The Ontario Cricket Academy will be creating history as the first cricket club to tour Sri Lanka from North America. The Under 19 team will leave Toronto on March 2nd and will be playing matches against top opposition throughout Sri Lanka, until they depart on the 17th. The purpose of the tour is to help aspiring and talented young players to learn and mature as cricketers and individuals, by playing against top level competition in different conditions.

Matches have been scheduled against highly regarded colleges such as St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s, St. Thomas’, Royal and St. Benedicts, as well as matches against Sanath Jayasuriya’s Cricket Foundation and Asoka De Silva’s Cricket Academy. In addition, there will be the matches against district teams, Kurunegala District at the Dambulla Stadium, Kalutara District and Galle Schools at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. The highlight of the tour however, will be a match against the Sri Lanka U-19 Academy team at Dambulla.

While the competition will certainly be strong and the pitches and weather conditions testing, the Ontario Cricket Academy team has been preparing at their indoor location for the last few months. According to the Head Coach and Director of the academy, Derek Perera, “it will be challenging adapting to the extreme weather conditions in Sri Lanka, coming from our winter, however our team is very skilled and talented, so I expect them to adapt quickly and be very competitive”.

The touring team of 12, has 6 players who have represented Canada at the youth level. Captain Abhi Vaishnav, former Canada U15 player, is excited at the prospect of touring Sri Lanka, “we have been preparing at our indoor centre for the last few months- and we are thrilled to be playing against such good opposition”. While the Sri Lankan youth players will be in mid-season, Perera is confident of his team’s ability, “we have set some realistic goals, and we hope to come back with an even record. If we play to our potential, I am sure we can upset some of the stronger sides”.

For many of the team, whose backgrounds are Indian, Pakistani and Guyanese, it will be their first trip to the island. For four of the players, Jonathan Alexander, Rajiv Sivanesan, Vidura Ratnayake and Umashankar Gopalasundaram, the tour will be an excellent opportunity to make a positive impression in the country of their ancestry. According to Vidura Ratnayake, who was born in Sri Lanka, “I used to dream of playing for Sri Lanka as a young child, now I will be representing my academy and country, Canada, with pride”.

This will be the Ontario Cricket Academy’s third international tour, having toured Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 and 2010, finishing with and even win and loss record. For the team, it will be a learning experience both on and off the field according to Perera, “apart from the lessons our team will learn on the field, it will be a great experience for them to absorb the rich cultural history and traditions in Sri Lanka”.

The players, parents, officials, and supporters wish to thank sponsors who have supported the team, namely Roshan Navaratnam of United Car Rentals in Toronto, who sponsored the uniforms for the tour.

Team:
Abhi Vaishnav (Captain), Darren Ramsammy (Vice Captain), Azeem Ali, Hassam Ali, Jonathan Alexander, Rishi Kanjani, Rajiv Sivanesan, Vidura Ratnayake, Tarandeep Singh,
Jasjeet Kalsi, Umashankar Gopalasundaram, Waleed Ahmed

Sunil Khandor, Media Liaison OCA