No sweets in this Kandy store
Police Grounds, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 3/3/2016
Kandy Cricket Club won by 64 runs
Kandy Cricket Club: 259-5 [Kasun 100*, Silva 56]
Strongroom: 195 [J.Gower 40]
View the Scorecard
The Asgiriya Police Grounds is a lovely setting in Kandy, positioned in amongst police barracks, gardens, a Hindu temple - and, overseen by the omnipresence of a huge white Buddha statue atop an adjacent hill. However, Buddha himself would have no doubt empathised with the state of suffering within our touring party - several of us were nursing lively stomachs, courtesy of sourcing out an ‘authentic’ eatery the previous evening. Dave G, Ian and Vinay all stepped aside on this occasion.
Of note here was the presence of a coconut matting strip - the first time most of our squad had encountered such a surface. Rolled out like a carpet, this was a new rug (the third of its likely 60 or so matches in its lifetime), and the groundsman suggested it would be pacy and bouncy. Kandy CC won the toss, and batted first, and the matting soon revealed its nature as Grant banged the opener on his helmet with the first delivery of the game. However, such lively incidents ultimately proved irrelevant, as Kandy CC racked up 259-5 in their 40 overs.
Opening batsman Kasun (100*) played a most impressive innings. Watchful for the first 15 overs, he quietly went about his business knocking the ball around, but gradually he grew in confidence and accelerated to his century as the innings progressed. Overall our bowling was poor - far too often we bowled 2-3 bad balls per over, and in this part of the world there is simply no margin for error, as such deliveries are inevitably smashed to the boundary. As generally happened on tour, there were too many wides from especially the pace bowlers. Joe (3-49) again demonstrated his value, and Ujjal showed some promise with his newly discovered (to us) off-spin. Jon bowled steadily. The pick of the pace bowlers, in terms of consistency and threat, were probably Asif and Mitch, with Asif generating some good pace from the barracks end, though inconsistency means that this didn’t necessarily translate into their figures.
As for the outfield, it was one of the most brutal and unforgiving some of us had ever experienced. While the ground was essentially flat, up close it was uneven, and was rock-hard, brown and sun-scorched, due to a lack of rain in recent weeks. Those who did throw themselves around inevitably had to contented with shredded whites, bleeding knees and elbows. In the latter stages, David P dropped a massively high shot on the long-on boundary - only to succeed in catching an even higher strike two balls later. Again, our fielding effort levels were generally good throughout, but a high level of consistency couldn’t be maintained and mistakes were brutally punished. Our lack of bowling discipline meant we faced a stiff target of 260. Certainly our bowling and fielding were not up to the level of Matara or Maggona, despite the weather being much more comfortable (though still hot) up here in the hills.
In response, we were soon in trouble, with Jimmy and Jules soon back in the shade of the pavilion. Mitch (38) and Jon G (40) steadied proceedings, and started to take the attack back to the bowlers. Again, the middle overs were filled with quality spin bowling, but on this occasion we showed more resolve, the spinners probably bowled a few more loose deliveries than in the previous three matches, and Tim, (20) and Ujjal (32*) helped us to what would be our highest total of the tour (195). Ujjal in particular demonstrated what a positive attitude and some innovation can achieve. Local lad Asif clonked a huge straight 6 off his first ball that damaged a down-pipe on the neighbouring police barracks, but otherwise we fell 65 short of our total. This seemed to be a missed opportunity - if we’d bowled/fielded as well as in the previous two games we would have been much closer to the opposition...
Written By: The Brothers Gower
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