Wickets and Wonder: How Cricket Unites Sri Lanka

 “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where there was only despair.” – Nelson Mandela

2022 was a tough year for us Sri Lankans as we grappled with the worst economic crisis our nation faced in decades -- power cuts stretched for 10 hours at times, fuel and cooking gas became scarce and basic necessities like milk powder became luxury items. As a result, people were forced to queue up for days on end to get fuel, cooking gas and other necessities. 

But, amidst all these struggles, there was one thing that brought us all together and provided respite to our people – cricket. 

Introduced by the British during their colonisation of Ceylon, cricket was once a game of the colonial elite. However, cricket slowly evolved in Sri Lanka from an elite sport to a game for the masses. 

At present, it has, in all honesty, become more than just a game to us. 

So, how did cricket act as a unifying force for Sri Lankans? How did the game put a smile back on our weary faces and ease the burdens of a nation struggling to put food on the table? 

Well, it was in 2022, during the period when the country was under the stranglehold of the political and economic crisis, that the Australian men’s cricket team arrived on our island in June of 2022 for a six-week tournament which involved a 03 game Twenty20 International (T20I) games, a 02 game One Day International (ODI) series and a 02 game Test series. 

Now, there were a lot of concerns about this, and not everyone was happy about how sports continued to be unscathed while a humanitarian crisis was unravelling. The concerns of course were very valid. While Sri Lankans spent nights in petrol queues, the Aussie team and their convoy travelled easily from hotel to stadium and back. And while the country sat in darkness, the floodlights in the stadium burned bright. The situation was such that even some of the Australian players had questioned the ethical implications of travelling to Sri Lanka and playing cricket when the people were struggling to meet their basic needs and carry on with day-to-day life. 

While this tour hit the nerves of some, the Australian team’s decision to go ahead with the tour and play against “our boys” (as we fondly refer to our men’s cricket team) struck a chord with our fans. The Aussies earned the admiration of our fans not just because of the economic boost the tour brought (about $AUD2.5 million) but also because it gave our people a reason to smile again and for the first time since the pandemic, people were allowed into stadiums at full capacity. 

And just like that, tickets were sold out within hours. This time, a different queue was seen outside the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Board as fans lined up for tickets. While cricket couldn’t solve all the problems our people were facing, for a few hours it gave us Sri Lankans something they desperately needed – a welcome distraction, a reason to forget and enjoy again. 

From the first match of the tour, the atmosphere in the stadium was nothing short of electrifying. There was a lot of anticipation and hope that our boys would win. But regardless of whether we won or lost, fans flocked to the stadiums, dancing to the infectious and irresistible rhythm of ‘papare’ music (a lively, upbeat genre of Sri Lankan music that is part and parcel of Sri Lanka Cricket). 

This reminds of the Sinhalese saying that goes, “newa gilunath ban choon”, which means that “the band keeps playing even if the ship sinks.” This perfectly captures Sri Lanka’s relationship with cricket and their love for cricket. Win or lose, rain or shine, our fans have a unique way of showing up and having the back of our boys. 

If you had walked into a stadium without knowing what was happening in the rest of the country, you’d never have guessed. The crowds were as lively as ever, as they desperately grabbed any opportunity for happiness that came their way while also showing the relentless spirit of our nation. Because after all, cricket is never just a game, but also a part of who we are. 

And then came that high we were all looking for. During the third T20I at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, the win we were all craving finally came our way. Having been present at this match, there’s nothing else to say other than it was absolute scenes. 

The stadium was abuzz with yells, screams and shrieks – pure, unfiltered passion. People (young and old) waved flags wildly as they shouted words of encouragement at our boys. The Mexican wave made ripples through the crowd in perfect sync, as the whole stadium moved as one. 

At one point, when it seemed like the Aussies would walk away with the win, the entire stadium fell into an eerie silence. Heads dropped into hands while some whispered desperate prayers. You could hear the occasional calls of encouragement in the form of “come on Sri Lanka” being shouted at the top of their lungs.

Then, when Sri Lanka needed 59 runs off 18 balls to win, Dasun Shanaka happened and made the impossible possible. He came to the field and smashed sixes and boundaries, one after the other. With every ball he sent flying over the ropes, the stadium erupted in pandemonium – every run, four and six greeted with loud roars. People jumped, screamed until their throats hurt, and hugged total strangers, all while having their hearts in their mouths. 

At that point, it didn’t matter who you were, where you came from, your religion or what your struggles were – we were all just Sri Lankans, cheering on our team and celebrating as one. 

The cricket team once again emerged as the nation’s saviours after this win. When all else seemed bleak, cricket gave our little island nation something to celebrate, as it always has. And for a little while, we all forgot about power cuts, fuel queues and political differences.  

And just when you thought cricket couldn’t get more magical, it did. This time, in an unexpected way. 

