Sri Lanka pockets ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award

Sri Lanka pockets ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award - Daily News


Chris Dhambarage
CRICKET: Sri Lanka received a tremendous boost just a couple of days ahead of their Twenty20 World Cup opener against Kenya when they were honoured with the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award at the fourth annual awards ceremony held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg yesterday.

The Spirit of Cricket Award was presented to the team which, in the opinion of the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires and Referees and the captains of the 10 Test teams, has best conducted itself on the field within the spirit of the game.

The award was presented to Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena by former South Africa batsman Jonty Rhodes at the ceremony. This is the first time that Sri Lanka has won this award.

Earlier England won this title in 2005 and 2006 while New Zealand bagged the honour at the inaugural ICC Awards in 2004. Sri Lanka was one of several teams that demonstrated the Spirit of Cricket to great effect over the past 12 months as they edged out Ireland and New Zealand to win this prestigious award.

After receiving the award on behalf of his team Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena said that it is important to remember the Spirit of Cricket associated in the game.

“We try to enjoy what we do, playing against other countries. That was shown in the World Cup with Ireland who really enjoyed themselves there and it was great to play against that team too.

“We are there to win a match but we are also entertainers as well. The most important thing we can do is enjoy the game. We are very lucky to do what we do and it is vital that we remember that”.

“We play a different brand of cricket and we all enjoy playing. There is so much pride to wear the cap for our country. Spirit of Cricket can be explained in many different ways.”

This Spirit is described in the preamble to the Laws of Cricket. “Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game.

Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself,” added Jayawardena.

In fact the preamble goes on to say: “The Spirit of the Game involves respect for your opponents, your own captain and team, the role of the umpires and the game’s traditional values.

The Spirit of Cricket Award was one of 11 individual and team honours handed out during the ICC Awards in association with FICA (the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations).