Our Cricket tour to Sri Lanka had taken over a year to plan and a group of 34 players, wives and friends were due to fly out to Colombo early in January 2005. Our itinerary centred around the Moratuwa and S.S.C. Test grounds in Colombo where we were scheduled to play three games.
Matches were arraged at the Asgirya Stadium and Dambulla in the Kandy Hills; a special match was to be playe at Galle – much loved by Hampshire’s ‘senior’ Barmy Army.
Then on Boxing Day my wife called up the stairs that there had been anearthquake in Sri Lanka. Sadly, it was more than an earthquake and details soon emerged of a huge tsunami wave in which thousands of people perished in Sri Lanka and over 1 million were made homeless. Throughout the next few days our small committee fielded numerous calls from members of the group asking whether or not the tour was on. Advice was sought from the British High Commision in Colombo and the Sri Lankan Cricket Board. Onl Galle on our programme was seriously affected and the Sri lankan Tourist Board joined the Cricket Board in advising us to continue the tour. However, we learned that the Sri Lankan tour of New Zealand had been postponed; that Sri Lanka was in a period of national mourning and saw that the TV pictures of the situation on the
were quite devastating.
On 3 January 2005 we called the entire group together at the Rose Bowl to discuss the issues. It soon emerged that a large majority of the group were strongly in favour of postponing the tour for several months. An so it came to pass that on St Patrick’s Day, March 17 2005, the Hampshire Seniors Cricket Tour to Sri Lanka eventually took off from Heathrow.
During the 10-week delay we decided to set up our own Relief Appeal for funds and cricket equipment to be taken with us and donated to Cricket-Aid projects in the Galle area. Supported by Cricket Telecom – one of Hampshire CCC’s main sponsors at the Rose Bowl – Holt and Haskell, the Southampton based cricket equipment specialist, Lords International of Caerphilly and many other local businesses and clubs over £6,5000 of cash and equipment was generously donated to the fund; a very impressive 1.1 million Sri Lankan Rupees. |
