"City tour", golf and henna

Today we had a leisurely start, and at 10am we boarded onto the coach for a city tour of Colombo. Strody kindly took David to play golf, so we all had a day's rest from him (we love you really..!).

 Unfortunately, the city tour was not the most informed - "This is the theatre, built by the Chinese, this is the city hall, built by the Chinese".

Thankfully, it didnt last too long, and we stopped off for some retail therapy at a 'local' mall, which was 7 floors of anything you could possibly want except souvenirs - although there were some lovely saris.

Slightly strange poses of the Sri Lankan mannequins

From there, we each went our separate ways, either for more souvenir shopping, lunch at the beach, or chilling by the pool. We spent the afternoon relaxing, and drawing on henna tattoos.

Tomorrow is our last game, it should be a good competitive match - followed by presentation evening and awards, so look out for a long post tomorrow!

P.s. David won the golf. But only just.

Finally a proper day off

Today was a full day off, so after we all had a lie-in (but all woke up in time to make the most of an impressive breakfast) we split up and each did what we fancied - some braves a tuktuk into Colombo and wandered around the busy markets, some wandered around the hotel area, and of course we all got into the pool and played pool volleyball, and giggles were heard all afternoon.

Match VS Sri Lanka B

After another 6am start, the girls quickly fell asleep on the bus to the next game. With a few funny positions!

We played the Sri Lankan B team today, something that everyone was looking forward to, after deciding to "cough" field "cough" Strody "cough", we got stuck in .

It was a very hard game, as it was incredibly hot conditions and an impressive batting line up. The girls tried their hardest with some excellent bowling from Miranda and impressive fielding from Ellika. Strody also delivered some killer bowling, with Georia B and Gerogia H also contributong. After 40 overs we were chasing 347, something that Strody had full confidence we could do! Maud and Lucy also did incredibly well to keep under such hot conditions.

With a shakey start we managed to bat 32 overs which we were really proud of. Good contributions came from Lucy, Miranda, Emily amd Emilia

On the way to the new hotel we were all gifted with a wonderful tour of the surroundings from the one and only Maud. We are staying at Mount Lavina Hotel, its an incredible place with a beach  front, pool and wait for its cow statues!!!

Turtles, mangroves and an afternoon off.

Today was a day of rest, so naturally we had a 7am start, but it was worth the early morning to have a beautiful boat ride across the river, surrounded by lush greenery and mangrove trees. We stopped off on the way to see how cinnamon was harvested (a young sapling is peeled of the exterior bark, then the inner layer is gently peeled off and dried), which was very interesting especially as it was a small family which hosted us. They had very little material items, and lived in a beautiful mud hut with incredible scenery around!

Parents finally find a way to get rid of the kids

From there, we gently declined having our feet nibbled by fish, and headed off to the turtle sanctuary. This was a great experience - who knew baby turtles could be so cute?! The guide explained to us the elements involved in the conservation, and how they hatch the eggs in the sanctuary, keep the turtles there for 3 days, then release them into the sea - they have released over 3 million turltes so far, of 5 different varieties. They also keep disabled and injured turtles within the sanctuary, some which can be re-released. Most injuries are caused by humans - boat propellors, floating plastic, and fishing nets.

Skipper enjoying the baby turtles

We all split up for lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing - a mixure of shopping, David getting a haircut (it's a long story..!), amazing henna tattoos and of course, sun, beach and pool. Tomorrow is a even earlier start and another match, so look out for a match report and some tired faces!

A Need for Speed

The day started well. One wrong turn and Gary was proved right, as we headed in the opposite direction to where we were meant to be going. Such is the way of life in Sri Lanka. Our ever-smiling driver allowed Alison to reprieve Sandra Bullock's role in Speed, as we hurtled back from whence we came, the speedo never dipping below 100. No-one vomited, thanks be to Buddha.

The tsunami watermark is a poignant reminder of how far they've come.

The Foundation of Goodness is a special place. Rebuilt after the devastating tsunami of 2004, it's testament to everything that's good about faith, hope and charity, and the very best of humanity. Anura De Silva, our charming and articulate guide for the morning, showed us the spoils of many years of hard work and generous funding, not least from the MCC. We began at the preschool, where we were treated to a wonderful medley of English and Sri Lankan nursery rhymes. Every child attending the school receives a pack containing uniform, shoes, and text books, something that they simply couldn't afford otherwise.

As well as the formal schooling, there's an ICT suite filled with computers offering various courses free of charge. Such training would cost 500,000R in Colombo - here, it's absolutely free. Some of the top graduates in ICT are eligible to apply for jobs in a self-contained office, again on site, supporting a large Asian supermarket chain in admin and accounts. There's a women's centre too, with baking, sari-making, and sewing skills on offer.

