Canadian school cricket team tour of Sri Lanka, a success…..

Canadian school cricket team in Sri Lanka for a 13-day tour under the CIMA Cricket Across the Pond (CAP) Programme. The 2015 CIMA Toronto Mayor’s Cricket team visited Sri Lanka on an official tour from 29 June till 11 July.

The Toronto Mayor’s Cricket team has been visiting the UK for the past 5 to 6 years. This is the first time they toured Sri Lanka and the island was chosen because of its passion for cricket. There is also the additional connection with the large Sri Lankan community in Toronto, with 4 cricketers in the team having Sri Lankan origins.

All players underwent an intensive selection process and there were 100 applicants who wanted to be considered for this team. In addition to their cricketing abilities, the applicants were also interviewed on leadership skills, community work they have carried out as the selectors wanted students who were all-rounders to represent the team.

The 2015 CIMA Toronto Mayor’s Cricket team played several matched with schools in Colombo, Jaffna and Kandy in addition to a match with the Foundation of Goodness, a charity supported by cricketing legends MutthiahMuralitharan, MahelaJayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara.Upon their arrival in the island, the team attended a welcome reception hosted by Shelley Whiting the Canadian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka. The visitors had an opportunity to meet MutthiahMuralitharan, Russell Arnold and Farveez Maharoof at this reception. The following day, the team also met with Prime Minister Ranil Wickramesinghe at Temple Trees.

This highly anticipated tour began on 1 July with a match against Benedict’s College, Kotahena. The following day, the visitors met the players from the Foundation of Goodness.

They played against Piliyanda Central College and St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa on 3 and 4 July respectively. The team then travelled to Jaffna for 2 days, where they will play matches against 5 schools in the North – St. Patrick’s College, St. John’s College, Jaffna Hindu College, Jaffna Central and Jaffna College. The tour ended in Kandy, with a match against Kingswood College on 10 July.

The touring team was very impressed with the way in which local players respect their coaches and according to them, this stood out amongst all they observed during their visit to the island. Especially during their visit to Jaffna, the team was taken by the sportsmanship demonstrated by the local players.

Lakshan Geegana, Vice Captain of the team said, ‘I had the chance to observe and respect the manner in which Sri Lankans play their game and learn from them. They showed respect to their teammates, coaches, umpires and their opponents which also showed off the field when we had lunch with them. These interactions and conversations with our Sri Lankan counterparts meant a lot to me.’

The CAP program aims to promote cross-cultural interaction through cricket. CAP is a partnership project between CIMA Canada and Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation Division. Furthermore, the program also has the recognition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with the ICC Development award for promotion and marketing.This year’s tour was sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada, Kanish& Partners, Qatar Airways and Tom’s Place.