Hitting a tennis ball around the streets of Galle was how a man with one of the longest surnames in world cricket learnt the game. Eastlake's Sri Lankan import Anil Rideegammanagedera has brought the same technique that has yielded 6500 first-class runs and more than 300 wickets to the ACT region's up-and-coming junior talent.
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While coaching is something the 37-year-old is passionate about, the veteran all-rounder also has plenty to offer the Demons on the pitch in the Canberra first-grade competition.
''We played tennis ball cricket on every corner after school on the road,'' Rideegammanagedera recalled of his youth. ''That's what I'm doing with the coaching; I'm always starting with the tennis ball. That's my secret.''
Rideegammanagedera, or Ridee to his teammates, has jetted between his homeland and England for the past decade. He has played for a handful of clubs in the Lancashire League competition during the northern hemisphere summer before returning to Sri Lanka to play for Galle in the first-class arena.
The list of Sri Lankan stars he has played either with or against reads like a who's who of world cricket. Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Hashan Tillakaratne are among those Rideegammanagedera has rubbed shoulders with during his 18-year first-class career.
Rideegammanagedera made his debut the year before Sri Lanka burst on to the international stage with its historic World Cup victory in 1996.
''I was playing under-19 school cricket at the time and there was a massive change in the game,'' he said. ''There was a lot of money coming in and made it more professional.
''Cricket is the heart of Sri Lanka.''
While he was picked in a Sri Lankan A side to play South Africa A, Rideegammanagedera never represented his country despite being named his country's player of the year in the domestic competition in 2007.
''I missed the Bangladesh tour because I don't know why,'' he said.
''We were supposed to play the Test and one-day tour and I had been playing in England the same time.
''I don't know why I wasn't playing, it was a joke.''
His focus now is helping Eastlake take home some silverware in the one-day and two-day competitions.
Eastlake faces Ginninderra in the first day of their two-day match on Saturday, before backing up in the semi-finals of the John Gallop Cup against Tuggeranong at Kingston Oval on Sunday.
Weston Creek Molonglo takes on Queanbeyan in the other one-day semi-final at Stirling Oval.
■ SATURDAY
Douglas Cup, first day of two-day games: ANU v North Canberra Gungahlin at ANU North; Ginninderra v Eastlake at Kippax 1; Queanbeyan v Tuggeranong at Freebody No. 1; Weston Creek Molonglo v Western District UC at Stirling. All games at 11am.
■ SUNDAY
John Gallop Cup semi-finals: Weston Creek Molonglo v Queanbeyan at Stirling; Eastlake v Tuggeranong at Kingston Oval. All games at 11am.
