SM Jiffrey Abdeen: Kandy all set for Murali (4 Sep 1998)

4 September 1998

Kandy all set for 'Murali'

By S M Jiffrey Abdeen

Sri Lanka's ace spinner Muthiah Muralitharan will be given a hero's welcome after his triumphant tour of England when he arrives in the hill capital today (Friday - September 4) at 1 p.m.

Muralitharan who hails from Kandy will be received near the Peradeniya Gardens by the Chief Guest Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Kandy District M.P. Lakshaman Kiriella, PA's Chief Organiser for Senkadagala electorate and Chairman of Kandy Regional Cricket Board Tillina Tennakoon, Janaka Pathirana (Secretary), C. P. P. Raj (Chairman) and Harold Ranasinghe.

From Peradeniya Muralitharan will travel in a motorcade along Peradeniya Road with a brief stop at Kingswood College where he will be greeted by the school children. All along the road school children will stand waving flags.

Next stop will be near the Kandy Police Station where he will be received and garlanded by the DIG Central Range Sirisena Herath, SSP Nimal Mediwake, SP S. Wickremasinghe and HQI Saliya Silva.

Muralitharan will be next received near the Ismail Clock Tower by the Mayor of Kandy Harinda Dunuwille and the Members of the Kandy Municipal Council, and the public. The motorcade will then proceed along Yatinuwara Veediya and D. S. Senanayake Veediya with brief stoppages at St. Sylvester's College, Trinity College and Vidyartha College.

The final stoppage will be near St. Anthony's Girls College, Kandy where he will be received by the students and old boys of St. Anthony's College headed by the President OBA Basil Harley, Secretary M. Sheriff, Principal Rev. Fr. Hilarian Fernando and Committee members Dickie Dunuwille, Feroze Khan, Lionel Peiris, Ranjith Peiris and several others and proceed in procession to St. Anthony's College.

At St. Anthony's College Hall there will be a reception and later there will be a tea party hosted by the Principal St. Anthony's College at the College Auditorium in honour of this world class spinner produced by this school.

The hill capital will go gay today and a large number of banners have come up all over the town and the residents are waiting impatiently to welcome this cricketing hero in his home town after his stupendous bowling feats in England. Muralitharan is a product of St. Anthony's College where he played cricket at all levels.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)