United Nations recognises large hearted cricket coach
The desire to contribute to the common good, out of freewill and in spirit of solidarity, without expectation of material award”- this was the wording of the rationale for the United Nations Outstanding Volunteer Award 2011.
Palitha Gunasekara. Pic by Amila Gamage
This was held with the collaboration of International Year of Volunteers which celebrated their tenth year. The I.Y.V. was initiated by the United Nations Volunteers. It is a noted fact, that Sri Lanka lacks a solid platform which recognizes the enormous contributions made by volunteers to the economy and society at large. V Awards aims to fill this void.
The founder of the PALINK School of Cricket and Career Guidance, Palitha Gunasekara who is a pioneer coach for Sri Lanka women’s cricket was the only nominee who was chosen for the final 15 from the sports arena. This is also his 40th year as a cricket coach. To Gunasekara’s eternal credit, it must be said that he expands his own resources in Colombo by providing them with accommodation, provisions, a cook to prepare their food and even a matron to look after their welfare and cricket coaching all entirely at his own expense.
A product of Ananda College, Colombo, he started cricket as far back as 1958 from junior level and later moving on to play for Ceylon State Services Cricket Association. He had been the skipper of the cricket team of the Ministry of sports for eight consecutive years from 1972-1980, winning the A-division State Service Championship. From 1980-2004, he played for Sri Lanka State Trading (General) Corporation winning the A-division Nationalized Service Championship. In 1972, under the invitation of then minister of sports, Mr. K.B. Ratnayake, he was asked to start a separate department under the sports ministry for cricket. He had continued teaching cricket for boys, without remuneration until, he went to England where he was asked to coach a women’s cricket team, under whose guidance many popular and well known women cricket stars were born.
On his return to Sri Lanka, he was requested to start a women’s cricket team in Sri Lanka. He started SLWCA with Mrs. Gwen Herath when it was not even recognized by the ICCWC. In 2004 when it was finally recognized and was handed over to the Sri Lankan Cricket Board declaring “equal rights for men and female cricketers”.
His first student has been Sashikala Siriwardena who has been the vice captain in 2003, captain in 2005 and is currently the captain. Since then he has produced over a dozen well recognized players and more than three captains. His students hail from all corners of the island varying from Jaffna, Mulaitivu, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Matale, Kegalle, Avissawella, Anuradhapura and Matara. Some of his well known products include, Sumudu Fernando, who has been the best batsman for three consecutive years, Dulani Sanjeewani, Deepika Rasanjani, Thilaka Gunaratne, Wasanthi Ratnayake, Ruchika Kumaraswamy, Sanduni Abeywickrama, Shaleka Nilukshi as well as the first Muslim player, Serena Faizal.
“If both girls and boys are given equal opportunity and equal rewards, Sri Lankan Cricket standards will increase to that of the international top standards,” says Palitha. “Cricket is a sideways game unlike any other sport. Both bowling and batting is done sideways. This technique has to be developed from childhood to meet this demand. Parents should not be fooled by people who say they can produce a cricketer of your child within three-months, six months or one year. It is a task that takes many years. Sashikala has been training under me for more than 8 years. The child’s leadership qualities had to be groomed and nurtured. Understanding the child’s mentality and gaining their confidence requires time and patience.”
“The cultural backing of Sri Lankan women has made them naturally backwards. It’s mostly up to the coach to motivate and counsel. The child is not given the necessary psychological backing, even at the national level. We have to understand that five different children will be from five different backgrounds and will have five different skill levels.
He also provides cricket gear to children free of charge. Injuries and other medical problems are dealt with a particular group of doctors who help them. PALINK is administered by a trustee board of 7 and they accept only equipment donations. The girls are taken with utmost care and protection where 2 mother and 2 fathers along with Palitha’s wife accompanying them. “The future of women cricket has to be properly planned, specially its infrastructure system which is the main reason for its declining progress.”
Follow @timesonlinelk
Related Posts:
Centenary cricket match – Ceylon School for the Deaf and BlindA Blind cricket match in progress
MCC backs cricket at the Olympic GamesWhen cricket made its Olympic debut at the Paris Games of 1900 there were just two teams involved. A Great ...
D-day on FridayFive days from now, on July 27, the grandest of all shows dedicated for the schoolboy cricketers of Sri Lanka, ...
Ansar honoured at Wesley cricket celebrationAnsar Fuard introduces his team to the school principal.
Abu Fuard’s off-breaks made him a top spinnerFormer Sri Lanka cricket player and administrator, Abu Fuard passed away yesterday. Regarded as was one of Asia's best off-spinners, ...