If you enter the town located in the southern coast of Sri Lanka's Southern Province for the first time and walk into the Polhena Beach road in the night after the journey through the beautiful Southern Lanka Express Highway, you may feel you are in a ghost town. But you will be met with a different sight the next day when you roam the city in daylight. It was a town which hit the international media headlines for the wrong reasons in December 2004 when the town was devastated by the Asian tsunami. The disaster is still fresh in many minds, although comprehensive recovery efforts transformed the town which now attracts tourists from all over the world.

Apart from the beach, the temple situated at the heart of the town, a very popular and sacred site among Buddhists; the popular lighthouse in Point Dondra; the two fortresses built by the Portuguese and the Dutch are the most attractive places. The touring Bangladesh players are also enjoying their time with a Caribbean flavour at the picturesque setting of Dickwella Resort in Matara.

But for any cricket follower Matara will first be known as the birthplace of one of the country's greatest cricketers,

affectionately called the 'Matara Hurricane'. And there is no need to tell the Tuk Tuk driver the address if you want to visit his residence. It is good enough to say: T want to visit to the house of Sanath Jayasuriya'.

It's a simple middleclass house much like any you'd see in any district town of Bangladesh. Dunstan and Breeda Jayasuriya, Jayasuriya's parents, welcomed the few visiting Bangladeshi reporters with smiles yesterday, but it was not possible to know childhood tales of their great son due to the language barrier.

Still, everybody felt the affection shared in the family by their innocent smiles. “Come tomorrow with a translator," were Breeda's parting words.