The Amaya Lake is a parallel universe, far away from the infuriating urban mix. Waking to the warm chirping of birds and the slow, rhythmic beat of the traditional drums, cricket makes a hazy walk to the breakfast table. All details revolve around the game. Ravi Shastri, Rameez Raja and Warney, err Darryl Cullinan give their inputs. A game of table tennis where cricket continues to dominate and then to a voyage of discovery.
The buzz in Sri Lanka is the arrival of the Queen’s baton for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The journey that commenced from the Buckingham Palace on October 29 will travel to 71 countries and cover a total of 19,00,00 kilometres. Special events have been arranged all over the island to mark the arrival of the baton.
The visiting officials of the ACC were in for a rude shock. They were unable to find their dinner at the designated tables in the special invitees section. Their complaint: The food was taken by the security personnel’s. Though the chief of security staff has denied the incident, the ACC invitees have not taken it well. SLC is reportedly spending Rs 23 million (Sri Lankan) on security for the Asia Cup and that has received much flak from the local media.
The Indian team is not planning any football parties. The entire bunch is following the World Cup for sure, but not as a group. The Delhi quartet of Sehwag, Gambhir, Nehra and Kohli have reportedly been watching the games as a bunch. A few members of the team watched Switzerland’s upset win over Spain at the bar near the pool. Based on a request by the players the staff have put up a giant LCD screen next to the swimming pool at the team hotel.
— V. Balaji