Iqbal Abdulla, Ravindra Jadeja and Wayne Parnell at breakfast after the final © Cricinfo Ltd

Most matches at the Under-19 World Cup have been played in relatively friendly spirits, which was why the difference in attitude during the second innings of the final stood out. India were visibly pumped up even before they began their defence and their aggression on the field was plainly visible.

Several celebrations - the send-off they gave JJ Smuts and Ravindra Jadeja's manic sprint towards short third man after dismissing Jonathan Vandiar - were extremely charged up and none than Virat Kohli's release of emotion after India dismissed the South African wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes off the last ball of the match to win the World Cup by 12 runs.

So what happened? Was the aggression purely a pressure tactic because India were defending a low target in the adrenaline-filled atmosphere of a World Cup final? There was a bit more to it than that.

After South Africa had done exceptionally in the field to restrict India's powerful batting line-up to 159, Barnes apparently said during the innings break that South Africa were going to send India home empty-handed while they took the World Cup back with them. The Indians did not take too kindly to that and came out hard.

The next morning, Manish Pandey confirmed that words had been exchanged on the pitch and the Indians were talking to the batsmen throughout to put them under pressure while chasing a small target. The pressure of the run-chase, whether the aggression had anything to do with it or not, got to the South Africans and they fell short, sparking off more wild
celebrations from the Indian camp.

Now both these teams have got along extremely well ever since India's tour to South Africa in December-January. They hang around together at the hotel and from my observations, they're probably the teams that get along best at the World Cup. Did last night's events sour relations?

The players were confident that it wouldn't. Vandiar said that the game had got heated but shrugged it off saying that it was only expected when the stakes were so high. South Africa, according to him, might have done the same if they were defending a low total. Vandiar says he's closest to Virat in the Indian team and there were no ill-feelings because "what
happens on the field, stays on the field. I've been to Virat's room to catch up and we looked at each other's CDs".

	Virat Kohli charged up after dismissing Bradley Barnes © Hazrin Yeob Men Shah

Jadeja and Iqbal Abdulla were on their way to breakfast and they stopped by a table where Wayne Parnell and Yaseen Vallie were eating. They began to talk, and they continued for around 20 minutes and there was nothing amiss. Parnell even interrupted his breakfast to mimic Jadeja's left-arm action.

The South Africans were understandably disappointed at the loss, perhaps they were even angry at what happened on the field last night but it was pleasing to see that the players were still friends the next day. That's how cricket should be played. One would expect teenagers to be relatively immature and take offence at on-field skirmishes but on the other hand, perhaps the lack of proud egos makes it easier to get along at this age. It is how the sport should be played, unlike the example the senior international cricketers in India and Australia are setting.

	India Under-19 captain Virat Kohli holds aloft the World Cup © Getty Images

Chaos broke loose at the Kinrara Oval the moment Siddarth Kaul bowled Bradley Barnes to win India the final by 12 runs. A sizeable number of fans leapt over the boundary boards and invaded the field to congratulate the Indian players. The organisers haven't had to deal with large numbers right through the tournament and the security was sparse. The players were too busy celebrating a hard-fought win and did not see the crowd coming. Soon they were engulfed. Their thorough preparations had overlooked the best way to escape untouched in the event of a World Cup victory. A look at old video tapes of 1983 would have helped immensely.

Virat Kohli had his shirt tugged. I think he lost his cap as well and security personnel had to drag him away from the fans. Virat had been bursting with excitement moments before but looked shaken as he walked off. It was the same with the other players as they struggled to get off the field on their own, needing to be pried away from the mob by security men. Then it began to rain really hard.

The presentation ceremony was supposed to take place on the ground but the wet weather and the Indian fan contingent, who had by now surrounded the boundary line in front of the dressing rooms and pavilion, forced a change of plan. The trophies and speeches were given in a hurry just outside the dressing-room tents with journalists squeezing into every inch of available space for sound bytes and photographs.

Once the Indian players got together, they too broke out into wild celebrations in front of a crowd that screamed patriotic chants and requested for autographs. The players duly obliged. Several of them were on their phones, although whether they could hear the congratulatory messages over the din was doubtful. The party went into the dressing room, then they came back outside, it died down for a bit and then picked up again. The players were lapping it up and couldn't get enough of the camera attention. They wanted to be snapped with India flags draped around their shoulders, they wanted pictures with the trophy - it was a once in a lifetime experience and they were making the most of it. You couldn't help but smile at the Under-19ness of the whole situation. One journalist felt it was rather over the top but you have to remember that they were just teenagers and for many of them this will rank as the greatest achievement of their lives.

