9th/12th Royal Lancers in Sri Lanka

By Nadia Fazlulhaq

What brings members of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales) of the British Army, based in Hanover, Germany to Sri Lanka? The answer is cricket.

Capt. Joe Paynter

The Royal Lancers, one of the best known regiments in the British Army was formed on September 11, 1960 following the amalgamation of the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers and 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s). Both regiments date back to 1715.Meeting the press to talk about their cricket tour at the Mount Lavinia Hotel were Yuraj Nanayakkara of Walkers Tours, Capt. Joe Paynter and Capt. Lee Barnett of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers and J.Edirappudy, owner of Club World.

“Today there are more than 400 soldiers in the Regiment, most of them on battleground especially in the Middle East. This cricket tour consists of twenty tourists. This indeed will be a very short period of rest after operations,” said Capt. Barnett.

J.Edirappudy, proprietor of Club World Sports and Holiday Travel Limited, a Surrey based sports tour operator in the UK said the tour would be an unforgettable experience for most of the players as this is the first visit to Sri Lanka for most of them.“Ceylon Tea and Sri Lanka Cricket have been the favourites of the British players” said .Edirappudy.

The tour party will play six matches, the final being a charity match in Seenigama, where funds raised by The Royal Lancers in UK will be distributed to more than thirty needy schools in the form of cricket equipment and the balance towards the Cricket School of Excellence.

“We’ve already shipped around fifty bats and hope to get most of the equipment from Sri Lanka to distribute to needy schools,” said Captain Joe Paynter, tour captain of 9th/12th Royal Lancers.

The Royal Lancers had their first outing against the British High Commission at the CCC on September 6. The second match will be played at Asgiriya today against Trinity Old Boys, the third vs tea planters at Radella or Darawella on September 12, the fourth with Sri Lanka Army at Police Park Grounds on the 15th, the fifth vs.Clubworld Select XI at SSC on 18th and the final charity match vs. Matara Sports Club on September 19. The matches are open to the public free of charge. Walkers Tours will be the official tour operator in Sri Lanka.