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| Murali explains a point at the camp. |
The laidback city of Trincomalee, better known for its tourist destinations and sandy white beaches was buzzing with anticipation for the arrival of Spin Wizard Muttiah Muralitharan for a coaching camp at the Ehambram Stadium last Friday. The record holder for the most number of wickets in one-day internationals and tests arrived by a motorcade and was greeted by the brass band of St. Josephs College, Trincomalee in grand style.
The spin king was assisted by his first coach Sunil Fernando and former Sri Lankan cricketer Piyal Wijetunge in giving some much needed guidance on bowling to the new generation of cricketers from the east.Around 150 boys from all age groups from around 20 schools participated at this training camp. Sunil Fernando touched up on the finer points of fast bowling and leg spin with Murali acting as the interpreter for some of the boys whose first language was Tamil and who better than the greatest off spinner the world has seen, to teach these kids the art of off spin. The champion bowler showed much patience and went about his task with a smile on his face, joking around with the boys whenever possible. They touched up on basic bowling grips, body positions, run up and approach to the wicket and how to make the necessary corrections to bowl more effectively and efficiently. This would not only have been a great learning experience for the players but it would have been quite useful to the coaches who were watching the proceedings.
When speaking to the coaches of a few schools present at the event they said that they were very happy to see the end of the war and some semblance of normalcy returning to the East and they went on to say that the people of the east have great regard and love for sport and further opportunities like this would be welcome with arms wide open. A point that they all stressed on was the lack of proper training facilities and the lack of equipment and they hoped that the government and financial institutions like Ceylinco Life will provide the backing needed to address this plight.
Speaking to Sunil Fernando after the event, he stated that though one day camps like this one can help build interest in the sport, but it is not sufficient to help develop these players to be the finished product, a knowledgeable, technically sound cricketer. “For this we need camps of longer durations or we need to identify the more talented ones and give them the necessary backing which they deserve,”
emphasized Fernando. It was a fine initiative by Ceylinco Life to organize this sort of event to boost and promote cricket in the east. More events of this nature, if organized with the players in mind, could result in a bigger pool of resources to enhance Sri Lankan cricket and a more knowledgeable cricketing public essential to the development of the game. |
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