Virat, Dav Whatmore and Ajitesh Argal addressed a press conference shortly afterwards with the trophy sitting on the table in front of them. The Indian board had announced a cash reward of Rs 15 lakh (about US$37,500) for each of the players. Virat smiled and said that he intended to buy a luxury car when he got back and the extra cash would be welcome. After the press conference the captain and coach were hot properties among the numerous TV crews that had descended from India especially for the final two games. The rest of the team weren't to be seen with all the security around but from the noise coming from the Indian dressing room, you could sense that this was the beginning of a night-long party.

	It was fitting that the semi-final had not been reduced to a farcical 20-over contest, and we had the fabulous infrastructure to thank for that © George Binoy

During the interval after the rain ceased and before play began, Wayne Parnell, the South African captain, and the team's media manager stood staring intently at the ground. Their attention was focused on a puddle created by the ground staff, who had mopped up water from the covers and dumped it on the outfield. It was a sizeable amount of water and the puddle was not small. However as Parnell stared at the puddle, it disappeared right before his eyes. The outfield drains so quickly at the Kinrara that a supersopper, not that they have one, is rendered redundant.

The claims from the ground staff that they could have started play in an hour on Friday evening if the monsoonal showers had stopped were not empty boasts. I woke up at 5am this morning and it was raining – a radio commentator said the showers had started at 3am. It rained incessantly until around 11am, that's about eight hours and yet the umpires strode out to call play at precisely 12.20 pm. The drainage here must rank among the best in the world.

The players had arrived at the ground before 10am and most of them were sitting inside their tents while the weather delayed the start. There was music from the South African tent while several Pakistan players took walks around the ground. The moment the rain stopped, both sets of players took the field, knowing that play would begin sooner rather than later. Somehow word got around that the match was starting and several Pakistan fans also turned up, despite the delay. It was fitting that the semi-final had not been reduced to a farcical 20-over contest, and we had the fabulous infrastructure to thank for that.

	Watching the water drain at the Kinrara Oval is a spectacle in itself © Dileep Premachandran

The second semi-final to decide which team would play India on Sunday was finely poised. Pakistan had lost two early wickets chasing 261 but Ahmed Shehzad and Umair Amin were rebuilding the run-chase with a plucky counterattack. Each boundary, every outside edge, and even mistimed shots were cheered by several Pakistan fans. The party ended abruptly with the heavy clouds, which had gathered during the dinner break, bursting shortly into the Pakistan innings. The rain was monsoonal and it was relentless until the cut-off time.

The match had to be postponed until Saturday but if you spoke to any of the ground staff, they said that if the rain had stopped in time, they could have got the ground ready for play in a jiffy despite the amount of rain.

The Kinrara Oval drains fabulously. Sitting in the press box, I could see puddles of water gathering near the covers but a few minutes later they had disappeared on their own, seeping through the grass.

The ground staff told me the venue had been designed and built by a New Zealand company and they had installed state-of-the-art drainage facilities. The ground slopes gradually as you move from the pitch towards the boundaries and the grass is planted on sandy soil which is ideal for water to percolate. There are also layers of gravel below the sand but the key to the fantastic drainage are the slit pipes that have been placed about three metres under the soil with a gap of one metre between each pipe. The water from the surface seeps into these pipes and it flows towards the larger drains outside the boundary. With the kind of rain Malaysia gets, the Kinrara needs the best drainage it can get.

	If Tim Southee wins the Man-of-the-Tournament award, the trophy will have to be couriered home © Getty Images

It's preview day ahead of the semi-final between Pakistan and South Africa so the team hotel is a must-visit for journalists. Step into the lobby and you are bound to bump into players, coaches, media managers and several others associated with the tournament. Several teams were in transit today, some were arriving in Kuala Lumpur, others preparing to leave Malaysia, while a few were heading out to see the sights.

India were scheduled to visit the Petronas Towers and were milling around the lobby. They had just emerged from a tight semi-final last night and were quietly confident, awaiting the outcome of tomorrow's game. If you ask a senior cricketer, which team they'd rather face in the final, most would spout the routine "It doesn't matter as long as we play to our potential etc etc".

