For 50 years, the 78-year-old has been following and cheering his beloved Sri Lankan side across the world — well before they were given Test playing status in 1981.
In fact, so devoted is Mr Abeysekera, he is widely regarded as the side’s unofficial mascot.
A regular on the pitch waving the national flag when the players leave the field. Mr Abeysekera is in Tasmania for the second time to cheer on his side when it faces Scotland today. He is being hosted by fellow Sri Lankan Sisira Weragoda at his house in Lauderdale and believes his eighth time following the side at the Cricket World Cup can see it repeat its 1996 victory.
“Every game we do better ... I have a feeling that we will make the final,” he said.
Also optimistic and excited are the local Sri Lankan community, who will be cheering their team on in numbers at Bellerive Oval.
Yohan De Silva, who has been living in Hobart for 3½ years, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see his home country play a World Cup match in Tasmania.
“They’re playing really well, it’s going to be good to see them play,” he said.
Meanwhile, as his teammates prepared to arrive for Saturday’s match against Scotland, Australian World Cup team member and local hero George Bailey was nostalgic about his namesake and great-great-grandfather
when he came into contact with a piece of cricketing memorabilia.
The “164 Not Out! Tasmanian Cricket Treasures” exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery now features a special engraving starring George Herbert Bailey, who played for Australia from 1877-78 after making his way up from the Tasmanian team.
“It’s so interesting to look back and see old scorecards and get an idea of trips they took,” he said.
Bailey said he had played other sports when he was young but soon discovered cricket was in his blood.
“Cricket is obviously built in there, so that came to the fore.”
And as the Scottish team prepared for today’s big game, their Australian-born batsman Hamish Gardiner, 24, took time out from the gruelling schedule to share a pizza with proud dad Ron Gardiner at Salamanca last night.
Mr Gardiner, 80, said Scotland’s chances of beating Sri Lanka were “not high” but he still thought the team was “fantastic’’.
(heraldsun.com.au)
