I was fortunate enough to enjoy five great seasons with Gloucestershire CCC in the 1980s and this particular memory occurred during a pre-season tour to Sri Lanka.
Prior to the previous season, the weather through April had been dreadful with wall-to-wall rain and the players became sick and tired of running round fields and practicing in indoor nets. To provide some variety, a yoga session was arranged which caused more injuries in one day than the whole of pre-season training, so the announcement of the Sri Lanka trip the following year was greeted with much relief and excitement.
The first match was in Colombo at the Sinhalese Cricket Club and I can remember getting out of the air-conditioned coach and feeling like I’d stuck my head in an oven – it was bloody hot. My first over was bowled at a pace similar to David Graveney and between balls I was shuffling back to my mark at pensioner pace, trying to get oxygen back in my lungs. It was a chastening experience and I was wondering how I was going to survive the three weeks trip.
The next match was at the beautiful ground in Kandy which, being at a higher altitude, wasn’t quite as oppressively hot but still significantly warmer than a summer’s day in Bristol. It was during my first over that I picked up my “best injury”, a pulled muscle in my thigh which forced me to hobble off. Twelfth man for the day was the veteran all-rounder John Shepherd who had been looking forward to a day watching us play after the exertions in Colombo and he didn’t look best pleased at having to field for me. His mood wasn’t improved when, after treatment, I emerged from the dressing room wearing t-shirt and shorts sipping a nice long cool drink. Needless to say, Shep and the lads have never let me forget it.
As a footnote, the Sri Lanka trip was a great success. We were brilliantly looked after and I have an abiding memory of watching the locals waving at us with broad smiles on their faces when travelling to matches on the coach. A wonderful experience.
Memory added on February 10, 2021
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