The prize money by Australia’s men’s cricket team was donated to help families and children affected by economic crisis in Sri lanka.
The team will contribute $45,000 to UNICEF Australia’s Sri Lanka appeal under the leadership of captains Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch. Cummins is a UNICEF Australia ambassador.
Thousands of peaceful protesters’ cries echoed around the Galle International Cricket Ground on day two of the second Test, and similar demonstrations in Colombo’s capital forced the resignation of the nation’s president and prime minister. Australia’s cricketers experienced the crisis firsthand during their all-format tour in June and July of this year.
Food prices have increased by 80% as a result of the island country’s dire economic circumstances, and more than two thirds of households have cut back on their food consumption.
Three days a week are set aside for school since there isn’t enough fuel for both teachers and children to commute, there are often lines for food and medicine, getting to the doctor is getting harder, and there isn’t enough clean water to go around.
The money donated by Australia’s cricketers will help UNICEF’s initiatives to provide 1.7 million vulnerable Sri Lankan children in need with nourishment, healthcare, safe drinking water, education, and mental health services.
The impact on Sri Lankans’ daily lives was “quite evident to us,” according to Cummins.
Australians are astonished by the “extraordinary” crowd response in Colombo.
When the team learned what was going on, it was an obvious decision to contribute our award money to UNICEF, which has supported children’s and families’ needs in Sri Lanka for more than 50 years.
Finch expressed gratitude to the Sri Lankan people for their gracious hospitality during the white-ball leg and expressed the hope that the trip “helped raise their morale in some little manner.”
It’s not the first time the Australian team has been moved by things other than cricket while on tour; in 2021, the COVID-19 issue in India led to the postponement of the Indian Premier League, and Cummins and Cricket Australia both donated $50,000 for oxygen supply.
Tony Stuart, CEO of UNICEF Australia, stated that Australian cricketers had supported India last year during the height of the COVID-19 Delta wave. “We appreciate them for again giving generously to help Sri Lankans impacted by the present disaster,” Stuart added, “Australia and Sri Lanka have a close relationship that goes beyond game days, and we are grateful for this gesture to support the families of Sri Lanka in the long run.”
Australia’s first trip of Sri Lanka since 2016 saw the visitors take the T20 series 2-1, the hosts taking the ODI series 3-2, and the two-Test series in Galle squared 1-1.
