The Seagulls Take Sri Lanka By Storm

The Inside Scoop of StAUMCC’s Tour to Sri Lanka…

| UPDATED

Picture it. It’s 12pm, January 5th 2015. Instead of spending a cold January morning bingeing on Netflix, the bleary-eyed lads of StAUCC stagger into the midday sun of Kandy, Sri Lanka. Having arrived at Colombo airport at 5:30am that morning, the boys have been whisked to Kandy aboard a pink, double-decker monstrosity that would serve as their transport for their two-week tour of paradise. The screeching of the bus’ brakes still ringing in their ears, the sleep deprived fourteen are about to embark upon a training session at the same ground at which they will face a Sri Lankan Combined Universities XI the following day. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end…

The ‘Gulls first game took place at the University of Peradeniya

While the standard of cricket on show that day will quite rightly be forever written out of the history books, the contest the following day brought some encouraging signs. Bowling first, after the opposition had raced to 90 odd for 1 off 9 overs, some tight bowling from Earnshaw, Abbott and yours truly dragged the run rate down, restricting the opposition to a substantial, but very gettable 257 off 40 overs. As opener Jimmy Earnshaw, GoPro strapped to his helmet, strode out to the middle alongside Max Arthur, the whole team watched with bated breath. As any cricketer will know, agreeing to wear a camera is a surefire way to guarantee a farcical display that will be forever immortalized on film – surely the cricketing Gods couldn’t allow an act of such hubris to pass? Right on cue, Jimmy smashed his first ball to cover, was dismissed for a golden-duck and thus cemented his place in cricket club folklore. Satisfied with their work, the cricketing Gods called it a day – the heavens opened and the match was washed out. A blessing in disguise? No way, we’d have won for sure…

The next game in Kandy was one to forget as we were well and truly put to the sword by a slow left-armer whose professional career had yielded some 1000 first class scalps. Restricted to a paltry 120 off 30 overs, the oppo knocked off the runs in double quick time thanks to a scintillating 85 not out from their left handed opener. Three bloody cheers for Ramirez…

The Venue for Match 2

With cricket on the back burners for a few days, the lads enjoyed a wee bit of culture as they took a day trip up to the hills. After a nice cuppa at Mackwoods tea plantation, we lunched, seemingly to the disgust of the regulars, at the exclusive Hill Club in Nuwara Eliya. Three courses devoured, a questionable round of golf followed. Questionable, in part, thanks to some iffy attire, but largely thanks to some very average golf. As we shanked drives into nearby trees and lakes, our Sri Lankan caddies hung their heads in despair. Who cares, we’re bloody cricketers, aren’t we?

Well, in theory… Having transferred from Kandy to Bentota, and having visited an elephant sanctuary on the way, our next match was at the Seenigama Oval – a ground built in the aftermath of tsunami thanks to donations from notable Sri Lankan cricketers including legendary pie-chucker Muttiah Muralitharan. Unfortunately, we were afforded no such charity by a supremely talented opposition. Batting first, thanks to a classy maiden 50 from fresher Badger Everett, the Seagulls put on a very respectable 200. In the second innings, some loose bowling from the ‘Gulls allowed the opposition to get on top quickly, and by the time I was escorted off the field with a split webbing, the oppo were almost half way to their total. Little more than an hour later, as I lay giddy on anaesthetic in a Sri Lankan hospital, the news rolled in that the ‘Gulls had succumbed to their second defeat on tour. With spirits in the camp low, little did we know what the following day had in store for us…

The Seenigama Oval

The Hill Club, Nuwara Eliya

Ali Stokes and Max Arthur on the golf course

The toss at the Seenigama Oval

Tuesday 13th January is a day the grandkids will never hear the end of. As we took on the Victory Invitational XI at the world famous Galle International Stadium, we got out of first gear for the first time all tour. Bowling first, we took the oppo apart, dismissing them for 102 as Alex Haines’ parsimonious spell yielded an impressive 4-12. The runs were knocked off without too much trouble as the ‘Gulls cantered home to a four wicket victory. With the afternoon free, we took a leisurely walk around the breath-taking Dutch fort in Galle and capped the visit off with an even more leisurely lunch. A tuk-tuk race back to the ground was followed by a coach trip to Mirissa where our tour sponsor, Sri Tea, had very kindly offered to host us for a post-match barbie. Having dined like kings, we whizzed back to our hotel in Bentota where we enjoyed one or two dubiously named ‘Sri Lanka Glory’ cocktails. 14 000 rupees worth of ‘Glories’ later, the boys finally hit the hay after a momentous day at the office.

The ‘Gulls were victorious in their game at the Galle International Stadium

The ‘Gulls at the fort in Galle

The rest of the tour passed in a blur. A day of beach volleyball and banana boating was followed by two more days of cricket. The (surprisingly young) Darmapatharaja Old Boys, were comfortably dispatched by a 180 run margin thanks to a swashbuckling century from Max Arthur. Our final game the following day proved to be our most competitive as the Old Cot XI chased down our total with only three wickets left in the hutch. A tactical loss, of course, as their 6’ 4” captain, who rocked up in full army uniform, looked like he could have done us some damage…

The ‘Gulls still found plenty of time for beach cricket

The Surrey Ground

Our final day was spent in Colombo where we had the privilege of coaching the kiddywinks of the British School of Colombo. We were gobsmacked as we watched 12 and 13-year-old kids batting and bowling with a level of talent and intelligence arguably superior to that of our own. After failing to persuade one or two of the wee’uns to fly over to St Andrews to compete in our BUCS fixtures (wage dispute), we were proud to donate a bag full of kit to the school in the hope that we’ll see one or two of them trouncing a hapless England XI in 10 years’ time. We spent our final afternoon getting ripped off in the markets of Colombo and Jimmy Earnshaw successfully broke the world record for the ‘Most Money Wasted on Pointless Souvenirs’. The lads left Colombo that evening with a tear in their eye, and with one last rendition of KC and the Sunshine Band’s ‘Give it Up’, jetted back to Heathrow after a memorable two weeks in the sun.

For more info about the tour, see StAUCC’s Facebook page.

The tourists had the privilege of coaching the kids at the British School of Colombo

The University of St Andrews Men’s Cricket Club would like to thank:

Max Arthur – For his tireless work in putting the tour together.

Tony Opatha/Nusrath Kamal – For their help and guidance as tour guides while we were in Sri Lanka.

Sri Tea – For all their support in helping our match at Galle to take place, and for a stunning barbecue.

Surridge Sports – For supplying endless amounts of stash.

The Balaka – For hosting our tour dinner and for 25 + years of support.

The Athletic Union – For all their help and support in bringing the Club forward.

The infamous pink bus…