The Kia Oval will tomorrow welcome the entire Sri Lankan touring party to the ground’s first ever Sri Lankan Family Fun Day.
Over 2,000 people have already signed up for free tickets to the first day of Surrey’s LV= County Championship game with Worcestershire.
The day will see Surrey welcome the entire Sri Lankan touring party to the Kia Oval, including legends of the game such as Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Lasith Malinga.
As well as meeting the players and collecting their autographs, there will be an opportunity, during the tea interval, for 100 lucky children aged from 10-14 to be coached on the Kia Oval outfield by members of the touring Sri Lankan squad.
There will also be an elite session in the Ken Barrington Cricket Centre, where Sri Lankan head coach Marvan Attapattu and his fellow Sri Lankan coaches will work with a group of specially-selected talented British/Sri Lankan young players.
Other activities planned include face painters, a bouncy castle, the opportunity to get a free look behind the scenes at the Kia Oval with some special family ground tours, Sri Lankan cultural dancing and the chance to check out a selection of Sri Lankan caterers and businesses.
Squad : Wilson (capt), Ansari, Batty, Burns, Dernbach, Davies, Dunn, Harinath, Kapil, Roy, Solanki, Tremlett
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) May 31, 2014
Of course, there will also be the opportunity to see Gary Wilson’s Surrey side take on Worcestershire in what is sure to be a competitive start to the latest four-day match.
Speaking about the event, Surrey commercial director Charlie Hodgson said: “With two games between England and Sri Lanka here in May, we were looking to reach out further to the Sri Lankan community and are really excited about this day at the Kia Oval.
“Giving young people the once in a lifetime opportunity to meet heroes such as Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Malinga is really exciting and I hope we have a great turn out on the day.
“I would like to thank Sri Lanka Cricket UK for giving us the opportunity to bring this day to life and for their support in its organisation.”
Sri Lanka Cricket UK committee chairman Asitha Jayaweera added: “This is a groundbreaking event for Sri Lanka cricket supporters in the UK, in particular for the youngsters to have this wonderful experience to actually meet their heroes in person, and we are grateful to the Surrey for affording this opportunity.”