Murali Harmony Cup Unity Team Tour of UK

Following the 2013 Murali Harmony Cup which concluded with the St. Peters team taking home the cup for the second year running, the most outstanding players from each of the participating boys teams were handpicked to form the Murali Harmony Cup Unity Squad that represented 14 different schools from all across the island. Some of the boys from these teams had the opportunity to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron late last year and following up on that premise, they are now set to tour England in what is surely the opportunity of a life time.

The Murali Harmony Cup is a reconciliation and community-building Twenty20 cricket tournament played annually featuring U19 school boys and U23 women cricketers designed to promote unity, goodwill, teamwork, the spirit of fair play and more importantly a service to disadvantaged rural communities.  Started in 2012, this year’s third edition will be played in October-November 2014.

The Unity Squad consists of 5 boys from the North, 2 from the East and 7 from the North Central, Central, Southern and Western regions of Sri Lanka. Captained by Murali Harmony Cup winning St. Peters skipper Janith Liyanage and supported by Paramanatham Thuvarakaseelan from St. John’s College Jaffna as the vice-captain, the Unity team is made up of:

Janith Liyanage (St Peter's College, Colombo) – Captain
Paramanatham Thuvarakaseelan (St. John’s College, Jaffna) – Vice Captain
Ravin Sayer (Trinity College, Kandy)
Manokaran Dikshan (Central College, Batticaloa)
Nowfar Aslam (Kinniya Central College, Trincomalee District)
Jeyekumar Thannushan (Hindu College, Kilinochchi)
Arokkiyanathan Vinoshan (Vidiyananda College, Mullaitivu)
Puvirasasingham Haribavan (Siththivinayar College, Mannar)
Kanagaratnam Thanushan (Tamil MMV, Vavuniya)
Kaveesh Dilranga (Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda)
Roshen Fernando (St Sebastian's College, Katuneriya)
Kasun Weeranga (Anuradhapura Central College)
Sudesh Indunil (Nissanka MV, Monaragala)
Dilshan Kanchana (Devapathiraja College, Rathgama)

They are accompanied by Team Manager and head of FoG’s Sports Academy Mr. Anura De Silva and Assistant Manager Chaminda De Silva. The Unity Tour, designed to showcase Sri Lanka’s cultural diversity while promoting nation-building and reconciliation, will depart for the UK on 9 June and play three matches against top English schools. The 50-over limited overs matches will be played against Emanuel School (11 June), Eton College (12 June) and Oundle College (15 June). The Unity Tour is supported by Sir Ian Botham through the ‘Beefy Foundation’ and organized by Sarah Botham of Solo Events.

The British High Commissioner H.E. Mr. John Rankin hosted a farewell tea for the Unity Team on Friday 6 June prior to their departure to the UK.  He said “sport is a universally unifying factor, bringing together young people who share the same dreams, aspirations and hope. As they head off to the UK, the Unity Team will discover that they have much in common with their British counterparts. Youth to youth contacts like this are the future of UK-Sri Lanka relations. I wish the team all the very best on their tour.”

We wish to thank our kind sponsors Sri Lankan Airlines, the Beefy Foundation, MAS, Tesco and Hameedia’s who have helped to make this event a reality, as well as the British High Commissioner H.E. John Rankin along with Nadeesha and all at the British High Commission for all their assistance and for hosting the team at a farewell tea.

For all the latest news and information on the Murali Harmony Cup and the Unity Tour, please visit - www.themuralicup.com.

Email: info@themuralicup.com

10th June 2014