Date-stamped : 25 Dec95 - 22:31
Monday 25, December 1995

Lankan deaf cricket team to Australia

ESCO REHAB SRI LANKA based in  Egodauyana,  the  pioneering  non-
governmental  national  body which introduced, promoted and popu-
larised sports for the disabled has chosen a 13-member team which
will  participate at the inaugural World Cup Deaf Cricket tourna-
ment to be held from December 26 to January 6 at Melbourne,  Aus-
tralia.

This is the first deaf leather ball cricket team in Sri Lanka and
it  was  selected out of 114 applicants from various parts of the
country who played softball cricket.

A pool comprising 17 Cricketers were given rigorous  training  by
the coach D.  J. N. Aponso of the Colombo Municipality.

The Sri Lanka`s deaf cricketers led by  Asela  Nalin  Jayatilleke
(captain)  left the country on December 22 to join their counter-
parts from England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand,  India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The matches will commence on Dec. 27.

According to Mr. M. Levett, A. M., president of the committee  of
sports for the deaf, Australia, sixty to seventy thousand specta-
tors are expected to be in attendance at  the Melbourne   cricket
grounds  during the tea break of the first-day of the second Test
between Australia and Sri Lanka played by "hearing`` teams.

ESCO REHAB SRI LANKA has represented the country in all the world
events  for  the blind, deaf, physically handicapped and the men-
tally (intellectually) handicapped.

Sri Lanka Thilaka Tissa Kurukulanatha (secretary general,  ESCO),
Mr.  T.   Anver Dole (team manager), Mr. Jayalath Aponso (coach);
and Mr. U. K. D.  Gooneratne (sign-language interpreter) will ac-
company the team.

The Sri Lanka Team: Asela Nalin Jayatilleke  (captain),  Hemajith
Vajira  Kumara  (vice-captain),  Thilak Thushara Sumanadasa, Upul
Piyaratne, Arun Kumar Perera, Sumith Tennekoone, Mohamed  Naizer,
Nelum  Ariruwan, Mohamed Jawfer, Roshan Nalinda Fernando, Ajantha
Sumith, Janaka Rohitha, Dhammika Udayakumara.

Source :: Lake House/Lanka Internet Services

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