The India U-19 players have got on splendidly with the South Africans but most of them would rather play Pakistan in the final. The reasons are several: Pakistan are the only other unbeaten side in the tournament, an India-Pakistan final would draw sizable crowds and create
atmosphere, and there's the lingering memory of the 2006 final, where Pakistan routed India for below 100.

When asked whether this Indian outfit was stronger than the side in 2006, the Pakistan coach Mansoor Rana kept a straight face and said "I can't judge, I only saw the Indian team for six overs in 2006."

**

There are only three more matches left in the tournament and the race for the Man of the Tournament is hotting up. New Zealand have no more games remaining and their fast bowler Tim Southee is the leading contender with 11 points. Virat Kohli is second with nine and a game in hand. A Man-of-the-Match performance in the final will clinch it for Virat but if he doesn't win it the trophy will have to be couriered to Southee. Because New Zealand are on their way home tonight.

**

West Indies and Nepal also arrived from Johor today and will contest the Plate Championship final on Saturday. From the interactions with players, West Indies weren't overly thrilled because they failed to make the Super League and have brushed away their opposition in the Plate rounds. For Nepal, however, it's a massive deal for it's their second consecutive
Plate final - they beat New Zealand to win the Championship in Sri Lanka
in 2006.

"We just need one more excellent performance," says Paras Khadka, who's playing his third World Cup and is among the leading wicket-takers of the tournament.

West Indies will fly out of Malaysia early morning on March 3, a day after the grand final, and Adrian Barath wasn't looking forward to the long journey back to the Caribbean. They fly from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai to London to Barbados, and then to Trinidad. He's eager
to get back to playing in the Carib Cup though after missing out on the
mega-bucks that Trinidad won in the Stanford 20/20.

	New Zealand U-19 bowlers Trent Boult and Anurag Verma before their semi-final against India © George Binoy

There were two players born in Kanpur playing the semi-final between India and New Zealand. One was Tanmay Srivastava, India's No. 3 batsman, while the other was New Zealand medium-pacer Anurag Verma, whose family migrated when he was nine years old. And by coincidence, Tanmay bowled Anurag during the final overs of New Zealand's innings and Anurag duly returned the favour by having Tanmay caught in India's chase. Were they aware that they were born in the same city? You bet.

Anurag's family moved to New Zealand in 2000 and he says that he never played serious cricket while he was in India, only after-school games with friends. After his shift to New Zealand, a friend asked him to play for his team on Saturdays, and he's been playing ever since.

"Everything was quite different at first in New Zealand but I adjusted pretty well," Anurag says. "When I started playing cricket I didn't make representative sides. I didn't make my first regional side until the Under-15 level for Northern Districts. Then I moved on to U-17 but didn't make it the first year. I did play the second year and then broke into the U-19 side in 2007-08."

If India thought they could talk shop on the field in Hindi without the New Zealand team getting wise to their plans, they thought wrong. Anurag can converse fluently in Hindi and says they still speak it at home. His early years in India made Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid his favourite cricketers and he still looks up to them and follows their progress with the senior Indian team. When he's asked the inevitable question - whom does he back when India plays New Zealand - Anurag has this to say.

"It doesn't really bother me," he says with a laugh, "but I'd go for New Zealand first. I'll be supporting New Zealand first when India visit in 2008 but it wouldn't really bother me. I wouldn't mind if Sachin scored a 100 and New Zealand won."

Incidentally, Anurag also has the scalp of an ex-Test cricketer to show off. He played in a Twenty20 game against a Masters XI in New Zealand and picked up Matt Horne's wicket. "He's played around 35 Tests, so I was pretty pleased!"

	Pakistan players mingle with their fans after the match © George Binoy

When the dust settled on the quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan, Imad Wasim and Ali Asad might have felt a bit of déjà vu. They had been here before: winning a knock-out match against Australia at an Under-19 World Cup by bowling them out for a low score.

In 2006, Pakistan qualified for the finals by scuttling Australia for 124 after setting a target of 288. Wasim took 3 for 16 with his left-arm spin in that match while Asad had helped rescue Pakistan from 80 for 5 with 69 from 86 balls.

Fast forward two years and there are two significant differences: it was a quarter-final and Australia were batting first. Wasim took 2 for 21 today as Australia were bowled out for 129 and, after Pakistan were reduced to 32 for 3 during their chase, Asad struck an unbeaten 63 off 70 balls to take Pakistan into the semis.