While Sri Lanka and Australia have always been bitter rivals on the pitch, the rivalry took a backseat as the Sri Lankan crowd pulled off a special surprise for the Aussies. Several fans turned up to the match, swapping their usual blue tees (the colour of Sri Lanka’s ODI uniform) for yellow (the shade of Australia’s uniform) – a gesture to say thank you for showing up and helping paint a positive light about Sri Lanka to the rest of the world despite the given political and economic backdrop. 

Then, as the Australian team took a lap around R. Premadasa, something even more magical happened. The Sri Lankan crowd erupted into chants of ‘Australia, Australia’ and ‘Thank you, Australia.” This was nothing but a display of extraordinary scenes, appreciation, admiration and unity, as the stadium who should’ve cheered against them, cheered for them. 

At that moment, cricket was bigger than a game. 

Throughout history too, cricket has united all Sri Lankans across religious, language, ethnic and cultural differences. Through war and hardship, cricket has been our escape, comfort and hope – a reminder that no matter what separates us, we all stand together as our boys step onto the pitch. 

Even during one of the darkest chapters of our country – the civil war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which lasted from 1983 to 2009, cricket stood as the one thing that brought our fragmented nation together. 

Taking a walk down memory lane, you could say that the 1990s were a paradox for Sri Lanka. On one hand, our cricket team began to make a name for themselves in the global cricketing arena. On the other hand, the civil war had reached its most critical stages. Then, in 1996, it all came to a culminating point, when we co-hosted the World Cup along with our neighbouring nations India and Pakistan. 

Just mere months before we co-hosted the World Cup, the LTTE bombed the commercial capital of Colombo. This attack prompted the Australian and West Indies teams to pull out of the matches in Sri Lanka due to security concerns. 

Despite all of this, our team managed to make it to the finals of the World Cup for the very first time under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga. Not only did we make it to the final, but our team, which was disregarded as underdogs, were able to beat the Aussies and clinch the title in a moment that would be etched in our history forever. 

As Kumar Sangakkara, a beloved cricketer in Sri Lanka and around the world, captured what this moment meant to our nation in his speech, Spirit of Cricket “The cheering of a nation that night was a sound no bomb or exploding shell could drown.” (Chills!)

For a country battered by war and divided, for once we were all Sri Lankans, standing united. Of course, cricket didn’t end the war. But for that one moment, it made us forget about the deaths, the soldiers being pawned in the war and the hopelessness we were feeling. 

The 2007 Cricket World Cup was another defining moment where cricket united us. During this time, the civil war was in its last phases, and as we made it to the semi-final and eventually the final of the World Cup, it was said that a ceasefire was declared between the LTTE and the government for the duration of the tournament. Even in LTTE-controlled areas where music, books and other forms of entertainment from the south were banned, no restrictions were extended banning cricket. In fact, some LTTE cadres had also watched the matches, showing how cricket can indeed unite people like nothing else can.

Talking about how cricket unites people beyond borders, it’s also important to note the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. While the Tsunami destroyed entire communities, including the Galle International Cricket Stadium, in the aftermath, cricket once again became a source of unity. The Australian player, Shane Warne or ‘Warnie’ as we fondly call him, visited Sri Lanka to see firsthand what he could do to help the locals. With him, he brought the world’s media attention, raising millions of dollars in aid for the affected and towards rebuilding the Galle stadium (where he became the first cricketer to take 500 test wickets).

His impact went beyond sport, winning our hearts and becoming one of our own. When he passed away, we mourned him deeply. His legacy lives on even today, with the most recent incident being the large banner with the words ‘Shane Warne Stand’ seen during Australia’s test match in Galle.

When talking about unity beyond boundaries, it’s also important to mention this one person – Tony Greig. He wasn’t just a commentator to us, he was an old friend and a die-hard supporter of Sri Lankan cricket. It all started during the 1996 World Cup when most saw us as the underdogs. But Greig's lines like “I just love the way these little Sri Lankans play” and “These Sri Lankans are giving the Aussies a real hiding” captured our hearts. While the world often overlooked us, he proudly became the loudest cheerleader of not just Sri Lankan cricket but also our country. When he fell ill in 2012, Sri Lankans even conducted a Buddhist blessing ceremony and messages poured in.

All this is to say that for us Sri Lankans, cricket is more than just a game. From gully cricket to stadium cricket, it has always been a way of life in both good and hard times. It has brought total strangers together, bridged divisions and reminded us time and time again, of the power of unity. It unites us – not just with each other, but those who stand by us, wherever they may be. 

“Cricket became an integral and all-important aspect of our national psyche. Our cricket embodied everything in our lives, our laughter and tears, our hospitality, our generosity, our music, our food and drink. It was normality and hope and inspiration in a war-ravaged island. In it was our culture and heritage, enriched by our myriad ethnicities and religions. In it we were untouched, at least for a while, by petty politics and division. It is indeed a pity that life is not cricket. If it were we would not have seen the festering wounds of an ignorant war.” – Kumar Sangakkara