A FORMER Sri Lankan cricketer who once clean bowled Mark Waugh for a duck in a one-day international at the MCG will help Dandenong juniors reach their own “field of dreams”.
Manjula Munasinghe has joined Buckley Ridges Cricket Club as its junior development advisor.
Munasinghe said he chose the club as he said it provided a challenge to build up the number of teams in the junior age groups in an area that was struggling against the growth corridors out to Berwick and Cranbourne.
“I see it as a great opportunity to develop the game at Buckley and the entire Dandenong area,” Munasinghe said.
“It will be good to promote the game in the area and make us the best junior club in the Dandenong District Cricket Association.”
Mr Munasinghe moved to Australia after his first-class career ended and was a junior coach for Cricket Victoria and senior coach for Monash University, before setting up the acclaimed Aus-Lanka Cricket Academy in 2005 with former Sri Lankan Test cricketer Ravi Ratnayake.
Mr Munasinghe intends to present a coaching manifesto to the club that will go beyond lessons in cricket to also encompass life lessons for the juniors.
