England in Sri Lanka 2018: Making friends (or not) in Colombo and watching Ben Stokes steal the show

The talkSPORT team have arrived in Sri Lanka as they prepare to bring you live and exclusive coverage of England cricket’s two-month tour.

They are keeping us updated with the goings on in Colombo with a daily diary. Here’s the latest entry…

DAY FOUR

After joining the talkSPORT team on Tuesday afternoon, yesterday was my first full day on this extraordinary island.

Whilst the “talent” stewed in the apartment to rest their mind, body and voices, producer Sal and I decided to venture out into Colombo. Aboard the talkSPORT bus we went in search of the Viharamahadevi Park – the largest park in the capital.

The park provides a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city. We were enjoying the tranquillity before being approached by a friendly man claiming to be the “head park-keeper” who proceeded to give us a tour of the gardens.

We were treated to the delights of the “touch me not plant” – the leaves close when touched like mini-venus fly traps but without the venom. Cannonball trees, cinnamon trees and “flying foxes” could also be observed on this impromptu circuit.

We had to make a dash to make it in time for England training so made to say our farewells to our new-found friend. At this moment he pulled his cap out and demanded a fee for this. A Mexican stand-off ensued for a few minutes between producer Sal and the “head park-keeper”. A gentleman’s agreement was made and we raced to the P Sara Oval. The old saying, “nothing comes for free in life”, certainly holds true in Sri Lanka. Not sure who originally said that, possibly Vince Lombardi.

The English side arrived for training ahead of their opening tour match against a Sri Lanka XI. Their warm-up consisted of three separate stations – shuttles, core and conditioning and shooting practice! The coach would tee up the player with a left-foot or right-footed volley or half volley. Sam Curran managed to hit the coach twice with his attempts whilst Joe Root showed finesse in his finishes. It was Ben Stokes who stole the show with a few thunderous shots which nearly took out a security guard.

Interesting start to England training. Shooting practice. Could @benstokes38 be the answer to England’s long term problems on the left wing? pic.twitter.com/S7tq6xqguF

— James Savundra (@JamesSavundra) October 4, 2018

The players headed to the nets where Root faced spin bowling with a half bat – a skinny version of a full version. The bowlers endured the intense humidity with Tom Curran explaining how he needed to dry his hands after each delivery to be able to hold the ball comfortably. There was a major (in fact, very minor) injury scare for Jonny Bairstow when Curran Jr threw him a water bottle which he dropped! An intense glare was the response from batsman to bowler.

The talkSPORT team have coped with the conditions in different ways. Jon Norman has had to buy a new wardrobe to try and counter the inevitable sweat patches. Macca has barely sweat a bead. He puts it down to his warm weather training heading into the trip which included sitting by an indoor swimming pool watching his daughter swim to recreate the conditions faced here.

In the evening we were delighted to be welcomed by our newest addition: Gareth Batty. We went to meet him at his plush hotel for a beer and a spicy assortment of Sri Lankan curries. Conversation drifted between Sri Lanka, cricket, children and bat sizes. We also learnt which former cricketer did the most damage to the dressing room at The Oval after an unsatisfactory dismissal – damage which included destroying four shower heads. It’s not who you think it might be.

talkSPORT will be bringing you exclusive live commentary of all of England’s matches in Sri Lanka this winter. More details on our coverage here.

from Cricket – talkSPORT https://ift.tt/2RubMCI