After an enjoyable trip to Galle the tour party returned to Colombo to sample another part of the local cricket scene after they had been invited to visit Colts CC which is a leading first-class club by their Secretary Sanjaya Attanayake who is an enthusiastic supporter of junior cricket in Sri Lanka and has shown great interest in the development of cricket in Thailand following a recent visit by his Sri Lankan Masters team.
Richard Cowles provided the details:
'We had a nice afternoon today with the sun finally shining in Colombo at Colts CC. Sanjaya took us all out for a superb buffet lunch, followed by nets at Colts and coaching with their senior captain Muthumudalige Pushpakumara ("Pushi"). We then had a few beers in the clubhouse and talked about Thailand cricket and met Nishantha Ranatunga, brother of former national captain Arjuna, who is president of the club and secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket, who was inspecting alterations to the pavilion. Ranatunga said Thai juniors would be welcome at the Colts academy.’
Lanna Juniors and Lamphun coach Chris Dodd also reflected on a very enjoyable and successful trip:
'It has been a great trip, the boys have thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely go back more knowledgeable about what it’s like to be in a real cricketing country. The boys haven’t looked out of place here, their skill levels are good and their performances have been high. They’ll need to tweak some things when we get back but generally I’m very happy with it all.'
The boys only played in one match but they were immersed in a cricketing environment on every day of their trip that will benefit them greatly. Contacts have been made in Colombo, Moratuwa and Galle that should ensure the boys will return again to play more cricket and receive more high quality coaching.
The last full day of the trip will see the boys return to Moratuwa in the morning to have another net practice as they prepare for the Lanna Sixes and they will then be involved in a coaching session with the young Sri Lankans that are looked after by the Cricket Live Foundation. Together with Richard and Chris they will finally meet Alex Rees who runs Cricket Live and has been instrumental in arranging this wonderful adventure.
Funding for the boys’ tour to Sri Lanka has been provided by The Willows CC in New Zealand, Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes and Chiang Mai Lanna Cricket Club and the financial assistance is greatly appreciated.