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Cricket in the desert by Clifford Lazarus It was late in the evening, March 17, 1975, when former Nationalised Services and ex-Josephian cricketer, Sunitha Goonetilleke, looked anxiously to the skies for the first-ever Air Ceylon Avro charter to arrive in Oman carrying 73 Sri Lankans.    Passionate about cricket, Sunitha arrived in Oman in 1973, joined by another pioneer and ex-Air Ceylon colleague, Padma Leanage. Stationed at the Seeb International Airport,  Sunitha made friends with cricket-crazy Afzal Chaudry from Pakistan, whose duty was to meet staff recruited for construction firm, Skanska.  Finding common ground in the sport, the two gentlemen laid the foundation for the first-ever cricket tournament to be launched in the Sultanate – the Skanska Cup!   Sunitha teamed with other airline and airport staff including the late Michael Raj (former Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year and ex-St Anthony’s College, Katugastota) whose brother, Charles (fondly known as CPP Raj ex-BRC), also in Oman at the time and played for ...