Sumathipala meets LTTE officials

Board officials met with Tamil Tigers to discuss Cricket-Aid plans © Sri Lanka Cricket

Thilanga Sumathipala, chairman of Cricket-Aid, led a Sri Lanka Cricket delegation to meet with LTTE sports officials over the weekend and agreed to set-up and manage an emergency camp for 200 families in Mullaitivu, a severely hit part of the east coast, as part of their Cricket-Aid programme. The LTTE, the government's opponents in a two-decade civil war that halted in 2002, also agreed to provide a 50-acre site for the long-term development of a "Cricket Village" for 50 families.

Sumithapala, accompanied by Sri Lanka Cricket vice-president Aravinda de Silva and cricketers Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold, flew to Jaffna and then Kilinochchi, the LTTE's political and administrative capital, to discuss their Cricket-Aid plans. The original plan was for a relief camp in Dambulla, but the logistics of moving tsunami victims prompted a re-think and now emergency camps are to be set-up in Mullaitivu and Batticaloa.

The Sri Lankan board has also announced that its players are available for a three-match series between New Zealand and a FICA World XI to take place on the 22, 24 and 26 of January. FICA, the world players' association, has asked permission for Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas and Kumar Sangakkara to play in the fundraiser. Sri Lanka Cricket has been promised a guarantee fee of $230,000 towards its Cricket-Aid project.

With World Vision (Australia) promising a minimum guarantee fee of $500,000 for Cricket-Aid, assuming agreement on a full proposal, Sri Lanka Cricket is now well on the way to reaching its $2 million fundraising target. Further events being discussed include a one-day series between a FICA XI and Sri Lanka, plus possible charity matches at Sharjah.