Sri Lanka 2023

We were up early today as we were making the journey to Kandy to experience the luxury of the opulent Grand Kandyon Hotel. It took us a few hours to get to Kandy and gave us another experience of the strange rules of the road in Sri Lanka, which I don’t think we’re any close to understanding who actually has right of way. We arrived at the hotel and it didn’t disappoint it was very blingy with deep greens, purples and gold everywhere with a lot of people in reception to meet us. We checked in and took in the amazing views from the balconies before the boys made their way to destroy the very impressive buffet!  After lunch we had a tour around a large Buddhist temple in the heart of Kandy, which proved to be very interesting and highlighted how much religion is part of the culture here. There was no need for sarongs this time much to the boys disappointment but they did have to cover knees and shoulders out of respect.  Matt Fisk made a local trader very happy when he paid sign...

The boys were on a high after winning their first match and were excited to be playing against the Anuradhapura Central District U17 team. This was played at an Army Ordanance ground, which was a stunning location with the pitch lined by palm trees.  We lost the toss and they elected to field, which wasn’t ideal as this would mean we would be fielding during the heat of the day. The batting was opened with Benjy Furrer and Adam Cooper, who got us off to a great start with a 96 partnership and some very solid batting. Benjy was enjoying himself out on the square as he was playing a range of expansive shots as he pulled and cut the balls away for several 4’s and even opened his shoulders up to blast a couple of 6’s. Adam was doing an excellent job rotating the strike and punishing the bad balls. Sadly the partnership was broken when Benjy was bowled for 63 runs.  Next in was Matt Lambert, who sadly lasted about as long as the walk to the crease because 3 balls later having been ...

Today was an early start as we left at 7.30am to get to Lions Rock before it got too hot. It was a quiet bus ride as the boys drifted off to sleep again in preparation of the 1200 steps up to the top of the rock. On arrival Henry Welland exited the bus enjoying the chocolate brioche that he had found at the bottom of his bag, sadly he only got bite of it before a monkey ran up his leg and snatched it from Henry’s hand! The monkey then proceeded to mock Henry as he sat and ate his new treat in front of him. As we walked to the start of the climb we went through the water gardens, which were ancient water pools and fountains that worked on water power. These spring to life after the monsoon season when the ponds and lakes are at their fullest. Apparently the engineers are still trying to establish how the system works as these were designed over 500 years ago, clearly it was built to last! We were slightly apprehensive about what lay ahead as several people coming back from the climb wer...

It was an early start as the venue was about 1.5 hours away and we were aiming for a 9.30am start plus factoring in a warm-up that we soon realised we didn’t need in 34 degrees. The venue was a school, which had investment in the cricket faculties due to the current Prime Minister being a former student. We were playing against the Polonnaruwa District U17’s on what looked to be an excellent batting wicket or for those of you more in tune with the cricketing lingo “a proper road”. Having lost the toss the opposition chose to bat first! We opened the bowling with Ben Seary and Will Hale, with the hope that they weren’t use to facing a 6’7” seam bowler and Ben demonstrating some excellent swing bowling. We soon discovered that the Sri Lankan batsmen weren’t used to facing a swinging ball but the outfield was so quick that any contact often saw the ball racing away for 4 runs. It didn’t take long for Ben to find his rhythm as the breakthrough in the 4th over as he got the ball moving away...

It was an earlish start as we had a 4 hour drive to our next destination which was Sigiriya and the Amaara Forest Hotel. It was an interesting experience on the roads of Sri Lanka as we’re still not sure what the rules are on giving way and it seems that the bigger vehicle has priority when overtaking, which happens a lot. The tuk-tuk is the peasant of the road and seems to have no respect from an vehicle! We travelled for a couple of hours before stopping at a very nice coffee shop for a drink and toilet break. A couple of incidents occurred that shouldn’t be happening on a cricket tour, Ciaran dropped a drink down the captain (AP) and Freddie managed to drop a coffee on himself. The group later deemed that Ciaran’s drop and his ability to put away an astonishing amount of food earnt him the ‘Badger of the Day’ award!  We arrived at the Dambulla Rock Cave Temple, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and as a sign of respect we had to cover our shoulders, knees and not wear hats. ...

We travelled an hour in to Colombo to have our first experience of training in the heat and humidity at The Moors Sports Club. The boys found the grass very different to England and also saw how much movement their was in the pitches. They worked hard for a few hours as they all got to bat in the nets and worked on fielding drills. After training we went to The Cricket Café where the boys were in their element surrounded by cricket memorabilia and highlights of the ashes on the TV. The food hit the spot and the boys enjoyed the chance to relax in an air conditioned room. We had a quick stop at the local cricket shop where most of the lads picked up some Sri Lanka kit and some extra batting inners. This worked perfectly as we then headed to a local ground cricket ground to watch Sri Lanka v Pakistan in a development game with a lot of the players having played for their respective countries. We showed our support for Sri Lanka as we arrived fully stashed up in our new purchases. When we...

Today was a test of stamina as we arrived at the airport for our flight from Dubai at 10pm for a 2.40am transfer. Sadly our flight was delayed again meaning we didn’t take-off until 4am, however the boys showed excellent resilience and there was no moaning as they got on with it. Mr Kelsall was the only one moaning but that soon stopped when he got his business class upgrade!  We had a lovely welcome at the airport and Goldi Sands hotel where we were given a garland of flowers to wear and at the hotel had to light a candle.  Once checked in to the hotel the boys enjoyed an afternoon of leisure around the pool and on the beach. This allowed them to acclimatise to the weather/humidity whilst getting some exercise in. The food has been fantastic so far with a buffet format of traditional Sri Lankan food, which allows the boys to go back for as much as they want. We dressed up smart this evening for dinner and enjoyed the local singers in the hotel, not sure they’d be taken throug...