1.2.2008
Quintus de Zylva
Sri Lanka Cricket Foundation of Victoria
Pic by – Johann Jayasinha
Kevin Rudd – Australia’s new Prime Minister – was host to a gala reception at his residence – The Lodge in Canberra – on Tuesday 29th January and he followed this up with a grand luncheon at the Manuka Oval when the visiting Sri Lanka cricket team played the Prime Minister’s Eleven on Wednesday 30th.
This was the very first time when Sri Lanka were invited to play against the Prime Minister’s Eleven – a tradition started by Bob Hawke many years ago.
Kevin Rudd erased all memories of any hostility between the two cricketing nations when he spoke with affection about the long history of friendship between Australia and Ceylon. He went on to say that he even advised Murali on his bowling skills. He certainly was no cricket tragic! His welcome to the visiting team was spiced with anecdotes about his days of playing cricket in China when he was a diplomat. He quoted His Excellency Mr. K Balapatabendi who had enlightened the Aussie PM on the first match played in Colombo. Kevin Rudd went to the extent of inviting three of the famous “Invincibles” – Neil Harvey, Sam Loxton and Arthur Morris of the famous 1948 Aussie cricket team who are still with us. They spoke with great delight about the match against the Ceylon Eleven when they made a twenty four hour stop-over in Colombo on their way to England by ship. Such was the reminiscing of years gone by that will forever remain a memorable event in the history of cricket.
Kevin Rudd posed with the Sri Lankan cricket team before the match which Sri Lanka won well. Mahela Jayawardene’s slip catches, Ishara Amerasinghe’s swing bowling and Tillekeratne Dilshan’s aggressive batting have set the stage for an Interesting summer of One Day Internationals.
Kevin Rudd went on to wish Sri Lanka well and said that the Sri Lanka Cricket team had cricketers of every race and religion which showed that cricket itself was a strong unifying force in this day and age.
SNNI – Reporting from Canberra |
