A Brief history of Sri Lankan Cricket

Sri Lanka's Love of Cricket

The tropical island of Sri Lanka is famous for a number of things. On the one hand Sri Lanka has year round warm weather, sandy beaches, exotic birds, majestic elephants, fabulous good quality tea, and expensive gems. These are all on the good side, whilst on the dark side you have the bloody civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sinhalese that ended only in May 2009 amongst allegations of war crimes and killing fields. However, above all of these things stands Cricket. 

Ask any sporting fan and they will tell you Sri Lanka is 100% famous for it's cricket. Ask any Sri Lankan man and they will tell you in no uncertain terms that  cricket is Sri Lankas pride and joy. As you tour around Sri Lanka you will see it being played everywhere, on the roads in the villages and cities, in the jungle clearings or amidst the paddy fields, on school playing fields or at the beach, in fact you will see cricket being played by young and old where ever your Lanka travels take you. 

British Start Cricket Mania

It was the British who first introduced Cricket to Sri Lanka, back in the days when Sri Lanka was Ceylon and when Britain governed Sri Lanka. In 1882 Sri Lanka played it’s first big match against a British touring side, in those days teams from England and Australia would stop over in Sri Lanka  on their way to play international matches and indulge in a bit of pre-match practice. Teams from Sri Lanka were thrown together and inevitably lost!  

The road to Test match recognition would take another 100 years! Visiting teams continued to stop off and play, Sri Lanka became more organized and structured and yes got better and better. During this 100 years Sri Lanka played many “unofficial test matches” – 51 in total, but their applications to join the International Cricket Council (ICC) were always rejected. Finally in 1981 Mr Gamini Dissanayake persuaded the powers that be to let Sri Lanka join the ICC.  

Sri Lankan Cricketers Get A Break

In 1975 Sri Lanka made their debut in the One Day Internationals, World cup. They played the formidable West Indies they managed 81 runs but lost to the Windies. In 1979 they were back again this time better and stronger, they defeated India and took home the cup.

In 1983, Sri Lanka managed to beat New Zealand and retain the cup but by 1987 in the first World Cup to be played outside of  England, Sri Lanka were defeated  and lost the trophy. In 1992 they showed signs of returning to form and managed to win a couple of matches but there was still room for improvement!

The breakthrough came in 1996, this was the year that the world sat up and took notice of Sri Lankan Cricket. A bomb blast in Colombo caused the Australian and the West Indies teams to pull out, giving Sri Lanka automatic entry into the knock-outs. This time fortune was on their side and  they went on to triumph and take the cup.

At the end of 2015 Sri Lanka had played 66 matches in World Cups, out of which they have won 31 and lost 32.  Most of the losses were before 1996. Since 1996, Sri Lanka are the second most consistent team after Australia, winning 27 of their 41 games.

Planning a holiday or tour of Sri Lanka?  

If you would like to discover more about Sri Lanka or plan a tour of Sri Lanka then why not buy my book, it's a bargain and it's packed with great info on everything you need to know about Sri Lanka.

click HERE  to see more!

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Backpacking Sri Lanka

Missed Out On The Free Book?

If you were one of the lucky ones who managed to snap up a free copy of Backpacking Sri Lanka, then well done to you:)

I hope you are finding it helpful and checking out all that's good and bad in Sri Lanka. You will find the train and bus section really helpful when planning your tour of Sri Lanka.

If you didn't get your free copy and are worrying about planning your Lanka travels, where to go and when, how to get from the airport, which attractions to see and which ones to leave out,  don't worry!  The good news is for a limited time only you can grab a copy at 50% off using this special coupon code CB77R
Click on the link below and enter the coupon code CB77R to claim your 50% discount.
Enjoy!

Sunsets in Sri Lanka

Beautiful Sunsets In Sri Lanka

I have to say that I have been very lucky to enjoy some really spectacular sunsets in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is a small tropical island just off the southern tip of India. It's hot all year round with day time temperatures ranging between 23-32degrees. There are no seasons like spring or winter, it's either hot and dry or hot and raining. The only real difference is the ferocity of the rain as the tropical storms are loud and crazy. Unstoppable lighting strikes often bring down power lines plunging cities into darkness and without electricity for days. The wild monsoon rains lead to flooding and landslides and cause havoc with transport, but it's not everyday and quite often the rains bring a welcome relief to the constant heat.

Get a Torch!

Unlike Europe sunrise and sunset takes place at much the same time everyday. By 6.30pm the sun has vanished behind the sea and by 7pm everything is black, if your out in the villages or more secluded beaches you really do need a torch!

