SportingBilly

Here is an account from Grace, our apprentice, of her once in a lifetime trip to Sri Lanka with Wiltshire Cricket. 

Being selected to represent Wiltshire cricket in Sri Lanka was a massive honour, even though I couldn’t play through injury, it was an experience I will never forget. That trip gave me and all the other girls life experiences that we would not have experienced otherwise.

Arriving in a sunny and very hot Colombo on a Wednesday morning greeted by Sri Lankan traditional dancers and drummers got everyone closer to the culture of the beautiful country. What a start to our trip! We were then on our way to our first hotel of the tour… Mount Lavinia. The views from the hotel can only be described as breath-taking, Sri Lanka is truly an amazing country!

During our trip we visited many amazing places like the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Galle fort, Kandy Temple (Temple of the Tooth) and the Embilmeegama Tea Factory. We also met lots of friendly, amazing people who made the trip even more enjoyable. It’s safe to say this was the best trip I have ever been on and it will be hard to beat it.

The day that everyone was looking forward to… playing at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, for most, a once in a lifetime opportunity. To have the opportunity to play at this famous ground was nothing short of amazing and an experience I’m sure no one will forget. Being able to play two games there and beating Gloucestershire for the first time in a long while made the experience that little bit better. After that game everyone’s spirts were high as we headed back to the hotel for a chilled afternoon in the pool.

Every cricket ground we drove past no matter what day or time there was always a game being played and the standard was so high. It was nice to just stop for a minute, watch and see just how good these people are at the sport. The cricket pitches were kept by the groundsmen to a very high level, the grass and wicket always looked perfect. 

With the end of the tour approaching, we had one last day to relax and do whatever we wanted. This included a bit of retail therapy (a nice trip to the Sri Lankan version of Tesco… Tecso), beach day or getting sun burnt by the pool. The final night was upon us and we all got dressed in traditional Sari dresses for dinner and our end of tour presentation.

Coming back to the cold and snowy weather of England it’s hard to believe that the cricket season is around the corner… maybe playing cricket will never be the same again.