Cricket comes to tsunami-hit Seenigama

Fifteen months after the Southern coastal village of Seenigama was hit by the tsunami which took away 125 lives, a cricket ground has been opened there to help empower disadvantaged and displaced rural youth.

The grand opening of the Seenigama Oval, the latest project undertaken by Foundation of Goodness, a Sri Lankan NGO, was highlighted by a twenty-over match between the Seenigama Village XI and the Sri Lanka Cricketers' Association. Both sides fielded former and current Sri Lankan cricketers, including Hashan Tillakaratne and Muttiah Muralitharan.

The match turned out to be a high-scoring affair with a record 483 runs being scored off just 37.1 overs. The Cricket Association XI scored 241 for 5 with Chandika Hathurusingha, the former opener, contributing 81 off 42 balls and Nishantha Ranatunga 42 off 15 balls.

In reply, Tillakaratne, a former Sri Lankan captain, made the most of the run scoring opportunities to hit an unbeaten 139 from 58 balls in a six-wicket victory, while Muralitharan contributed a breezy 40 off just 10 balls.

A proud moment for the village team was the performance of local boy Isuru Sampath, who took 3 for 20 in three overs with his left-arm pace and bagged the Best Bowler award. His victims were Hathurusingha, Ruwan Kalpage and Champaka Ramanayake. Another local lad Kasun Sarathchandra was the Best Fielder, Tillakaratne was awarded the man-of-the-match and Hathurusingha, the Best Batsman.

Paul Sheldon, CEO of English county side Surrey, the major sponsor of this project, said that it was a dream come true for both his club and the people of Seenigama. "I am humbled by all this. I am honoured to have played a small part in helping the communities recover from the tsunami by creating these new grounds. It is the first project of its kind anywhere in the world. It has brought ties between Sri Lanka and England closer."

Surrey were responsible for building the entire ground, including the club house, indoor nets, gym and sports office at a cost of ₤100,000. Sheldon added that a Surrey Cricket Village, complete with 50 houses and a cricket ground, would be opened in Kalutara in association with the Sri Lankan board.