I'd arrived with a guidebook and a vague idea of everything I wanted to see while I was in the country. I had no real plans to visit anywhere else except the cities where the test matches were being held though I knew day trips would be possible. I'd arrived late in the day so didn't venture out of the hotel for dinner, and stuck to the bar, ending up chatting away with a couple of Australians who had arrived on the same flight as I did.
With the first test match of three starting a couple of days after my arrival, I spent my first two days in Colombo playing tourist, amused that I did see plenty of Australians out and about. I wasn't sure how many I would meet in Sri Lanka. What I realised very quickly is that all the locals were welcoming and friendly, surprised that nearly everyone seemed to speak relatively good English.
And being your typical single bloke, I was checking out the local women from time to time. And many of them were, putting it bluntly, absolutely gorgeous. I also thoroughly enjoyed the food as it was tasty, and the Sri Lankans seemed to really enjoy spices. Hot spices. Alcohol was sold in most places so I could at least cool my mouth by drinking more than a few beers. Being a former Portuguese, Dutch and then British colony, there were plenty of old buildings to check out, with a mixture of churches, temples and mosques.
Finding myself in a pub the night before the test, I ended up chatting with a couple of Australians, surprised they were there with their wives as, being honest, cricket tours were usually full of blokes wanting to watch cricket in the sun while consuming enormous amounts of beer. Their wives were definitely not Anglo-Saxon, Dave's wife being of Indian extraction, Matthew's wife being of Sri Lankan origin, while the wife of Chris was Indonesian. The fact she was there with him was a surprise as Indians and Sri Lankans were mad about cricket. Indonesians? Not so much.
Lining up the next morning at the Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground, I think a lot of the locals would have been wondering why I was lining up with them instead of with a whole bunch of Australians. Whenever I watched a test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, I'd always want to meet those who'd travelled over from the opponent's country. Spending a day exchanging banter with the English Barmy Army was always a brilliant time.
The first ball was to be delivered at 10:30am and I made sure I was at my seat with at least two beers, any exposed skin covered in sunscreen, a hat on my head, sunglasses over my eyes, and zinc across my nose. I also had an air-pod in my ear to listen in to the commentary.
Being surrounded by Sri Lankans was rather amusing as I'm sure many of them were wondering what the hell I was doing in amongst them. Australia had won the toss and had chosen to bat, the two opening batsmen heading out to the middle of the field while eleven Sri Lankan players joined them.
Sipping at my beers, test match cricket takes place over five days. The pace can be slow at times. The fielding side will take its time ensuring the field is set correctly to take wickets but also prevent runs. Batsmen focus on building their total and not giving their wicket away cheaply. Patience is usually rewarded, the batsman hoping to put the ball through gaps in the field, bowlers focusing on their line and length to prevent the batsman from scoring and perhaps drawing them into a bad shot. Spin bowlers will cause all manner of problems by using the pitch and the condition of the ball to their advantage.
Though I was surrounded, I was seated by myself at the end of the row for the first hour or so until I felt a soft tap on the shoulder. I glanced up to see three women looking at me.
"Can we pass, please?" one of them asked.
"Sure," I replied, standing up and providing space for them to pass. Each of them returned a shy grin as they passed by and to my amusement were seated in the three spaces next to me.
Sipping at my beer, they were immediately chatting away next to me as I concentrated on the commentary in my ear and what I could see in the middle of the ground. Australia had a poor record on the sub-continent in India, rarely winning any test series there, and we found Sri Lanka a far tougher nut to crack nowadays than we had twenty or thirty years ago.
What had me smiling was that the three women next to me were soon cheering whenever one of the Sri Lankan bowlers delivered a cracking delivery, making them chuckle whenever I would applaud an Australian boundary (that means the batsman scored four runs for those who know nothing about cricket.)
Consuming my two beers rather quickly as it was already rather warm at 11:30am, I grabbed myself another two and returned to my seat, glancing left to see the three women returning my glance and smiling at me in return.
"G'day," I stated, no doubt sounding like your typical bogan Australian, but at least it made the three of them giggle again, "I'm Mark, and I'm guessing you're wondering why I'm sitting here and not with all the other Aussies?"
"I'm Kalani," the woman next to me stated. She was gorgeous. That wonderful dark, flawless brown skin that I'm sure many women covet in her homeland. She wore a wide-brim hat so wasn't wearing sunglasses, her brown eyes incredibly expressive. Her black hair flowed down past her shoulders. She wore a light-coloured top and a skirt that showed off enough leg to gain interest, "This is Chandrika, and to her left is Asanka."
"Lovely to meet you," I replied.
"First time to Sri Lanka?" Kalani asked.
"First time outside of Australia in a long time." There was a thwack that we could just about hear, and we glanced to see an Australian batsman had scored a boundary. After I applauded, I returned my attention to Kalani. "Big cricket fans?"
"I am though I immediately blame my father and brother for that. Growing up in a household obsessed with cricket where even my mother loved to sit down and watch it for hours on end, I didn't stand a chance."
"And your friends?"
"They just love a day out in the sun."
"Got a ticket for all five days?"
That earned a smirk. "You think it'll make five days, Mark?"
"Because Australia is going to win by an innings within three?"
She chuckled, playfully slapping my shoulder. "Behave. Sri Lanka will win but it'll be a close-run thing. Yes, I have a ticket for all five days. I'll be joining my dad for the third test in Kandy. Are you going to all three tests?"
"I am."
That made her smile. "So am I. I live here in Colombo nowadays, but I travel home to Kandy as often as I can. Good thing they organised this series for the holidays."
"Holidays?"
"I'm a teacher. Primary school. We have wet and dry seasons, obviously... Well, obvious to us, but it's the time of year when school is out for six or so weeks. What do you do?"
"Construction. Own part of the company with my father. The only reason I could get away for this whole series is I can do some work over here."
"How can you construct things all the way over here?" she teased.
"Well, I'm an engineer for a construction company. A lot of my work is done on a laptop nowadays though I still like to get my hands dirty as often as possible. Dad is happy for me to be a digital nomad as he knows I've always wanted to go travelling but, you know, things change."
There was a large cheer around us as the Sri Lankan players were making an appeal for an LBW (Leg Before Wicket). The umpire had said no, the players asked for a review. All eyes were on the big screen as replays were shown and it didn't look good for the Australian batsman. After a couple of minutes, the umpire changed his original decision and raised his finger. The three women next to me all rose to their feet and cheered, joining everyone around us as Sri Lanka took their first wicket of the day.
"Our batting runs deep," I stated once they sat down, "And we've made a good start."
"Let's just see how things stand at lunch, hmmm?" Kalani teased.