The medical centre serves over 92,000 people and offers two surgeries a day. Again, medicine is absolutely free. This is an area where people are really struggling and the Foundation has offered an infrastructure that this area badly needed. This was a genuinely humbling experience for everyone, I think.

Moving swiftly on (how else?!) we headed to the Fort in Galle, colonised by the Dutch for 60 years. We split off for separate lunches as buffet-itus had set in and some opted to take a few hours to explore. The usual Chinese whispers regarding arrangements meant that some of us (ahem) may have kept the coach waiting.

It was back to the Foundation of Goodness for some hands-on training as the girls re-united with some familiar faces, and Tim (level 2) and Matt (level 1) got stuck in too. The facilities on offer uare first class and even include the Bryan Adams swimming pool. Thankfully no sponsor music over the tanoy.

So then it was back to the Citrus for the evening, where a few of us headed down the road to a Buddhist festival. Amazing how safe tuk-tuk travel feels now we've travelled by coach. The highlight of the evening had to be the motorbike 'wall of death'. Round and round they went as way too many of us stood in a flimsy wooden structure that felt like it might collapse at any moment.

Life in Sri Lanka is never dull.

By Esmé & Claire

Match 3 at the Foundation of Goodness Lord's MCC ground

After the first night of sleep in the Citrus Hotel, we met for an 8 o clock breakfast to fuel ourselves for the match ahead. There was a refreshingly short journey of just 10 minutes to the ground compared to the 2 hours it took to travel to the last games. The ground itself was aptly named "Lords" considering the standard of cricket that was displayed and the wet weather that was experienced! It was the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, as it has indoor nets, a pavilion and even a fan to keep the Gary and the other scorer cool!

On arrival we met a team of young ladies who were between the ages of 15-25, all of whom had been affected in some way by the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 (either losing one or both parents when they were just 6-13 years of age, or come from poor backgrounds as a result of the tsunami). The Foundation of Goodness had been since helping them with schooling, running sports teams and providing the kit. The foundation had produced many great sportsmen and women since being set up, including the Sri Lankan women's current wicket keeper and opening batter.

After putting the cricket bags into the changing rooms the girls began their warm up and Strody won the toss, meaning we were batting first. Shortly into the start of the game, the girls were surrounded by a group of local school children who found us all very interesting. They particularly liked Maud who spent over an hour playing cricket with them on the side of the pitch, only stopping when the 3rd wicket fell and she had to find her helmet and walk to the wicket. Maud was given out LBW after 20 overs but opening bat Georgia was still standing even though she had not been feeling well at the start of the game - the runs were working for her! However after getting bowled by a leg spinner, many wickets followed and we were bowled out for 81 off 30 overs.

Almost as soon as the last bowl of the first innings was bowled a heavy shower began and the girls stayed outside to cool down! Their antics included playing with the nerf rocket which drew attention from the other side, who all ended up joining in! Both sides retired to the stands to have group photograph and then taught each other some songs in their own languages (including the Macarena and "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" from the English and a local  chant from the Sri Lankans), finally with a Conga line taking them to the side screen which acted as a stage for their dance off!

For over an hour it chucked it down and it looked like the game would be cancelled. Andrea got more soaked by David than the rain as he spat his water all over her when he sneezed! Although Maud was undoubtedly even more wet as she decided (contradicting T-Dogs orders) to belly slide along the water-logged outfield.

The covers were removed and the second innings commenced. Openers Emilia and Strody created pressure, with Emilia getting 2 wickets in her 4 overs. However Charlbury struggled to get the next two wickets and a partnership between two of the Foundations side began. This was only broken when rain stopped play once again and the match was abandoned, resulting in the first draw of the tour!

As the team only played just over 40 overs of the expected 80 during the day, they had to let off some steam. With the exception of 3, every one of the English rushed to the pool and continued to play (pool) cricket with the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach just 20 meters away from them.

Written beautifully by Martha & Julie

Tea, elephants and smashed ipads.

Today we had a days break from the cricket, but no lie-in. After a quick breakfast we got onto the coach and went to the Tea factory. Here we learnt all about different types of tea - gold, white, green black, and how they are made (dried, rolled, crushed) We were able to sample some black tea, which was drunk while nibbling on sugar cubes. We had a lovely guide who explained the process and took us outside to see the plantations.

From there, we went to the Elephant orphanage, which was incredible for many of us! We had an opportunity to see them bathing from the restaurant we had lunch at, then fed them some bananas (the elephants, not the players..). We also went to see more elephants in their sanctuary and took many, many photographs and stroked as many elephants as possible.

Once we'd had our fill of elephants we got on a long bus journey to our next hotel in Hikkadua, ready for a game tomorrow. The hotel is by the beach, and we swam in the pool while the waves crashed down on the beach.

               

It's been a long day with a lot of travelling but look out for the match report tomorrow against the foundation of goodness team!