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| Sunday, 5 February 2006 |
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ICC has confidence in Sri Lanka - Speed by Ranjan Anandappa By hosting three ICC events in the last six years shows the confidence the ICC has in Sri Lanka as a country to host events of this scale said the Chief Executive Officer of the ICC at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Under 19 World Cup at the Hotel Taj Samudra North Lawn yesterday. "The ability of this tournament to flourish in the way it has with the support of the ICC members and Sri Lanka is a shining example. When the first ball is bowled tomorrow morning Sri Lanka will be the first member to stage the tournament twice and that shows two things, it shows your commitment as the country to a great global game, so that the rest of the world owes you a huge state of thanks," said Malcom Speed. He further said that it also shows the confidence the ICC has in you as a country to hosts events of this scale. That confidence can be seen by the fact that this is the third ICC event held in Sri Lanka in the past six years following from the Under 19 World Cup held in year 2000, and the Champions Trophy in 2002, and the present under 19 World Cup held here in 2006. No other ICC member can match that achievement. "From humble beginnings in 1988 when the first Under 19 World Cup took place in rural Australia with just eight teams and then after ten years the event was not been played and revived in South Africa in 1998, this tournament has come a long way as we can see from the hundreds of people at the opening ceremony this evening," he said. "Ladies and gentlemen a tournament like this can't happen without an enormous amount of hard work and support and it is wrong of me if I don't take this opportunity to say a few thank you's to Mr. Jayantha Dharmadasa and his dedicated team in Sri Lanka Cricket and specially the Tournament Director Bandula Warnapura for all hard work put into make this tournament a success," he said. He also thanked the sponsors Global Cricket Corporation, LG Electronics, Pepsi, Hutch, Hero Honda, official broadcasters Sony Entertainment Television for their dedication for this wonderful game. The Minister of Youth Affairs Jeevan Kumaratunga and the Secretary Sri Lanka Cricket Adel Hashim also spoke. |
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