This excellent initiative backed by the Mannar Urban Council and Jeremy Liyanage of Australia is set to take off — again. It has already attracted a few sponsors –see ADDENDUM at the end … and I am sure this posting will expand. Michael Roberts.
Introduction: For the first time in Mannar’s history the Mannar Premier League, a hard ball cricket tournament, was held in July 2011 and featured the eight best cricket teams in Mannar. Organized by Mannar’s own Periyakadai Star Eagle Sports Club, the event attracted key sponsors, Singer Plus, Kandy Tailors, Periyakadai Fishermen Co-operative Society and Diaspora Lanka as well as leading Tamil radio station, Sooriyan FM.Purpose: Mannar has emerged from thirty years of civil conflict. Although Mannar’s youngsters excel in various sports, there have been few opportunities for them to shine. Mannar has clearly demonstrated its football excellence with many school teams winning national championships. Now it is time for Mannar’s many promising young cricketers to develop their level of skills to national standards. The Mannar Premier League gives aspiring local cricketers a chance to compete with the best. This is an important time to encourage youngsters in sport, especially in the Northern Province, as this will help them recover more quickly from the adverse effects of the war and embrace peace in Sri Lanka.
Results of the 2011 tournament: July 2011 was the first time when cricket rose to district prominence with significant numbers, approximately 1,500, squeezing into the local Stadium to watch the Mannar Premier League’s (MLP) semi-final and final matches. Many observers talked proudly about the tournament and were surprised by the high quality of the cricket teams.
The MLP match scores and tournament advertising were podcasted regularly by Sooriyan FM as well as in their news bulletins throughout the day, and top Tamil newspapers Veerakesari and Thinakural published articles and photographs of the event. Many people from other districts also congratulated the Star Eagle Sports Club for taking the initiative to organize such a successful event.
Planning for 2012’s tournament: Mannar cricket fans are expecting great things from MPL-2012 based on their positive experience of the 2011 tournament. This time we are planning to expand the field of contestants to include the best teams from Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mullaithivu and Killinochi Districts. Through this we will develop Mannar’s talented cricketers and promote cricket in the Northern Province across the Nation.
Periyakadai Star Eagle Sports Club members are well on their way to organizing an even more exciting 2012’s cricket event. Club members in their early twenties are actively engaged in all aspects of the planning including time scheduling, fundraising, ground preparation and logistics, publicity, attracting media sponsor and co-sponsors, and team selections.
Request for sponsors: We as the organizers of the Mannar Premier League cricket tournament invite you to partner us in this dynamic and successful event in 2012 through financial sponsorship. Sponsors will be publicly acknowledged in all advertising and media promotion, be given the opportunity to set up company displays at important matches and have a significant presence at the finals ceremony. As a sponsor you will be actively developing the game of cricket in the Mannar District and Northern Province.
2011’s tournament: This year’s tournament will largely follow the highly successful Mannar Premier League program of 2011. Matches were held on 02nd, 03rd 09th, 10th, 14th, 23rd and 24th July, with the semi-finals held on the 30th in a play-off and the final held on the 31st. Hon. MP Mr. Vino Nogaradhalingam was Chief Guest, Mannar Divisional Secretary was Special Guest and Mannar Town Officer in Charge of Police, Branch Manager of Singer Plus and Sooriyan FM representative Mr. Dilan as Honorable Guests participated in the final day ceremony. During the nine day tournament a total of 31 matches including the final was held.
Thalvupadu’s St. Antony’s Sports Club played against Pesalai’s St. Victory’s Sports Club in the final with the St. Victory’s Sports Club winners of the first Mannar Premier League Championship Cup. The winning team received a Rs.15,000/= gift voucher and the runner-up team scored Rs.10,000/= gift voucher. In addition, prizes were awarded to the Man of the Final Match, Man of the Series and to the Best Team of the Series. Each invited guest was also given a memento cup. A budget total of Rs.145,000/= was expended for award cups, gift vouchers, hardballs, umpires’ payment, food, transport, playground setup, advertisement, sound system and stationery.
See us on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX3gP4AhOfY
|
MPL – 2012 (Mannar Premier League) |
||
| Cricket Tournament Estimate : EXPENSES | ||
| Prizes |
Estimate |
Actual |
| 1st & 2nd cash prizes |
40,000.00 |
|
| 1st & 2nd cups prizes |
15,000.00 |
|
| Man of the series |
5,000.00 |
|
| Man of the match – final |
3,000.00 |
|
| Hard balls – 35 balls |
31,500.00 |
|
| Best team award |
3,000.00 |
|
| Guest memorable |
6,000.00 |
|
| Total |
103,500.00 |
– |
| Administration |
Estimate |
Actual |
| Stationery |
3,000.00 |
|
| Invitations |
3,500.00 |
|
| Transportation & petrol |
5,000.00 |
|
| Telephone |
3,000.00 |
|
| Umpire fees – 09 Days |
14,400.00 |
|
| Total |
28,900.00 |
– |
| Advertisement |
Estimate |
Actual |
| Posters |
5,000.00 |
|
| Banners |
10,000.00 |
|
| Announcing |
5,000.00 |
|
| Total |
20,000.00 |
– |
| Stadium Arrangement |
Estimate |
Actual |
| Ground arrangements |
8,000.00 |
|
| Wickets |
3,000.00 |
|
| Stage arrangement |
10,000.00 |
|
| Sound systems – 09 days |
25,000.00 |
|
| Total |
46,000.00 |
– |
| Refreshments |
Estimate |
Actual |
| Lunch for umpires |
9,000.00 |
|
| Drinks for teams |
10,000.00 |
|
| Soda for final day |
5,000.00 |
|
| Refreshments – final day |
4,000.00 |
|
| Final day misc expenses |
4,000.00 |
|
| Total |
32,000.00 |
– |
| Total Expenses |
Estimate |
Actual |
|
230,400.00 |
– |
|
|
Prepaired by: Treasurer, Star Eagles Sports Club, Grand Bazar, Mannar. |
||
ADDENDUM:
* Former Ceylon cricketer Mevan Pieris has donated the Man of the Series Prize.
* The Adelaide Friends of Sri Lanka Cricket has donated 400 Aus $ towards this enterprise.
* Asanga Welikala of CPA and Edinburgh university has canvassed his cricketing email network for support.
Contact = Jeremy Liyanage@gmail.com