Murali Harmony Cup 2013

Murali Harmony Cup 2013

The second edition of the Murali Harmony Cup, a 20-team reconciliation schools cricket tournament to promote community-building and friendship in post-war Sri Lanka, former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene told the gathering at the Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo that the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2012 helped unearth "three exceptional cricketers from the north."

Jayawardene said that he was confident in unearthing more talent from Sri Lanka's north and east — two provinces that bore the brunt of the island's 30-year war between the government and the Tamil Tigers.

"Last year, the tournament unearthed three exceptional cricketers from the north who are now playing with leading first-class clubs, and this year too I am confident we'll see some really talented cricketers," Jayawardene said.

The five-day tournament has been jointly organised by Muttiah Muralitharan's charity the Foundation of Goodness and travel company Red Dot Tours, with the support of the Sri Lanka Army and main sponsors Fortune Oil, MAS, Kia Motors, Aquafresh, Ministry of Crab and Sri Lanka Insurance.

Also present with Jayawardene to announce the launch of this year's tournament, which runs from November 1–5 across five venues in the towns of Jaffna, Oddusuddan, Mankulam, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya, were Kumar Sangakkara and Muralitharan.

The tournament also includes combined school teams from Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar-Vavuniya and Batticaloa-Trincomalee to provide a unique opportunity for young cricketers from the north and east to play in an organised event.