Romantic Sunsets

Watching the sunset on the beach is a really beautiful experience, golden sands, warm sea and a cooling breeze. There's no need for a jumper or wrap as the air is still warm, it's glorious. To sit on a quiet beach with just the noise of nature around you watching the sun sink is really joyous. If you are lucky you might get to see the odd turtle popping it's head above the waves and no doubt there will be a stray dog loitering nearby begging for some friendly company. And if you are really really lucky you might even see the fabled green flash the shoots across the horizon just as the sun waves it's last goodbye.

Even if you are not a romantic and sunsets aren't a real big deal for you, that doesn't matter sunset is still a great time to enjoy the beach. Find a nice bar get yourself a beer and just relax.
To discover more about Sri Lanka click HERE

 
P.S. I would be really happy if you would leave a review :)
Gail Leach Smashwords Author of Backpacking Sri Lanka
connect with me at
Twitter Gailceylon
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FREE FOR 72 HOURS ONLY!

Dear friends
A short and sweet happy message. Finally I have managed to publish my Backpacking Guide to Sri Lanka on www.smashwords.com
As a thank you I have decided to make it FREE for 72 hours ONLY.

Hurry over to www.smashwords.com right now and download a free copy HERE

P.S. I would be really happy if you would leave a review :)
Gail Leach Smashwords Author of Backpacking Sri Lanka - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/617107
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Curses & Black Magic in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka a Land of Curses & Black Magic

It seems like months have gone by since I wrote my first post called an Interesting Life all about the difficulties of self publishing. I would love to say it was all going smoothly but it isn't. Today my book has been prepared for publishing and I am ready to upload it, so what's holding me back?
Simple the internet or lack of it!

According to my Chinese horoscope today is a lucky day, yet I still haven't published my book. Some day soon Backpacking Sri Lanka will be published! (Fingers crossed!)  Unless of course I truly am cursed by an interesting life! Or should that be I am just cursed?

Sri Lanka is a land full of superstition and having someone cursed is an everyday occurrence as I found out one day.

 Cursed by My Neighbours!

When I first moved to Sri Lanka I lived in a lovely little house close to the sea. On the left side of the house there was a vacant plot of land owned by my Landlord's sister, on the right an abandoned half built house. At first there were no problems at all and I had no issues with anyone. Then one night I came back to the house to find the old deserted house lit up like a Christmas tree and my house in total darkness. The electricity had tripped, so I sorted it and thought nothing more of it as these things happened in Sri Lanka, there were always power cuts. As for the half built house I just thought the owners had returned to finish it and electricity was now installed.

The next day workers appeared on the empty land next to me and began to build a house for the landlord's sister.

The house they cursed!

In the days and weeks that followed I was subject to more and more "power cuts" sometimes the power would be off for the whole day or night leaving me sweating in 32degree heat. I complained to the estate agent who allegedly complained to the landlord and the electricity board. But nothing got resolved. The power cuts continued.
I discovered that the half built house was being used by the builders who were living there whilst building the house. Funny, they seemed to have no problems at all with their electricity and every night the half built house was lit up like a super charged Christmas tree.

Then I started having problems with the water - in that I had none! I noticed how next door had no problem filling their tank.  It was all getting way too much and I was well and truly mad. Then one day the electricity kept cutting off, it was strange as it went off every time they used the power tools on the new house. So with my very strong and fit male friend - hero Chris I went next door to the building site to find out why they had power and I didn't.

The answer was simple, they had set up an illegal connection to my electricity and water. They were helping themselves to both!

I'd like to say it all ended well, but it didn't! The builders claimed my landlord had given them permission to do it, he said he didn't and blamed his sister and everyone blamed everybody.  There was a lot of shouting and arguing and things got ugly as hero Chris ripped their connection out. The dog killing neighbour (we named him that because I had seen him take a machete to a dog) came out and joined in, then other neighbours came out. They all said the same thing. I was white, I was a foreigner, I should let them use the electric and water and pay for it!

Unleashing The Curse!

As the days went by the arguments continued, the dog killer threw dog shit into my front garden, hero Chris threw it back. The workers continued to use the electricity, Chris continued to disconnect it. They continued to divert my water so we diverted it back.  And so it went on and on and on. Until we got a man from the electricity board to come along and threaten them with prosecution. Only then did they permanently disconnect from my supply.
That night hero Chris and I returned to the house after a well deserved beer, as we opened the gate there was a huge cheer from builders and neighbours. We weren't sure why until we saw the white string across the door way.

In Sri Lanka this type of string is used for blessings and curses. It wasn't hard to figure out which one they had given to us. By breaking the string we had unleashed the curse and the wrath of the demons and they were delighted.

I didn't stay much longer in that house - couldn't stand the neighbours!
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P.S. I would be really happy if you would leave a review of my book :)
Gail Leach Smashwords Author of Backpacking Sri Lanka 
Click here to view the book - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/617107
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I love my Sri Lankan Boyfriend. Seriously?

Worst Gift Ever?

I was checking through Amazon when I came across this.

