Thank you for giving us something to smile about!

Let us give the Australian cricket team a ticker tape parade as a farewell gesture by driving them through the streets of Colombo (near Galle Face Green) once this popular tour is over.

This is exactly what the Australians did in Melbourne on February 20, 1961 when they bid goodbye to the West Indian cricket team led by Frank Worrell. Australia beat West Indies 3 to 2 in a close contest which went down to the wire.

In a time of misery let us thank the Aussies for bringing smiles on to faces of our fellow Sri Lankans in more ways than one.

Cricket always brings people together. This Australian tour has really caught the spirit and imagination of the cricket-loving Sri Lankan public. It has helped to drown our sorrows and anxieties.

Senaka Weeraratna Via email