cricinfo.com About cricinfoblogs
Blogs home
First Class, first person Blues Brothers Rob's Lobs Tour Diaries Pak Spin Girls Aloud
Beyond The Test World On The Circuit What's New The Surfer It Figures The IPL Buzz

Cricinfo Blogs Home

« Cooking the senses at the SSC | Galle's cricket windfall »

Galle completes its comeback

Posted by Andrew Miller on 12/18/2007 in England in Sri Lanka, 2007-08





It was almost like Test cricket had never been away © Getty Images

After all the angst and uncertainty, it was as if we'd never been away. Up until the moment that the first ball was bowled, the doubts still lingered about the readiness of the venue, but after three traumatic years, nothing was going to prevent this comeback from being completed. International cricket is back in Galle, and on the evidence of a brief but eventful day's play, it won't be departing again in a hurry.

It was, quite simply, a blisteringly hot day. Some forecasters claimed it was 97% humidity, but it was hard to spot the 3% of Matthew Hoggard's brow that wasn't drenched in sweat. But for the punters around the stands, the heat was nothing but a blessing - most of them had feared this would turn into a sub-tropical Glastonbury, but the brutal conditions did away with all the mud and ensured that the duckboards upon which their chairs were perched didn't sink below the boundary boards.

Down at pitch level the conditions were stifling - it's hard to imagine that many of England's fielders were too chuffed when Michael Vaughan won the toss and bowled. The English supporters did at least have canopies over their seats to provide partial respite - all apart from the occupiers of the "special enclosure" to the right of the pavilion, whose roof won't be erected until tomorrow. The locals on the mudflats at midwicket weren't quite so privileged, although their concessionary ticket prices of 20 rupees (compared to the English figure of 500 rupees) did somewhat redress the imbalance.

As ever at Galle, the best and cheapest vantage point was up on the ramparts of the glorious old Dutch fort. A mass of Englishmen lined the walls, armed with a day-long supply of drinks and picnics, soaking up the rays as well as the incredible views spread out below them. A steady breeze fanned them all day long, while down below them, by the roundabout behind the bowler's arm, a band jammed away on a mini-stage, their tunes adding to the general festivity of the occasion.

There was only one place to be if you really wanted to escape the heat, however. The new pavilion complex really came into its own on this opening day. The air conditioning in the press box and the executive suites was like walking into the deep freeze at the back of a tandoori restaurant - even though the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, had to wait for a posse of ten locksmiths to pick their way into his quarters.

It was almost too cool for the occasion, although the pavilion roof - a short hop up a flight of stairs round the corner - proved to be the perfect place to take in the full vista of a grand occasion. The giant screen at midwicket (fully operational just in time), the beer- and sun-drenched tones of the Barmy Army, the Sri Lanka flags on the fort and the England banners on the fences, and the majestic backdrop of the 17th century clocktower. All captured in a single eyeful. If you let your thoughts wander, it's almost possible to believe that nothing has changed since England were last in town.

Contributors

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
Andrew McGlashan
Paul Coupar
John Stern
Dileep_Premachandran
Anand Vasu
George Binoy
Andrew Miller
Will Luke
Charlotte Edwards
Sidharth Monga
S Rajesh
Kumar Sangakkara
Edward Craig
Nagraj Gollapudi
Jenny Thompson
Isobel Joyce
Urooj Mumtaz
Cri-Zelda Brits
Lawrence Booth
Cricinfo

Categories
2007 World Cup Champions Trophy DLF Cup England Women in India England in Australia, 2006-07 England in India, 2005-06 England in New Zealand 2007-08 England in Sri Lanka, 2007-08 ICC Women's World Cup Qualifiers, 2007-08 ICC World Twenty20 India and South Africa in Ireland, 2007 India in Australia 2007-08 India in Bangladesh, 2007 India in England, 2007 India in Pakistan 2005-06 India in South Africa 2006-07 India in West Indies 2006 Indian Premier League Kumar Sangakkara diary Quadrangular series, Ireland, 2007 Sri Lanka tri-series 2006 Under-19 World Cup World Cricket League
Recent Posts
Hectic and surreal English interests Momentum is over-rated The aftermath of The Slap Indian Foreign Legion? Slapgate - the IPL's first controversy Warne, a pocketful of sunshine Storm in the cheering corner Random thoughts from the first leg Expect the unexpected
Archives
May 2008April 2008March 2008February 2008January 2008December 2007November 2007September 2007August 2007July 2007June 2007May 2007March 2007February 2007January 2007December 2006November 2006October 2006September 2006August 2006July 2006June 2006May 2006March 2006February 2006January 2006
cricket links
The Guardian The Daily Telegraph The Times The Independent The Age Sydney Morning Herald The Australian NZ Herald SuperSport BBC Rediff
Web Feeds
© Cricinfo 2007