Canadian Schools cricket team in Sri Lanka for 13-day tour under ‘CIMA Cricket Across the Pond' programme

The 2015 CIMA Toronto Mayor’s Cricket team visited Sri Lanka on an official tour from June 29 to July 11. The Toronto Mayor’s Cricket team has been visiting the United Kingdom for the past five to six years and this is the first time they toured Sri Lanka.

The island nation was chosen because of the passion for cricket by its people. Furthermore there is an additional connection with the large Sri Lankan community in Toronto, with four cricketers in the team with Sri Lankan origins. All players underwent an intensive selection process from a total of 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 Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela J ayaw a rdena 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 legendary off- spinner Muralitharan, Russell Arnold and Farveez Maharoof at this reception. The following day, the team also met with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramesinghe at Temple Trees.

This highly anticipated tour began on July 1, with a match against St. Benedict’s College in Kotahena. The following day, the visitors met the players from the Foundation of Goodness. They played against Piliyandala Central College and St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa on July 3 and 4 respectively.

The team then travelled to Jaffna for two days, where they played matches against five 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 July 10.

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 Sri Lanka. Especially during their visit to Jaffna, the team was taken by the sportsmanship demonstrated by the local players.

Lakshan Geegana, vice captain of the visiting 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 and my team.”

The Cricket Across the Pond programme aims to promote cross-cultural interaction through cricket. It is a partnership project between CIMA Canada and Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division. Furthermore, the programme 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 and Partners, Qatar Airways and Tom’s Place.