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| Tuesday, 04 January 2005 |
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Tsunami and after - our cricketers tales of woe by Saadi Thawfeeq The extent to which Sri Lankas cricketers suffered from the tsunami disaster was spelt out clearly by four of the players whose families and relatives were directly affected by it. The cricketers tales of woe was unfolded at the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) headquarters yesterday with former captain Sanath Jayasuriya holding centre stage along with three of his team mates Nuwan Zoysa, Upul Chandana and Dilhara Fernando. Jayasuriya related how his 64-year-old mother Breeda had gone to the Sunday Pola in the Matara town and had got caught by the tidal wave that hit the town. She had been swept almost towards a river before she managed to get a hold onto a branch of a tree and cry out for help screaming that she was the mother of Sanath Jayasuriya. She was one of the few who were lucky to survive although she was left with a grim reminder of her ordeal with a large part of her skin pealed off from her hip downwards by the polluted salt water. Jayasuriya said his parents house which was near the seaside was badly damaged but he was thankful that the rest of his family had survived. He said his mother was being treated at the Nawaloka hospital. Chandana had a sad tale to relate. The youth who saved his mother 69-year-old Mulin Umagiliya from drowning was killed soon afterwards when the roof onto which he had climbed collapsed. He had clambered on top to call for help on his mobile phone. Chandana said that his mother had suffered injuries but was out of danger. Zoysa said he lost his aunt (mothers elder sister) and four other relations in Galle while Dilhara suffered losses from his wifes side when three relatives travelling by train to Galle were killed. Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu also had some anxious moments when his father was held up at Kataragama when the disaster occurred. Atapattu Snr was later able to get in touch with his family and return to Colombo safely. Manager Brendon Kuruppu said the team first came to know about the calamity in Sri Lanka soon after the first one-day international at Auckland at around 6 p.m. (11 a.m SLT). "Initially we did not feel the gravity of it. But as the days passed by and the death toll began to rise the players became extremely worried and concerned," said Kuruppu. "The teams mental preparations was not towards cricket by what was happening back home. The players wanted to return home and be with their loved ones not clearly knowing what fate had befallen them," he said. Kuruppu said he was deeply grateful to New Zealand Cricket and its officials for coming to their help at the hour of need. SLC vice president Aravinda de Silva also thanked NZC for being considerate enough to understand Sri Lanka scutation and agree to postpone the tour after just one-day international. He said that SLC had a commitment towards NZC to fulfil the abandoned tour within the next 18 months. Atapattu who had visited Galle and Matara on his return from New Zealand said the disaster which had struck Sri Lanka was a big task for any cricketer to handle individually. He said that his players would join SLC in a unilateral effort to ensure they achieve their ultimate goal of building houses for the needy. De Silva said SLC's immediate task was to find shelter, clothing and food to the displaced and in this aspect they had opened up three camps at Dambulla, Matara and Galle where SLC officials are already busy attending to the needs. He said that SLC would publicly announce their disaster action program on Wednesday. With no firm international commitments till June when the West Indies are due for a full Test series, Atapattu said the energies of his team would be diverted to relief work. He said that it was a blessing in disguise that his team did not have any immediate international tours. Otherwise he said it would be difficult for the players to concentrate on the game while the rest of the country was suffering. Atapattu said it wont be a problem for any of his players to represent an Asian XI (if selected) against a World XI in a limited overs match arranged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) because it was being played to raise funds for the countries affected by tsunami. Sri Lanka is one of the worst hit of the seven countries affected by the giant tidal wave. Not all the national cricketers were present at yesterday's media conference. Some had travelled to Trincomalee on Monday night to get a first hand view of the situation there. |
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