Tour diary from the two Raffles Institution boys
By on

The Thailand International Cricket Sixes with the Lanka Lions was a great experience for the both of us. Throughout this tour, we have cherished each and every moment we spent being part of the team. Being the two youngest players in the tournament, we got the chance to play with opponents who were all basically adults. Hence, we got a chance to face opposition that created more intense situations and that applied more pressure. This enabled us to get the feel of how it was like to play against much stronger and powerful opponents (Literally). Since we were also playing in matches that were only 5 over long, we were always kept on our heels. We haven’t had such experiences while playing for the school cricket team. This is why were really proud to have been part of this tour. Here’s more like a journal entry of what we experienced:

First Day - Hot and Happening Bangkok
We met the Lanka Lions at the airport at 4.30. We had been contemplating about this tour for a long time and were very excited about the thought of playing along the top club in Singapore. We introduced each other to the Lanka Lion players who were warm and friendly to us. After 2 hours we landed in Bangkok. We were amazed at the grandeur of the hotel. The first day was pretty relaxed as we chilled out and got to know each other better at the welcome dinner for all the teams that arrived that day. Knowing that the games started tomorrow, we retired for the night.

Second Day – Sweat, Sun Screen and Loads of Fun
The second day of the tour was amazing. We woke up really early and got ready in our blue tops and white bottoms, ready for the challenges to come. We were told that both of us would be part of the teach interchangeably, so that meant that both of us would not be in a single game together...that made us rather disappointed though as we really wanted to play together. Little did we know that this disappointment was to vanish from the excitement up to come from the day ahead. It was a bright day and there was sunscreen smeared all over. The field was a peaceful green and there were blue tents huddled together in front of the pavilion, for each of the teams. The breeze was cooling (Thank Heavens!) and we were brought in to play. Both of us played interchangeably for three matches. Rohan played in the first match and was the lucky one to experience the thrill first. Since there were only 6 players in the team and 1 wicket keeper, everyone had to bowl. This let Rohan also to try an over of bowling. Rohan started off well that over and had a great time bowling to skilled adults. Although the team started off losing that match, we had a great experience, both in game (Rohan) and from the sidelines( Shrey). The other two games went fantastically, with our team winning both. The team ended their matches for day one on a high note and resided to the available food. Having hungry stomachs, it was a great joy to see the towering smoke being produced from the barbeque. There were awesome burgers, sandwiches as well as a buffet. Drinks were plenty too, with 4/5 choice for the adults and the remaining 1/5 (soft drinks) for us. We had a good fill and also practised at the nets that were situated beside the buffet. After a long great day at the field, we returned back to the hotel just in time to freshen up and have a little time free to relax at the hotel. Both of us had a great bath and rushed down to the lobby for some traditional FACEBOOK. Yes, there was internet access there! After just about twenty minutes of facebooking, we were called to go out for dinner. The dinner was again a splendid time, where we interacted with one another and enjoyed the fabulous seafood. The style of the restaurant was rather different, something we didn’t really see in Singapore- we were supposed to get the raw food items and we supposed to cook it over a fire up to our satisfaction, right at the table! We, hence, enjoyed the dinner greatly. After that wonderful dinner, we returned back, tired and went straight to bed. That was the end of amazing day
Third Day – Cup, Plate and Cashew Chicken
We woke up on the third day and quickly jumped into our whites. We went straight to the buffet breakfast, filled out stomachs up with Thai delights and waited eagerly for the buses to take us to the square but beautiful playing ground. The first match was against the gladiators and this time both of us were playing it. However even before the match both of us grossly underestimated the team as they were made of young guys only a couple of years older than us. We batted first and put on a good score however when it came to bowling, we almost gave the game away. A game that we thought should have been an easy victory turned into nail-biting match as the gladiators put up a good batting display and nearly knocked of the runs. It was another learning lesson for us. However an excellent over from Ben towards the end of the inning ensured that our team prevailed. The next match was straight against a team from Bangladesh in the finals of the plate category. However before that we watched the Lanka Lions team 1 easing their way to the Cup title. That inspired us to do the same and try to finish at the top of plate category as well. Unfortunately though, we were unable to do this against a really strong team from Bangladesh as we did not post a good score. Still we ended the tournament on a high when we won over the cup category and emerged plate category runners up. There were even jokes that the tournament organisers will not invite the Lanka Lions over next year to play because of this. After a merry ride back to the hotel, we freshened up and left to dine at an awesome Thai restaurant. We had sumptuous dinner over there. One of our favourite dishes was the cashew chicken. After returning from dinner, we were exhausted but still tried to fight sleep just to enjoy the hotel facilities. And then we knocked off for the night.


Fourth day – Trip Back home
Then came the most dreaded part of the trip. The journey back home. We had so much fun in Bangkok that we didn’t want to leave at all. Also we gained so much from just playing a few games and watching other games being played. We left for home with a lot more than we came with and of course playing with the Lanka Lions entitles you to a bit of bragging rights. Okay pardon that. But overall we really enjoyed this tour as we made new friends and had a good weekend soaking up cricket.