Commonwealth team led by Sri Lanka High Commission wins Anton Muthukumaru Trophy after 20 years

The annual cricket encounter for the Major General Anton Muthukumaru Trophy, which is played between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia (DFAT) team and the team of the High Commissions of Commonwealth countries based in Canberra, was held on 17 March at the Mint Oval, Deakin, Canberra. The DFAT, the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), and the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra have been jointly organising this event annually since 1966. 

This year, the Commonwealth team, comprised of players from Sri Lanka and Pakistan supported by Singapore, Malaysia and Fiji, and was captained by Senarath Dissanayake while the DFAT team was led by Chad Clark. 

DFAT First Assistant Secretary Dr. Lachalan Strahan participated in the event as the Guest of Honour representing the Secretary/DFAT. The High Commissioner of Pakistan Babar Amin, RCS President Colin Milner and immediate past President of RCS Kanthi Jinna, and Anton Muthukumaru Jr. graced the occasion. 

The Commonwealth team successfully chased a victory target of 120 runs in 20 overs set by DFAT, in 16 overs to emerge winners. The trophy was presented to the winning team by Dr. Strahen and Anton Muthukumaru Jr. 

The awards ceremony was held at the conclusion of the match and after brief opening remarks by RCS President Colin Milner, Tony Muthukumaru recalled the history of the event. High Commissioner Skandakumar, while expressing his pleasure at the outcome, observed that the game continued to be played in keeping with Commonwealth values and provided an opportunity annually for the member Missions to interact with officials at DFAT in an informal and cordial environment. 

A special souvenir cricket bat signed by the two teams and the RCS was presented to High Commissioner Skandakumar in appreciation of his contribution towards strengthening the relations among DFAT, RCS and the Commonwealth Missions. This bat was specially handcrafted by coordinator of the event DFAT’s Shashi Sampathi. 

Each year, donations collected at the event are given to a selected charity and this year’s collection will be donated to ‘Buk bilong pikinini’, a needy organisation in Papua New Guinea. The families of the participating teams and the staff of the Sri Lanka High Commission were present at the event.