Thanks to Collingbourne Cricket Club, a small village in Sri Lanka devastated by the Boxing Day Tsunami is now benefiting, after receiving a massive donation of more than £3000.

Three years ago the team made a visit to the village of Hambantota as part of their annual cricket tour, but following the Tsumani, the team discovered that the town had been hit by the tidal wave, killing many of its villagers, including local cricket players the team had formerly played against.

The team was then spurred into action to raise cash to help the people who had previously made them welcome.

Club Secretary, Karl Rogers said: “Of the 1000 children in the village, 250 were killed, not discounting hundreds of other villagers. Among those lost included seven from the local cricket team whom we had played against several years earlier.”

The visit took place between the 1st and 16th April and saw the 28-strong team enjoy a welcome never experienced before.

“As we got to out the outskirts of the village, the coach was stopped and greeted with the local band who marched us along a precession to where formal presentations were made. We gave them our cheque, which equates to 536,000 rupees, 3 bags of cricket equipment donated by Wiltshire Sports in Devizes and a plaque for a new clubhouse they hope to build. Gifts were promptly returned, with each of us receiving a 3 kilogram wooden elephant, which we somehow managed to bring safely home,” added Karl.

As with many of the countries affected by the Tsumani, tourism is crucial to the areas economy.  Sri Lanka also takes the lead in terms of its cricketing prowess and with the cash donated - the village will be able to build a brand new cricket ground and pavilion and gain back its test status within the next twelve months.

In addition to a varied itinerary, which included boat and elephant safaris, a visit to an elephant orphanage, and an arduous climb up to an ancient fortress, the team also took part in a series of cricket matches.

Despite not winning any of the six matches played, Karl said they had played well. “Some of the teams we played were highly experienced and although we didn’t win any of our matches we did come extremely close in two of them. We enjoyed our visit and very much look forward to returning having been invited back in a couple of years,” said Karl.

Scroll down to read a full match report written by Club Secretary, Karl Rogers:

Collingbourne Cricket Club enjoyed a wonderful tour to SRI LANKA, with our 28 man touring party we completed an interesting and varied itinerary, encompassing a total of six matches en route.  On the second day of the tour, the tourists were privileged to play at Colombo Cricket Club, where a local promising 19 year olds opening bat smashed a century in only 62 balls – setting the tone of the tour.

In the second match, the club was privileged to play at Kurungela, which is a ground being upgraded to test status., Here the tourists were very much more competitive, compiling a total of 180, which included a brilliant half century by Tom Edmonds – despite having the home side at 165 for 9, the tourists still lost by the narrowest margin of one wicket.

The tourists then moved to Kandy for their third game, when the Club was dismissed for only 111 by the local side who were able to reach their target with six wickets to spare.

The fourth game of the tour was a very special occasion indeed, with Collingbourne Cricket Club being the first overseas side ever to play a match out in the country at Hunumulla, a match watched by a crowd of more than 500 people.  The tourists managed to total 131, which included a fine half century from Geoffrey Rogers – the local village side managed to pass their target with seven wickets to spare.
Following this match there were formal presentations from a Buddhist Monk and local Government Official, with the event recorded by national TV.

In the fifth game on the coast, the home side set a target of 202, and in reply, the tourists could only muster 103 with only three players getting into double figures.

The final game back in Colombo was again a very exciting affair, with the tourists setting a target of 183, which was eventually reached by the home side in the penultimate over with only one wicket to spare.

All games were played in an excellent friendly spirit and Collingbourne was treated to some wonderful batting and bowling displays by very talented Sri Lankan youngsters.

Jayananda Warneera, a former Sri Lankan test player who is now Secretary of both Hambantota and Galle District Cricket Associations, hosted the visit to Hambantota.