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Published: January 3rd 2013
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The early start and lengthy train ride behind us, we arrived in Kandy at lunchtime and headed to our accomodation via a helpful Tuk Tuk driver called Raja. The accomodation was nice and peaceful, if a little way from the centre. We dropped our bags off and arranged for the same driver to take us to the cricket ground - a lengthy 45minute tuk tuk ride away.
Arriving at the Kandy cricket ground we had no idea what to expect after the gulf between the two grounds we'd seen before. We’d only been able to secure grass bank tickets for the match so were delighted when searching for the toilets outside the media centre to be handed free tickets for the grand stand. We appeared to get into the corporate area too, which had TVs set up – so pretty perfect outcome – particularly because we were so knackered. It was halfway through the first match when we finally got sat down, New Zealand had batted first and set a competitive total of 174.
The crowd were going crazy as Sri Lanka set off the run chase at a canter - the atmospere was building. As they approached the
required total, NZ managed to build some pressure and with just 1 run needed from the last ball, a run out decided by the third umpire quietened the crowd and meant that the game went into a Super Over. It didnt stay quiet for long as Sri Lanka set NZ 15 to win and the local hero Malinga bowled a superb over to win them the game. The England vs West Indies game next was almost an anti climax, although a healthy local crowd stayed to watch with the travelling England supporters.
Chris Gayle set the tone for a high WI score with some huge hits in his quick fire 50. His opening partner, Johnson Charles, scored even better with 84 and only a few late wickets kept WI down to 179. Luke Wright & Alex Hales both batted well for half centuries, but England struggled to score against the WI spin bowling and ended 15 runs short with wicketes in hand - a disappointing start. We left wondering if we'd see England win a match in the tournament.
It was a very late return to the hotel so we opted for a quiet day the next day
and spent a lot of time chilling out, sampling local cuisine and giving some love to the hotel dog - a huge black labarador. The next morning was an earlier one. On the reccomendation of our driver Raja, who was quickly becoming our companion, we moved to a cheaper central hotel next to Kandy lake in the centre of the city. We settled in and had a stroll around the centre, enjoying a lunchtime curry at the superb Muslim hotel - another example of an eaterie being called a hotel despite it having no such service.
The cricket resumed in the afternoon and England were up first vs New Zealand. We took our place on the grass bank and enjoyed having a bit of space as England bowled well to restrict the Kiwis to just 146. The ground filled up as the day went on and by the time Luke Wright had steered England near to victory the ground was well and truly full, with the local fans enjoying the match too. We finally saw Englands first win and stayed on to see Sri Lanka vs West Indies . The Sri Lankan supporters had plenty to cheer about as
they hammered WI - the crowd was wild and being in the middle of a grass bank with thousands of dancing Sri Lankans is something we'll never forget!
A busier day off cricket awaited us this time and we headed down to the famous botanical gardens just out of the city. It was great to get away from the crowds for a while and we really enjoyed taking a huge range tree, plant and birdlife. Having got to know our driver Raja really well, he kindly invited us to his house in the evening. On the way to his house Tina was excited to see the first pavements we'd seen outside of Colombo. We were a little nervous about meeting the family, but were warmly wecomed by his wife and his children, then by all of the children of his extended family too! The food was fantastic - our best taste of traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry so far. Despite our efforts, we couldn't eat it all. The kids were great company and loved looking at the travel photos on the camera and talking about cricket.
Cricket day came round again and we opted to do a
bit of morning sight seeing, looking round the old part of the city and its churches. Next up was a visit to a tea factory and we saw how the tea plants we'd seen in the hill country were converted into all different types of tea, Tina especially enjoyed sampling the finished article. After a few purchases we headed off to the cricket and saw the second half of another thrilling NZ game - this time vs West Indies. Another Super Over loss let them out of the competition as Chris Gayle again showed his worth with the bat. WI were through if England didn't beat hosts Sri Lanka.
The atmosphere ramped up another few notches and despite some decent bowling the home team got a healthy score of 169. England yet again lost early wickets, local hero Malinga with 5 wickets, but a fightback from Samit Patel and Graeme Swan saw England get close and wonder what might have been. So England were going home and left to rue the inexperience in their batting order left by the missing Pieterson and their ongoing struggle against spin bowling on subcontinent wickets.
Next morning we said our goodbyes to
Kandy and to our driver and friend Raja and boarded another bus, heading north again, for the ancient city of Anuradhapuda.
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