Lawyers and law students could not have wished for the presence of a more exalted invitee to grace the launch of their Lawyers World Cup than in Arjuna Ranatunga at the P Sara Oval in Colombo where the south paw as a schoolboy sensation made Sri Lanka’s first 50 back in the inaugural Test in 1982 that was against Keith Fletcher’s England team.
Having being in the forefront of six-hitting that was a luxury at the time in the 1980s, Ranatunga showed what it’s like to play a straight bat on and off the field with nothing to hide as the president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka Kaushalya Navaratne sent down a ball at the inauguration ceremony.
The occasion also marked a telling message at a time when a host of lawyers in the country came forward and continue to support the country’s campaign for a corruption clean-up at the parent body of the sport Sri Lanka Cricket whose officials for reasons best known to them did not grace the occasion.
In an impromptu media interview Ranatunga declared cricket officials should be given enough rope to hang themselves.
“Let them continue and one thing is for sure, cricket is heading for more disaster”, said Ranatunga.
Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakse and Ranatunga were given a ringside view of the launch proceedings that was also graced by respected well-wishers from the legal and sports fraternity in the ceremony jointly conducted by Sri Lanka Lawyers Cricket and the Cricket Association of Advocates in India.
Teams with cricket playing lawyers from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, England and Wales and the Commonwealth Combine are contesting the qualifying matches ahead of the final on January 6 at the SSC ground in Colombo.
Sri Lanka Lawyers squad:
Ershan Ariaratnam (captain), Kasun Hettiarachchi (vice captain), Thusith Paliwatta, Yohan Jinasena, Asela Patabendi, Pavithra Bolapage, Randeepa Wijesuriya, Tharindu Peiris, Kulunu Rodrigo, Wishwa Wijesuriya, Thusitha Ranathunga, Shanmugampillai Jetharshan, Gihan Ratnayake, Mohamed Shamir, Sachithra Tennekoon, Tharmakulasingam Anjanan, Sisura Samarasinghe, Akila Jayasundara, Gayan Sirisoma
