St Benedict's Cricketers Tour Sri Lanka
Boys present local charity with a donation of over £8,000 they raised
St Benedict's cricket tour to Sri Lanka. Picture: St Benedict's School
A cricket squad from St Benedict’s School, Ealing, went on a tour to Sri Lanka over the Easter holidays, enjoying great cricket.
The squad of 18 players, drawn from the U13, U14 and U15 age groups, played seven fixtures against Sri Lankan school teams, including two T20 matches at Colombo’s P. Sara Oval test match ground. They were also lucky enough to train at the magnificent Galle International Stadium: fringed on two sides by the Indian Ocean, it is considered one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world.
The tour included several excursions, taking in an elephant sanctuary and a visit to the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy - one of the most important Buddhist sites in the world. The boys stayed in three different locations - Kandy, Hikkaduwa and Colombo.
A highlight of the tour was an afternoon at the Foundation of Goodness in Seenigama near Hikkaduwa - a charity founded by the MCC following the Tsunami of 2004, which transforms the lives of rural communities in Sri Lanka. St Benedict’s is a long-standing supporter of its work and the boys presented the charity with a cheque for £8,600, which they had raised themselves by running, cycling, and rowing the circumference of Sri Lanka on the school’s rowing machine.
The presentation was made to Kushil Gunasekara, the Founder and Chief Trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, who said: “Your donation towards empowering rural disadvantaged communities in Sri Lanka is critical during this difficult time and without your help we would not be able to continue our various projects.”
St Benedict's presents a donation to the Foundation of Goodness charity. Picture: St Benedict's School
After touring the Foundation, the boys did fielding drills and played mini-matches with a group of Sri Lankan children.
St Benedict’s Senior Master, Dicky Thomas, said, “This brilliant tour provided wonderful experiences, and featured five great wins and two incredibly close defeats in challenging and unfamiliar conditions. Congratulations to all the boys who took part!”
Deen, who is in Year 8 at St Benedict's, said, “The Sri Lanka Cricket trip was an incredible and memorable experience. The scenic beauty and culture were fascinating, as well as the kindness, care and hospitality shown by our hosts and guides. The highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the visit to the Foundation of Goodness which made me reflect on the privileges and opportunities I have. The joy and passion shown by the children at the Charity inspired me. Without a doubt this was a trip of a lifetime which has improved me as a person, cricketer and pupil."
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
April 21, 2022
