So this is it. The tour everyone wants to go on. The visit to the country that is the home of cricket which will culminate with a Test at ground known as the home of cricket

Firdose Moonda

25-Feb-2013

So this is it. The tour everyone wants to go on. The visit to the country that is the home of cricket which will culminate with a Test at ground known as the home of cricket.

It's supposed to be cricket everywhere. Not just any kind of cricket. Cricket the old-fashioned, white-picket fence, actual tea at tea-time kind of way. Cricket from the story books and I'm getting to write my own.

After taking the long way around, which included a seven-hour stopover in Abu Dhabi, Paddington Station arrived with the same rush as the train that took me to it. With time to kill and curiosity bubbling, my first stop was a coffee shop where a chat with a lady led to a strange co-incidence.

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Riding the Queen of the Sea

Kanishkaa Balachandran

25-Feb-2013

One of the better ways of travelling with the locals is to hop on a train. Having done the Galle-Colombo route several times by road, including the flashy new Southern Expressway, I decided it was time for a change. Not that there are a plenty of options. The train was the most alluring, as it runs by the coast like the old highway. It's one of the busier rail routes in the country, ferrying thousands who make the daily trip, especially office goers who don't mind rising at the crack of dawn to do the three-hour journey. The inter-city train is no different from a suburban local train. No reserved seats. Stand by the platform, shove yourself in the nearest compartment, keep your fingers crossed for an empty seat, or two (if you have company), grab your place and breathe a sigh of relief.

The day after the Galle Test, a fellow foreign journalist Shoaib Naveed, and I decided to ditch the road and take the express train instead. To say it costs a fraction of the amount to hire a cab for the same distance would be an understatement, as it costs just 180 Sri Lankan rupees (for a second-class ticket) to do a one-way trip, which lasts two and a half hours. The 11.15 train is a better bet for any tourist, as it beats the morning rush. A group of jovial Chinese tourists, wielding their DSLR cameras took a gazillion pictures of local teenage boys in mock celebration gestures drilling up an atmosphere in an otherwise peaceful setting at that time of the morning. I can imagine the pandemonium during peak hours.

One shouldn't expect anything sophisticated as the seating is basic. For those willing to rough it out a bit, especially in humid weather, it is a worthwhile experience. Watch your step if you plan to walk between compartments though, because the vestibules - which make a racket when the train gathers pace - can really test your balance. Especially, if you're as accident-prone as I am. Hold on to your seat when it approaches a station, or you could lose it.

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The myths and realities of the Josephian Mafia

Kanishkaa Balachandran

25-Feb-2013

Think of Sri Lankan school cricket rivalries, and the first thing that comes to mind is Royal-Thomian annual clash, now 133 years old. Another rivalry, though not as steeped in history, is the Battle of the Saints, between St Joseph's College and St Peter's College. Think of school cricket heroes, and it's hard to forget Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli sharing a world-record 664 for their school Shradashram Vidyamandir, a record which stood nearly 19 years. Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera may not have shattered the record books as a pair, but they were fearsome enough to earn the popular nickname 'The Josephian Mafia'.

Both allrounders are pivotal to Sri Lanka's limited-overs teams' success; they're impact players, capable of turning matches around. Darley Road, in bustling Maradana, was where it all began. Both players helped St Joseph's break their jinx in the Battle of the Saints, which lasted nearly 36 years. Harsha de Silva never experienced victory as a player for St Joseph's, but is proud to have tasted it nevertheless through two of his most famous wards, Mathews and Perera.

De Silva, who now coaches the Sri Lanka Women's team, recalls Mathews as a talented teenager who made the Under-19 side at just 15. He remembers spotting Perera's potential in a match against St Joseph's. The young big-hitter had done enough to convince St Joseph's to offer him a scholarship. The 'mafia' was starting to take shape. Contrary to popular perception, the nickname was born only after they started playing for Sri Lanka.

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A reptilian visitor

Slithering reptiles are not uncommon in this part of the world. In fact, Sri Lanka is known for its overwhelming population of snakes and high incidences of snakebites.

Kanishkaa Balachandran

25-Feb-2013

Slithering reptiles are not uncommon in this part of the world. In fact, Sri Lanka is known for its overwhelming population of snakes and high incidences of snakebites. If you happen to stay in the more rural areas, chances are you will spot at least one lurking in the corner.

Between the two Twenty20 matches in Hambantota, there was a chance to relax at the resort hotel in Tissamaharama, tucked away off the main road and surrounded by farmland. Due to poor internet connectivity in the room, I was forced to set up shop in the lobby with my laptop. At some point, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. Sure, it was a windy afternoon, with the sound of rustling leaves and fluttering curtains, but there was something suspicious about the movement behind my shoulder. I turned around and saw a tiny snake trying to climb the French window just a few feet away from me. Now, for someone who freaks out at the sight of snakes even on TV, or even rodents for that matter, oddly, I didn't jump out of my skin. I stared at the creature incredulously, trying to comprehend the situation.

Sanity finally made its presence felt after a few seconds. I alerted the receptionist, and from nowhere, at least five hotel staff sprung into action (a few with tools not normally associated with snake-catching), attempting to chase away the baby reptile intruder. The snake hurriedly slithered outside and into the nearby bushes, unharmed. A staff member told me that it was of a harmless, non-poisonous variety.

