The Murali Cup in Sri Lanka - July 2011

The opportunities that cricket affords are immense. I have been fortunate to have played the game professionally, to have coached and to have been an administrator at Lord’s, the Home of Cricket. As Chairman of the ECB Association of Cricket Officials I now have the chance to work closely with umpires and scorers throughout England and Wales.

The Murali Cup is an exciting tournament, which begins this year and, I hope, will become an annual fixture in international schools’ calendars. The objects of the tournament, apart from providing matches against other schools from around the world in a country that is passionate about cricket and has developed into a major force on the world cricket stage, are for the players to meet top class Test cricketers, learn from their advice and coaching, see something of the Sri Lankan culture and benefit from taking part in one of the most inspiring charitable initiatives in the world.

Following the tsunami in 2004 MCC staged a match at Lord’s, in which the world’s leading cricketers played, and raised a considerable sum of money to help those who had been made homeless or had lost family or livelihood in the disaster. The majority of that funding went to the Foundation of Goodness. Kushil Gunasekera, the manager of Muttiah Muralidaran, was already working in the villages around Seenigama and MCC’s donation was put to use in many different ways to create an MCC Centre of Excellence and a cricket ground in Hikkaduwa. Seven years on it is wonderful to see the difference that the Foundation has made to the lives of so many people in the area.

The tournament has come about because, as a schoolmaster, I have always believed that school cricketers benefit enormously from playing in different conditions, in different countries and against opposing teams from overseas. Red Dot Tours have thrown themselves into the initiative and we are all indebted to their enthusiasm and expertise in making it all happen. The combination of a company with experience in the travel and the hotel industry, top international cricketers, enthusiastic schoolmasters and players and a charitable Foundation has led to the first Murali Cup being staged in the area around Seenigama and Hikkaduwa, with matches at the great Galle Stadium.

To be coached by and to listen to the top players in the game today is a privilege. During the week we shall be joined by Muttiah Muralidaran, the world’s leading wicket taker in Test cricket, who has done so much himself to help the Sri Lankan people through his cricket and through his own practical efforts after the tsunami. We shall also meet Mahela Jayawardene, a former captain of his country and still one of the most stylish and brilliant batsmen in the world. We shall also meet Kumar Sangakkara, another former Sri Lankan captain, who recently delivered an absolutely outstanding Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s. This annual lecture has been delivered by some of the great cricketers of the past, such as Ritchie Benaud, Clive Lloyd, Sunil Gavaskar and Barry Richards and, on one occasion, by Bishop Desmond Tutu. Kumar was the first current cricketer to speak and was the most passionate of all about his subject, which was the Spirit of Sri Lankan Cricket.

The players will have a wonderful time in this lovely country, with its friendly and welcoming people and they will be able to help the charitable work of the Foundation. They will return to their homes more experienced, wiser about the game of cricket and, it is to be hoped, keen to return to this island. I am delighted to be part of the organising committee and look forward to some competitive matches and the chance to make new friends through cricket.