He was speaking at the Felicitation ceremony accorded to the athletes from the Central Province who participated and excelled at the 12th Asian Athletic Championship held in Japan recently. The athletes who were felicitated at this function were record breaker Sugath Tillakaratne, P.K. Aluwihare, Pradeepa Herath and L.C. Ekanayake. The ceremony was held at Dharmaraja College Auditorium, on Monday, August 31.
General Anuruddha Ratwatte said that Muthiah Muralitharan is an old boy of St. Anthony's College, Kandy and he hails from the village of Nattarampotha in Kundasale. His spin bowling has bemused the Englishmen who taught us this game of cricket and now we are in a position to play this game better than them. Muralitharan has captured seven wickets in the first innings and nine in the second innings to rock the England team and bowl Sri Lanka to a historic win on the final day.
General Anuruddha Ratwatte paid a tribute to the four athletes who brought honour not only to the Central Province but also to the country with their excellent performances. They should not stop here but strive hard to win a medal at the Olympic Games which should be their goal.
Former Speaker and Governor of the Central Province Mr. Stanley Tillakaratne said despite the war and other problems, life goes on in Sri Lanka and the visitors are astounded that amidst these problems our cricketers had performed incredibly at cricket which culminated with the winning of the World Cup. Our cricketers who are performing mighty deeds in England will give the Englishmen a lesson or two in cricket. They will prove that what the England captain Alex Stewart said was wrong and Sri Lankan cricketers' bats will do the talking.