Cricket has once again brought joy to Seenigama as the Foundation of Goodness launches the Seenigama Village School (Sri Wimala Budde College) Under 13 team, who are now in training to participate in this year’s Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Competition. More than forty young cricket hopefuls in the village received training from Australian coach Rob McCabe, who volunteered to work with the under 13’s from the village for ten days in July. Many had never had the opportunity to hold a bat or throw a proper cricket ball before.

From this raw but talented pool, eighteen boys were selected based on skills, attitude and attendance to represent their school in the island’s biggest school cricket competition which will be held in October.

Seenigama Cricket Club founder, Shane Bayley said that Mr McCabe’s skills and experience working with children provided a great platform to get the squad started.

‘Rod best attribute is bringing the best out of each individual according to their individual abilities and goals,’ Mr Bayley said. ‘The kids had lot of fun and learned the basics of cricket at the same time. Indeed they loved every minute of the sessions.’ The U13 team was also delighted to receive further coaching from former Sri Lankan Test Cricketer Sidath Wettimuny, who spent two days providing specialized batting training last weekend.

For the cricket crazed village youth, the chance to learn more about the game from experienced coaches on a top quality oval was more than they could have hoped for just a few years ago, when the tsunami had all but wiped out the area. Now, thanks to the generous support of donors from around the world and supporters like

Mr McCabe, the Surrey County Cricket Club, Cricket NSW, the West Australian Cricket Association, Harry Solomons of Kingsgrove Sport and David Cruse of Knox Tavern, these young players have the opportunity to participate in and enjoy their beloved sport while improving their skills, giving them the chance to reach the levels that better off city students achieve.

The Foundation of Goodness places an emphasis on equality and opportunity for all, and hopes to provide any child in the village who demonstrates enthusiasm and dedication with the chance to join in training sessions at some stage. ‘It’s impossible to exaggerate how much these kids love getting out there with a ball and bat,’ Mr Bayley said. ‘We want them to show us what they’ve got – and the ones who have that combination of talent and commitment will be able to represent their school on a national level. It’s really a dream come true for them.’

Mr McCabe also donated two new cricket bats, a number of used bats, a tennis racquet and balls (used for skills training), wicket keeping gloves and batting gloves for the Seenigama kids and Seenigama Cricket Club. His school, Trinity Catholic College, has also donated cricket training balls. He has also hinted that he would like to return in October to provide further coaching for the team – something that would be warmly welcomed by both the Foundation and the players.

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