No. 139
The Trusty Servant
The Foundation of Goodness: Sri Lanka Cricket Tour 2025
Binath Philomin( CoRo, 23-) highlights a different aspect of the February tour:
Winchester prides itself on personal discovery and exploration beyond the classroom, but it’ s not every day that our pupils have the opportunity to experience a country so different from their own. Boasting a vibrant heritage and warmer climes, Sri Lanka is a destination assured a spot on any eager traveller’ s bucket list! For thirty-four of the College’ s most talented cricketers, the Sri Lanka Cricket Tour 2025 offered exactly that – the trip of a lifetime. Over the February Leave-out six dons and a squad comprising boys from JP through to VI Book enjoyed a successful visit to the island nation and left with much to celebrate and plenty of learnings for the season ahead.
Eight matches were scheduled for each of the Junior and Senior teams over 9 days, so the boys were put through their paces against high-quality local opposition at both school and district level. The boys took their time to adapt to conditions which demanded a great deal more from them, both physically and mentally, than they were perhaps used to. Against the backdrop of stunning grounds such as MCC Lords Ground, Hikkaduwa, and Galle International Stadium, the boys valued the time spent in the middle, as well as the technical work in nets, and the strong opposition spin-attacks which have set them up well for this summer’ s season.
In the short time between fixtures, we were able to rest and recuperate at wonderful hotels in Wattale and Bentota and even managed to explore some of Sri Lanka’ s great cultural treasures including the Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala, the Turtle Hatchery and Madu River Cruise. Beyond the intensity of the cricket, however the most poignant moments of the trip took place on our visit to the Foundation of Goodness( FOG) in Seenigama.
The afternoon at FOG proved an inspiring and truly humbling experience for us all. The charity itself strives to bridge Sri Lanka’ s urban-rural divide and empower the disadvantaged by providing and delivering free programmes to marginalised communities with an emphasis on values such as collaboration and‘ goodness’. Access to education, healthcare, sports development, and livelihood opportunities is offered to all and the charity is supported by prominent organisations such as the MCC and ICC, and celebrities such as Kumar Sangakkara( SL) and Mike Brearley( ENG).
Following a brief welcome and tour of the grounds, we heard from FOG’ s Director of Sport, Anura De Silva, about the shocking destruction of the west coast during the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 and the Foundation’ s commitment to support and rebuild the area. The boys were then given the opportunity to work with children and young people, to share their knowledge and to collaborate in the classroom. With characteristic verve, our senior boys leapt at the chance to get involved, eager to assist with ICT and support those with special educational needs.
I was struck by the patience, compassion and genuine curiosity shown by the boys as they effortlessly mingled, taught and laughed, all at the same time. We were equally inspired by the selfless commitment of the local teachers and in awe of the superb education they were providing to these communities. Several Junior Part and Middle Part boys joined a beginners’ English lesson in which local students were being introduced to Interrogative Pronouns.
Despite an initial, rather amusing expression of confusion on Wykehamist faces, it was a pleasure to watch the collaboration begin as each boy partnered with a local student to provide a conversation companion to implement their topic. The local students succeeded admirably. It stood out to me, above all else, that at that very moment I was fortunate to witness this merging of cultures: a blend which allowed ideas and experiences to be shared so freely and in which a life-long love of learning and community could be celebrated.
It was a truly remarkable opportunity and a privilege to observe. The tour was led with incredible energy by the eversteady James Burridge( E, 00-05; CoRo, 09-) and the boys were undoubtedly a credit to the cricket family and wider community of Winchester College.
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