The flag-raising ceremony at the opening of the new pavilion in Magonna© Andrew Miller

The centrepiece of the village is a gigantic cricket pitch, carved from the hillside and very similarly proportioned to The Oval itself. As yet it is incomplete - the square is in place but the outfield is currently brick-red clay and is awaiting a layer of top-soil and grass seedings. On Friday, the pavilion was officially opened, in a grand flag-raising ceremony attended by the Sri Lankan sports minister, Gamini Lokuge, as well as Paul Sheldon, Surrey's chief executive, and Roger Knight, the former MCC secretary who was Surrey's captain between 1978 and 1985.

"I first came here in February 2005 when it was just acres and acres of bush," said Sheldon in his opening speech. "It is a truly amazing transformation." It could be more amazing still when the pitch is finally put in place - from the evidence of the signs on the pavilion, and the fully-tooled up shed of groundsman's equipment further round the boundary's edge, Surrey has grand intentions for its new development. It is not inconceivable that one-day internationals will be held here in the near future.

There is already a strong international flavour to the village - with familiar names adorning the various streets (or "Mawathas"). "Alec Stewart Mawatha" is the most striking. It runs along the hillside behind the pavilion - ramrod straight as you would imagine, though as yet lacking a touch of tarmac. Further around the corner, where the red-slated roofs of the houses genuinely look as though they could have been lifted from suburban Woking, is "Graham Thorpe Mawatha", and there is plenty of local recognition as well. Malinga Bandara and Upul Tharanga, both of whom grew up locally and are in the squad for the second Test, have been honoured with streetnames as well.

Sri Lanka is not the only cricket-playing country to have benefitted from Surrey's charity. The Oval Cricket Relief Trust was established out of recognition that many of the countries that play the game are also susceptible to terrible natural disasters. Grenada, whose stadium was flattened by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, and Pakistan, which suffered a catastrophic earthquake in the weeks before England's tour in December 2005, have both received aid, as has the town of Bhopal, which still feels the effects of a dreadful industrial accident in 1984.

It may seem scant consolation for the thousands whose lives have been transformed by disaster, but every little helps. For 45 families the impact of Surrey's involvement has been immediate, but for many more in the region, cricket offers a route out of poverty that few other professions can provide. As the local community begins to capitalise on the first-rate facilities being created in Magonna, maybe one day, the streets will have to be renamed to reflect the talent that has sprung from this initiative.