionalism. They have more trained coaches and better facilities," said Javed.

Veteran cricket administrator in the UAE Mazhar Khan also lauded this new development. "It is the only school which has turf wickets in UAE. Desert Cubs have been doing a wonderful job in developing youngsters. It is good for development of cricket and augurs well for UAE cricket," said Khan, Administrator of Emirates Cricket Board. An outstanding schoolboy cricketer from St Anne's College, Kurunegala, Polonnovita's career did not take off despite representing Sri Lanka Under 18 alongside Atapattu, who went on to captain Sri Lanka, and World Cup winner Kumar Dharmasena.

"That was one of my dreams and biggest milestone in my life to achieve as a 17-year-old," said Polonnowita who created a record of sorts by bagging five awards including the Best Outstation Schoolboy Cricketer at the Observer Schoolboy Cricketers Awards in 1988.

He went on to represent Sri Lanka Board President's XI but regrets not being able to play in at least one 50-over game for Sri Lanka.

"I believe we were born in the wrong era where we did not have many opportunities to play for the national team. At that time they did not have A or B teams. There was not much support financially for cricketers to survive without a job. Then I decided it was high time to look for something," reflected Polonnowita who captained BRC at 23 becoming the youngest to captain a division one side in Sri Lanka before continuing his career in the UAE.

"I got the opportunity to work for a UAE bank and play for Lanka Lions," said Polonnowita who led them to win UAE's premier Bukhathir League title in 2000 - a feat the Lankans achieved after 15 years.

He turned his attention to coaching Lanka Lions from 2004 and gained recognition from the Emirates Cricket Board who appointed him as UAE 'A' team coach for the series against Pakistan and England.

"I got the opportunity to do coaching exams under the guidance of Emirates Cricket Board. Now I'm a fully qualified national-level coach," said Polonnowita who was encouraged to start his own academy by the Lankan community in the UAE after he gained certification as a Level One coach following a course with Cricket Australia in 2007.

"Some of my friends said why don't you start an academy for Sri Lankans. Now there are more Indians than SriLankans," said Polonnowita who has employed former Internationals like Ajith Weerakkody, Jehan Jaymon and KG Priyantha among others as coaches of his academy.

"We started Desert Cubs with 10 boys and one girl at Sharjah Stadium on 16th October 2007. We moved to Sharjah English School in 2011. Under my guidance there are 30 cricket coaches and we have badminton and swimming as well," said Polonnowita now aged 44.

"My aim is to become the best when it comes to quality and competitiveness by providing proper facilities and opportunities to play this beautiful game. Until this time, only we had turf at the nets. It was a drawback when it comes to preparing my elite players to national level requirements. That was the main reason I put up this to give children a chance to play," said Polonnowita, who recently qualified as a Level Three coach after attending the Asian Cricket Council course in Bangladesh.

The DCCA now has a registered membership of 750 players and Polonnovita is already reaping the fruits of his passionate labour of love producing 11 UAE players so far, including under 19 captain Waruna Perera.