'Jumbo' tournament gets underway

On a sultry evening in Colombo the Under-19 World Cup was launched with typical Sri Lankan flair. The town may have been lashed by some unseasonably heavy rain, but that didn't put a damper on the event as 16 teams and numerous dignitaries descended on the Taj Samudra hotel.

This is the second time Sri Lanka has hosted the tournament, and along with the 2002 Champions Trophy, they know how to put on a decent show. Tonight that involved traditional dancing and the appearance of a very well behaved elephant.

The Under-19 World Cup has grown in stature since the 1998 tournament, and there were some heavyweight figures on the top table. Malcolm Speed had flown in this morning and was joined by the Sri Lankan Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Jeewan Kumaranatunga, the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, Jayantha Dharmadasa and Ian Frykberg, director of the Global Cricket Corporation.

First of all, the captains were paraded onto stage preceded by a group of drummers and lively dancers. Moises Henriques, the Australian captain, led the way accompanied by his flag bearer. A special round of applause was saved for the host country and their skipper, Angelo Mathews, and the two tables of USA players greeted their captain with hearty applause. The widest smiles were also worn by the players from some of the lesser known countries, with the Ugandans clearly soaking up the atmosphere.

Digital cameras were not in short supply, as players grabbed memories of the biggest moment in their life. There was one player, however, who will have been fairly used to the situation: Nepal's captain, Kanishka Chaugai, is appearing in his third Under-19 World Cup - an impressive feat.

As the captains lined up on stage, they lit up a world map behind them with each of their countries. Asia was aglow - five nations are involved in the World Cup - but the British Isles was also shining strongly, and the USA beaming brightly. The ICC want a global game and this tournament is certainly not lacking for diversity. It would be a success if not only a clutch of young players came onto the scene, but a couple of developing cricketing nations made steps to establish themselves.

The `big' attraction then made its appearance; a huge elephant - with rider - plodded into the marquee, carrying the trophy and presenting it to Speed. It was an impressive addition to the show, certainly not something you would see at Lord's or the MCG, but you just sat there hoping it was not an easily spooked animal. The master of ceremonies couldn't resist an obvious pun as the elephant plodded away, claiming this was going to be a "jumbo tournament."

Speed's opening speech followed and showed he still had a sense of humour, despite a number of testing situations he has had to deal with around the world of late. "The ICC are often blamed when things go wrong in international cricket," he said, "so it was no surprise that as I drove from the airport in the heavy rain I was told it was the first time in 12 years it had rained in February."

There certainly isn't much that can be done about the weather and it just has to be hoped that it doesn't affect the tournament to any great extent. Despite the untimely rain, however, thoughts are now firmly turning towards the real action with the build-up now complete. As Speed added, "may the best team win."