I love my Sri Lankan boyfriend. Really?

As I looked at this dreadful mug I wondered who the hell would buy such a product and more importantly why?
I am lost for words.
I mean, is it a gift a woman or gay man gives to their boyfriend? Or is it a gift someone buys for themselves just to remind themselves they have a Sri Lankan boyfriend?
Who knows.
Seriously who would spend $14.99 plus $3.99 postage on this? My book is a much better buy! it gives you useful information, honest reviews and makes you laugh in places. So much better than a mug or a Sri Lankan boyfriend!

Caring is Sharing, so please share this article;)
Gail Leach Smashwords Author of Backpacking Sri Lanka 
VIEW THE BOOK HERE
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Twitter Gailceylon
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Sri Lankan Coffee, it's Disgusting!

If You love Coffee Read this!

Are you a coffee connoisseur?
Do you love your filter or ground coffee?
Are you planning a tour of Sri Lanka?
If you answered yes to the above 3 questions then prepare to be really disappointed by the coffee in Sri Lanka.
Although Sri Lanka is a coffee growing country, the sad fact is the coffee is just disgusting. In fact I really think it has been mis labeled because there is no way it even tastes like coffee.

Amazingly, Sri Lanka has been growing and serving "coffee" since the 1800's.
It was during the time of Colonial British rule that  tea and coffee plantations were introduced to Sri Lanka. Coffee was so popular in the 1800's it was served everywhere. Today, it no longer resembles coffee but it is still served everywhere!

100's of years growing coffee and it's still tastes disgusting!

Whilst Sri Lanka was able to continue cultivating fine teas, it has failed completely to produce a coffee bean that tastes anything like coffee, despite having had 100's of years to practice growing a decent coffee bean.
If you are planning a tour of Sri Lanka be prepared to encounter this dreadful coffee, it is normally served very milky with sugar. When you first taste it you are likely to ask "WHAT IS THIS?"

To make matters worse the only other coffee widely available is Nescafe - nuff said!

Take your own Coffee on your tour of Sri Lanka!

Include Colombo in your tour of Sri Lanka to ensure you visit a decent coffee house (they have a few!) and some of the better hotels also serve imported coffee.

To be on the safe side I suggest you pack a super strong, shake your bones and wake you up coffee like this one, to make sure you get a good coffee fix on your Lanka Travels.

Caring is sharing so please Share this article:) 
Gail Leach Smashwords Author of Backpacking Sri Lanka 
CLICK HERE to SEE THE BOOK 
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/617107
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Twitter Gailceylon
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The Life of Tea in Sri Lanka

Europe addicted to Tea

Have you ever wondered who introduced tea into Europe and when?

To be honest I never really thought about it until I saw it in a trivia question, being a Britisher (as they say in Sri Lanka) I just assumed it was the British East India Company or such like who got us Brits addicted to tea. Turns out I was wrong.
The correct answer is:
Tea was imported into Europe for the first time by Dutch traders around 1610, and was sold commercially for the first time in Britain around 1660. Did you know that? Be honest ;)

Tea Trails in Sri Lanka

I have to say that living in Sri Lanka has really kindled my passion for tea. Just in case you don't know Sri Lanka produces some of the finest tea in the world. It's grown in the hill country around Nuwara Eliya, here you will find endless tea plantations set on the mountain sides, it's a very picturesque setting, green and tranquil. The great thing is there are lots of working tea factories to visit in the Hill Country of Sri Lanka.

Some of the factories in the hill country haven't changed at all since the British first started them, it's like stepping back in time to the Colonial days when the British ruled Sri Lanka. The Brits loved their tea and still do! They found the cooler climate of the Central Highlands were perfect for growing tea and what's more it was really great tea, not this tasteless wishey washy tea you get sold in supermarkets these days. Oh NO definitely not that!

Delicious Sri Lankan Tea

The tea grown is smooth to drink beautiful in colour and tastes divine. It comes in many exotic flavours like, Silver tip or Orange Pekoe and varies in colour from a shimmering tan, to a deep redish brown or a deep earthy black, nothing at all like the tea sold to us in supermarkets. As for health benefits well it really is fantastic and has great antioxidant properties all in all definitely worth drinking.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the coffee, somewhere something went wrong with that. In fact it should really be re-labelled mud as it bears no resemblance to coffee at all:)

Want to know more about Sri Lanka or plan a trip to Sri Lanka? Then check out my 5* rated book
SEE THE BOOK HERE

 
Caring is Sharing, so share this article:)
Gail Leach Smashwords Author of Backpacking Sri Lanka 
Connect with me on Twitter Gailceylon
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Ceylon2day

Life Is a Chinese Take Away

Sri Lankan Sayings

Whilst living and traveling in Sri Lanka I found there was one question that all Sri Lankans loved to ask when faced with problems and challenges, "What is the Life?"
Okay so it's not grammatically correct but everyone can understand the meaning of the question. I have often debated this topic with my fellow expat Professor Jo and until today I had no real clarity on the subject.

