Day 9: Game 6 v Richmond College Galle

Finally we find a highway in Sri Lanka and the trip from Colombo to Galle takes only a couple of hours. We arrived at the International Cricket Stadium in Galle and were blown away by the quality of the surface, the picturesque surroundings and the amazing dressing room. We fielded first against Richmond College and Tim and Tom K took the new ball. There was immediate success and Richmond were shocked to be 1 for 2. A period of consolidation ensued and the score increased to 87 in only 12 overs before the fall of the second wicket. It looked like the Sri Lankans were headed for a big total as the Barker boys could not find their line or length, but all of a sudden it all clicked and Richmond lost their remaining 8 wickets for only 87 runs giving them a total of 174. Tim (3/18), Tom M (3/47) and Will (2/22) were the pick of the bowlers.

While the cricket was being played Thommo and Bindog, on separate occasions ventured into Galle fort to see if there were any markets worth visiting or sights worth seeing. Thommo was walking onto the ramparts when he encountered a man with a wicker basket who asked if he wanted to take a photo. Suddenly the lid of the basket was removed and the head of a King cobra rose and struck at the  Sri Lankan handler. Thommo nearly jumped out of his skin and made a mental note to keep the boys away. 

Barker's batting innings commenced and immediately Zac and Andrew took to the Richmond College attack. The gradual accumulation of runs meant the target was never in doubt and Barker passed the score in the 34th over. Zac(62) and Will(42) were the pick of the batsmen. An unexpected victory means the touring team now has 3 wins from 6 games. Once again, "From the fields" was sung heartily in the change room and the boys were chuffed with their performance.

A short visit was then made to the fort where Thommo kept everyone away from the snake. Other interesting sights were a group of schoolboys being instructed on how to stand to attention and a part of the ramparts populated by couples with umbrellas who would secretly kiss thinking no one could see. From here we all piled back on to he bus for the 40 minute ride to the Heritance Hotel, one of the best in Sri Lanka. Some boys headed to the beach for a swim in the surf, but were shortly instructed to get out of the water as venomous sea snakes come out at night. So it was a game of touch footy on the beach and then a gastronomic feast in the restaurant for dinner. A great result for the team and the day ended on a high.