Wanstead & Snaresbrook CC completed another highly successful overseas tour in October 2018, this time to Sri Lanka. As on previous tours the club combined playing a number of matches with community work.
The highlight of the tour was a day doing volunteering work at the Foundation of Goodness, a not-for-profit NGO, based in Seenigama village near Hikkaduwa, an area devastated by the 2004 tsunami. Their mission is to empower the less privileged rural communities, whilst inculcating the spirit of goodness, so that they may have equal opportunities to excel in life. The Wanstead tour party spent the day delivering cricket and netball coaching sessions plus English Language and Business Development workshops and helping at the pre-school. Martin Pluck, Chairman of Wanstead & Snaresbrook CC said “It was very humbling to work with the Foundation and see the truly inspirational work, which they are doing. We were also delighted to be able to present the Foundation with four bags of cricket equipment as well as a cheque for £4,000 thanks to the generosity of a number of members.”
Wanstead CC Coaching Session at Foundation of Goodness
The tour party was a mixed party of men and ladies and in total played 7 matches in Colombo, Kandy and Hikkaduwa, winning 3 and losing 4. The most exciting match was the final game against the Foundation of Goodness XI. In a T20 game the Foundation of Goodness XI scored 181 and Wanstead managed to snatch victory in the last over thanks to scintillating 98 in 44 balls from Adnan Akram.
Club Captain, Arfan Akran said “Wanstead & Snaresbrook CC take huge pride in it’s community work, to be able to support another incredible charity in Foundation of Goodness as part of our Sri Lanka tour was a mixture of emotional and inspiring. The group return with so many wonderful memories of a beautiful country”.