Murali to bowl final delivery in bid to host 2018 C’wealth games:

Saturday - life changing day for Sri Lankans?

The most successful bowler ever in world cricket history Muttiah Muralitharan will send the final delivery in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota 2018 Bid for the Commonwealth Games. He is set to arrive in St. Kitts today to join the Sri Lanka contingent, which includes his former captain of the Sri Lanka team Aravinda de Silva.

The most successful bowler ever in world cricket history Muttiah Muralitharan will send the final delivery in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota 2018 Bid for the Commonwealth Games. He is set to arrive in St. Kitts today to join the Sri Lanka contingent, which includes his former captain of the Sri Lanka team Aravinda de Silva.

Muralitharan, the highest wicket taker in both the Tests and One Day Internationals, will make the final appearance in support of Sri Lanka’s bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambantota. “I still remember the glory of winning the Cricket World Cup in 1996. We in Sri Lanka will enjoy the same glory by being the host city of the Commonwealth Games in 2018”, he was quoted as saying.

Co-Chairman of Hambantota 2018 Bid Committee, Ajith Nivard Cabraal believes that legendary Muralitharan could add more weight to Sri Lanka’s chances as the race to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games reaches its final lap. “Murali is a sporting legend. Cricket’s highest wicket-taker in both forms of the international game; the first player to take 1,000 wickets combined. We hope he can help deliver another first - a Sri Lankan Commonwealth Games that itself will deliver so much for our unified nation”, he said.

Today could well be “a life changing” day for millions of Sri Lanka as Hambantota 2018’s bid to host the Commonwealth Games in seven years time would face a popularity poll against Australia’s Gold Coast at the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly to be held in St. Kitts and Nevis on Friday.*

*The right to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games would be decided by a vote among 71 member countries of the Commonwealth Games Federation between Hambantota and Gold Coast. Hambantota, contesting under No.9 will make the first presentation at the CGF General Assembly, followed by a similar presentation by Gold Coast, contesting under No. 4. Each presentation would be of 30 minutes durations.

It would be then that the 71 representatives of the CGF with voting rights would go for an electronic voting to decide the host city of the 2018 Commonwealth Games at 6 pm local time in St.Kitts - 3.30 a.m. Sri Lanka time on Saturday.

The co-chairmen of the Hambantota 2018 Bid Committee - Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to Ajith Nivard Cabraal looked confident men on the eve of the decisive vote.

“We have a strong feeling that Hambantota would be voted to host the Games in 2018. Members of only 38 countries visited Sri Lanka to inspect Hambantota’s preparations for the bid. But we have spoken to the representatives of the remaining 32 countries and most of them are quite impressed about our bid,” he said.

Minister Aluthgamage said that most nations in the Commonwealth Games Federation have pointed out the need to stage the Games at a “new country”.

“Sri Lanka has a good chance of making it. If we win, as the President had stated, it would be a life changing event for millions of Sri Lankans.

Under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, we could well host the most successful Games ever in Commonwealth history, provided we get the mandate on Friday,” the Minister said.

CBSL Governor, who has made a tremendous effort to keep Sri Lanka’s chances alive, said that Hambantota has put forward “the winning bid”. “Our team has worked really hard to make our country proud. I think the bid put forward by Hambantota 2018 has impressed majority of CGF delegates. We are going to make it,” a confident co-chairman of the local bid committee said yesterday.

Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, who earlier played a key role in constructing a brand new stadium in Hambantota to host the 2011 ICC World Cup matches there, is spearheading another campaign that would turn Sri Lanka to one of the most sought-after sporting destination in the world.

His presence here has been an inspiration to the Sri Lanka contingent and former Sri Lanka Youth rugby captain is making use of his good office to put more weight on Hambantota 2018’s bid.

For the third day running, former Sri Lanka cricket captain Aravinda de Silva, 1998 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sriyani Kulawansasa, popular actress and former Miss Sri Lanka Anarkalie Aakarsha and 2010 Miss Sri Lanka for Miss Universe Stefanie Siriwardena spent long hours at Hambantota 2018 Hospitality suite situated at the Marriott Hotel here. They were seen making a big effort in explaining about the new sports city in Hambantota to the CGF delegates who visited the Lankan cabin.