Recent cricket tours to Sri Lanka - especially one involving England - have had their share of snake-sightings. During a tour match in 2007 in Colombo, a cobra was spotted in a corner beyond the boundary, at the stroke of lunch, sending eight players scurrying away from the pavilion. At Dambulla on the same tour, some England players also came across a King Cobra (or so it was claimed) during a training run near their hotel. The 'snake-charm' must have worked, as England went on to win their next three games.

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A ride through the 'Gateway to Miracle'

Quite often, the quality of roads and highways is seen as an indicator of a nation's development. If that yardstick is applied to Sri Lanka as well, then the Southern Expressway has given everyone a good reason to brag

Kanishkaa Balachandran

25-Feb-2013

A foundation stone calls it a "Gateway to Miracle". Quite often, the quality of roads and highways is seen as an indicator of a nation's development. If that yardstick is applied to Sri Lanka as well, then the Southern Expressway has given everyone a good reason to brag. And why not? The swanky highway makes it possible to zoom from Colombo to Galle in just one hour, perhaps even sooner, if you've got the right wheels. It siphons off at least two and a half hours off the regular journey via the old Galle Road, which is very much in use and remains toll-free.

Inaugurated on November 23, 2011 by the president Mahinda Rajapakse, the expressway begins at Kottawa, a Colombo suburb, and ends at Pinnaduwa, after bypassing Galle town centre. For a country that survives largely on road transport, this project would come as a blessing for the time-conscious traveler. Work is underway to stretch it to Matara and the upcoming international airport in Mattala, near Hambantota.

Having made several trips to Galle, the charming drive by the old road made the trip all the more worthwhile. The old Galle Road begins at Galle Face in Colombo, cuts through the bustling business district of the city, passes the sea-facing suburbs of Dehiwala and Mt Lavinia before hitting the outskirts. A good chunk of the journey runs parallel to the sea, with the waves kissing the tar. The railway line too adds to the allure. The journey is dotted with beachside resorts with varying degrees of luxury, beachhouses, souvenier shops on the roadside, fishing villages, commercial towns, railway intersections etc. The temptation to stop at every vantage point and take pictures could add another half an hour to your journey.

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A warm, secure welcome for the 'British Universities'

Careful planning came to fruition this week as we arrived in Lahore for the first cricket tour of Pakistan by a foreign team, apart from Afghanistan, since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team

Kamal Alam

25-Feb-2013

Our curry diet is three weeks old, seam marks fester on the upper thigh and we are playing more than we miss. Careful planning came to fruition this week as we arrived in Lahore for the first cricket tour of Pakistan by a foreign team, apart from Afghanistan, since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team. We are the Afghan Appeal Fund XI (AAF) - a charity team captained by Kamal Alam and comprised of MCC, Durham and Oxford University players - and are here to play four matches, to promote the AAF and also, crucially, to help the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in their bid to bring international cricket back to the country.

We are not the MCC, though we have several playing members and we are not the British Universities, though we are all from British universities. It is a charity tour. The AAF, patronised by General Sir David Richards with Lady Richards as president, is a UK-registered charity set up by British servicemen's wives to build schools and further education in Afghanistan.

The last purpose of the tour - to support the PCB in their bid to bring international cricket back to Pakistan - means we have their full support, red carpet et al. With cricket akin to oxygen in these parts, the dearth of international action has had an enormous impact domestically. While the quality of our play may not, in truth, merit our staying at the prestigious National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore, 24-hour access to a bowling machine and breakfast coaching tips from national coach Dav Whatmore are more than welcome. The NCA is also a convenient and secure base. And it is this latter issue, which is of course the key one.

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Dhaka gives Asia Cup a life

Most one-day tournaments get a bad rap. Even the ICC's global tournaments come in for flak, with the structure and duration of several World Cups questioned, and the Champions Trophy is deemed an irrelevance

Siddarth Ravindran

25-Feb-2013

The Asia Cup is no different. While it is finally managing to carve out a space as a regular biennial event over the past few years, the crowds stayed away when it was played in the oppressive heat of June and July in Pakistan four years ago. The previous edition in Dambulla also had little buzz, hardly becoming the focus of attention even in that tiny town.

This time, though, it has been completely different. Dhaka's massive appetite for cricket has transformed the tournament. The stadium was only half-full for the opening match of the competition, between Bangladesh and Pakistan, but then news filtered in that the city had been crippled by a public transport shutdown, and the fans had still managed to find a way to get to the game.

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A veteran gets to shoot Tendulkar's big moment

Siddarth Ravindran

25-Feb-2013

As dozens of reporters watched Sachin Tendulkar wend his way towards the 100th, from the terrace of the media centre, a chair was brought out and placed near the safety railing so that it provided an almost perfect straight-on view of the action. Soon after, a doctor and two assistants helped an elderly bald man with a lush white beard sit in the chair. He was clearly ill and his health was regularly monitored by the doctor. He even threw up, but stayed in the chair watching the game. A camera was placed in his hand, and the man peered through it at the action.

He was Al Haj Mahammad Zahirul Haq, a veteran photojournalist for the Bangla daily Aaj Kaal, and had been the official photographer of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh. Around 80 years old, Zahirul Haq is diabetic and hypertensive, and was feeling unwell on the day; but being a huge fan of Sachin Tendulkar, he wanted to be at the stadium to capture the moment when the landmark was achieved. Despite struggling to keep the camera in place, he managed to fulfil his dream of photographing the landmark. Immediately after, he was rushed off to the hospital for more thorough checks on his health. Talk about dedication.

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