Today, I finally have the answer to the question asked by so many Sri Lankans and the answer is.......

The Purpose of Life

Life is a Chinese Take Away! It's sweet and sour, sometimes it's amazing, tangy, sweet delicious and when you crunch into it and really fully enjoy it, you feel warm and fuzzy inside and glad to be alive. Sometimes it's crap and you realise you've ordered from a really bad food store and as a result you suffer for days with terrible vomiting and diarrhoea. Until all the bad food has been removed and purged from your system, there's no way you can face another take away.  It takes a while before you are ready to try more sweet and sour and even then there are no guarantees it will always be good.

Get To Know Sri Lanka

If you would like to learn more about Sri Lanka then follow me. Better still treat yourself and buy my guide book -it's full of interesting titbits about Sri Lanka as well as being a damn good travel guide :)

Gail Leach Smashwords Author of Backpacking Sri Lanka 
SEE THE BOOK HERE
Twitter Gailceylon
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Ceylon2day

Indian Internet, it's so Bad!

Problems, Problems!

It's Tuesday February the 9th, 2016 and I am still in Delhi India. I have now spent 2 days waiting for a good WIFI signal so that i can upload my Backpacking Guide of Sri Lanka onto www.Smashwords.com ready for publication.

I start the upload, it fails, I start it again, it fails again and so it goes on and on and on! I've tried uploading early morning - it failed, during the day also failed and it's no surprise that nothing happened at night.

It is driving me nuts and I am beginning to think that printing it out and then physically posting it would be a better option. Too bad you have to upload your books, otherwise the post would definitely get my vote!
Sitting here waiting and waiting and waiting,  I started to wonder how on earth do people in India get really good with technical computer/internet things when the connection is so BAD. How can they do business? How can they become tech experts?
Is there some secret to using the Internet in India that I don't know about? Is it just Delhi or is it the same all over India? I haven't got a clue.

If there is some trick to using the internet in Delhi please let me know!

CLICK HERE to SEE THE BOOK 
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/617107
connect with me at
Twitter Gailceylon
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Ceylon2day

An Interesting Life

Starting The Book Backpacking Sri Lanka

Last year I began writing what was meant to be a short ebook guide on Lanka travel to publish on Amazon. I teamed up with a master ebook seller and started my Backpacking Sri Lanka guide for adventure travellers wanting to plan a tour of Sri Lanka.
The guide got bigger as I added more information on train schedules, an updated rail network map, tuk-tuk mafias, what buses to use and beaches to see. It was all taking a little longer than expected but I had the end in sight. Then suddenly disaster struck.
My mad landlord and his psycho rent collector turned nasty, I had to abandon my book and  escape Lanka very quickly (but that's another story), anyway my Sri Lanka travel book got severely delayed.

Disaster Strikes

Some months later I eventually finished my master piece and submitted it to my partner for publication and distribution, then I waited for the good news.

Instead of the good news and amazing sales I had hoped for it was yet another disaster.

Overnight Amazon had changed their payment system, this meant my book would not be making my partner the huge amounts of money he had anticipated. As a result he no longer wanted to be my publishing partner and all my work seemed wasted. After a few tears and a few beers, I did a bit of brainstorming. I realized there was only one thing to do.
SELF PUBLISH!

As I began my research on self publishing, my head began to spin, so many options, so many formats, so much work! What's more it became apparent that a travel guide book on Backpacking Sri Lanka was one of the most difficult books to format! Self publishing sites really don't like train timetables, they don't like photo's and they don't like maps. This was not good news for me as Backpacking Sri Lanka has a map of the train network and tourist attractions and train schedules and photos, in fact everything you would need as an independent traveller touring Sri Lanka.
There was only one thing for it. A beer!

Suitably refreshed I began the task of reformatting and adding to my Backpacking Sri Lanka travel guide book.  I kept on and on until finally it was finished and my Lanka travel guide was ready to go for final editing.

Saved By Smashwords.com

Here I am now ready to send Backpacking Sri Lanka off for final editing ready for publication on www.smashwords.com.  I just have one small problem.
I am in Delhi India and the internet is completely rubbish. It's so bad I cannot get a good enough signal to upload my travel masterpiece of 132 pages. :(
One day soon Backpacking Sri Lanka a guide for independent travellers will be published!

In celebration I will be giving a special discount to a lucky few.
Contact me to be put on the special VIP promotion list :)

Gail Leach Smashwords Author of Backpacking Sri Lanka 

CLICK HERE to SEE THE BOOK 
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/617107
connect with me at
Twitter Gailceylon
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Ceylon2day

Backpacking Sri Lanka