Tokyo Cement renews Foundation of Goodness partnership
View(s):Tokyo Cement Group pledged its support to the Foundation of Goodness for another year, to extend their multi-pronged activities aimed at rural cricket development. 2020 marks the fifth year of partnership between the two organisations, who have united to unearth talented young cricketers from rural Sri Lanka.
The company’s long-standing partnership with the Foundation of Goodness (FoG) established cricket training facilities, that included upgrading two school grounds in Hikkaduwa and Seenigama, to undergo formal cricket training. Hikkaduwa Sri Sumangala MCC Lord’s and Seenigama Sri Wimala Buddhi Surrey Oval, are the two cricket grounds that are managed and operated by FoG under the patronage of Tokyo Cement Group, where regular training sessions are held. Budding school cricketers in the area are welcomed to enroll themselves for regular cricket coaching camps conducted free of cost by renowned coaches at the two training centres, that have indoor and outdoor practice nets.
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- S. R. Gnanam, Managing Director of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC. with Kushil Gunasekera, Founder/Chief Trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, extending partnership for the cricket coaching camps
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- Young cricketers being trained at the Southern cricket coaching camp
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- Participants of the cricket coaching sessions held in the North and East
Founded on the vision of Kushil Gunasekera, Founder/Chief Trustee of the FoG, the Tokyo Cement Group’s partnership intends to make a positive impact on the lives of talented young cricketers from remote backgrounds who have very limited access to quality training facilities to pursue their dreams. Anura de Silva, Director of Sports at the FoG, heads the cricket academy together with a pool of coaches and qualified physical trainers. The special monthly training sessions are conducted by renowned cricket coach Hemantha Devapriya, a former Head Coach of Sri Lanka’s National Women’s cricket team, with his team of coaches. From time to time, the academy gets the service of famed local and international cricket stars, who gets involved in the programme on a voluntary basis.
Since the inception, the academy has so far trained over 1,100 promising young cricketers from nearly 20 regional schools in the area. The programme also conducts an elite coaching camp for star performers, where they get to hone their innate talents under specialised supervision. The Southern coaching camp has produced several top-notch national Under-19 players who now represent various Division I clubs in the country. In August 2017, the partnership extended to the North and East, conducting programmes in Jaffna, Killinochchi, Oddusuddan, Mankulam, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar, Batticaloa, Kalmunai and Ampara, to unearth young cricketing sensations.
Speaking on the impact the cricket academy makes on the lives of young school boys and girls, De Silva pointed out that, having access to top quality training facilities under the wing of world class coaching expertise is itself a great contribution to uplift the future of Sri Lankan cricket. He also said the success of the academy lies in allowing these novices to maintain and polish up their natural style in either bowling, batting or fielding, so that they grow in confidence, as much as in their skill while undergoing the coaching programme.
The number of cricketers who have risen from District and Provincial levels to various national-level teams speak volumes for the academy’s ability to unearth unique cricketing talent. Among them is Navod Paranavithana, who is the Sri Lanka U-19 World Cup opener and captain of the Mahinda College cricket team, Galle, who shattered the batting records by becoming the first schoolboy to score a quadruple century in a school match. Navod joined the Cricket Academy at U-13 level and is a recipient of a MCC Cricket scholarship offered through the Foundation of Goodness. Kavisha Dilhari is another 17-year-old cricketing prodigy hailing from the academy, who created the record as the youngest schoolgirl cricketer to score a triple century at school level and also became the youngest person to represent Sri Lanka as part of the National Women’s cricket team. Furthermore, four young cricketers from the Seenigama Women’s cricket squad were selected to play for Sri Lanka at the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2020 in Australia.