SLC talent hunt in erstwhile LTTE regions

Colombo: Sri Lanka Cricket is all set to conduct a talent hunt in the erstwhile LTTE regions.

For two days in May in the northern capital of Jaffna, the SLC would run coaching camps and conduct a talent search for under-14 to under-19 age categories. There will also be programmes for coaches and the Schools `Masters In Charge` Program, a SLC release said. A similar programme will also be conducted in the eastern provincial district of Batticaloa. The people of the northern and eastern districts were a deprived lot for 30-long years during the separatist war. However, the annual cricket match between Jaffna`s two leading schools -- St John`s College and Central College -- continued during the conflict also. The north witnessed some action on the cricket field for the first time in decades when Murali Cup, a Twenty20 tournament for the under 19s, was staged last year. It involved teams from the region as well as the leading school teams from the south. Only a very few Tamils could make it to the Sri Lanka national team since the country was admitted as a full member of the International Cricket Council in 1981. Muttiah Muralitharan, a Tamil of Indian origin, and Russell Arnold are those who made it big at the international arena. PTI