The Australians were understandably downcast after their defeat - their campaign had been weaker than in 2006. The Pakistan team, however, were bubbling with excitement. They cheered loudly as Asad went up to collect his Man-of-the-Match award and raised their volume while he answered questions with a smile that would not go away.

After the formalities had been completed, the Pakistan players did something that I haven't seen so far in the tournament. They went up to the tents and shook hands with the few fans who had vociferously supported them through the match. Two security guards went with the players as they mingled with the crowd and you couldn't help but feel that, although it was better to be safe than sorry, the measure was a bit unnecessary.

The deputy president of the Malaysian Cricket Association, P Krishnaswamy,
who is also the chairman of the organising committee of the Under-19 World
Cup, had told me that he expected crowds, relatively speaking, to turn up
from the quarter-finals onwards. And sure enough, apart from the school
children who were being brought to the game to spread awareness, there was
a sizeable Indian contingent cheering their team on in the match against England.
There were a few English supporters as well but you had to search for them
because they weren't heard. They didn't have much to cheer about all day.
I haven't been to a Bangladesh game in the tournament but word is that
their support has been strong.

The press box at the Kinrara Oval has also been sparsely populated during
the first round of the tournament. Apart from the ICC officials,
television, and radio commentary crews, there are only a handful of
journalists: three from India, one from South Africa who works for the
official website, and a few from Sri Lanka. I've heard that there were
several Pakistan journalists in Johor so they should arrive at the Kinrara
for their quarter-final against Australia tomorrow.

However, there was a stack of uncollected media passes in the press box. I
spotted one belonging to a Mumbai journalist, who had applied for
accreditation but not yet made the trip to Kuala Lumpur. While travelling
by taxi, the journalist I was with got a call from a TV reporter in India
asking for sound bytes from Malaysia regarding India's progress. I had
heard that in 2006, the press box gradually filled up as India advanced in
the tournament and it was a packed house for the finals. There's no reason
to believe that 2008 will be any different if India are one of the teams
playing on March 2.

	Paul Baldwin (right) oversees a washed-out game in Scotland © Donald MacLeod/The Scotsman

On one of my first days in Kuala Lumpur, I met a man who said he was an umpire at the Under-19 World Cup. His name was Paul Baldwin and he said he was from Germany. An umpire from Germany? Paul Baldwin certainly wasn’t a German name. I had to wait nearly a week and made a trip to Penang to find out more.

Paul’s father was in the British Royal Air Force and he was posted in Germany so Paul moved there when he was 17. He didn’t play cricket for about five to six years because he says he just wasn’t interested.

“One day I saw a game of cricket at the air force base,” Paul says. “I then started playing and ended up being captain of the side.”

Paul took his first steps towards becoming an umpire during casual club games in Germany. Someone from the batting side would often stand in as the umpire. So one day when Paul was officiating, the opposition appealed for lbw when the batsman was miles outside his crease. Paul concurred. Paul's team-mates were livid and said he couldn’t umpire again until he took an umpiring course.

And he did take a course. “In 2000, I went to England and did an umpiring course – the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers part 2 exam – after a week of studying,” Paul says. “The test was for two-and-a-half hours on stuff like rolling, mowing and watering - when it’s allowed, when it’s not, how long you can do it for, who has to supervise it. I literally scraped through that.

“I went back two years after that and took an oral exam with three senior members from the Umpires and Scorers’ association and they fired questions at me for an hour and a half.”

Paul then went back to Germany and played his last season with Krefeld Cricket Club, a local German team, in 2000. He gave up playing in 2001 because that year Germany went to the ICC Trophy in Canada and the policy at the time was for each participating country to nominate an umpire. There was no one else in Germany so Paul was almost an automatic choice. One of the first people he met in Canada was Darrell Hair. And so his umpiring career began.

Paul explained the game’s structure in Germany. “We have what is called the German Cricket Board,” Paul says. “There are six regions in Germany and we have regional authorities that run cricket within those areas. So for example, in my region, Nordrhein-Westfalen, which is to the west of the country and includes places such as Dortmund, Dusseldorf and Cologne, there are about 13-14 teams registered to play this season. So if you multiply that by six we’ve got about 70-80 teams that play every weekend.”

So are the players predominantly German? Paul says that a sizeable number of Germans are interested though there are several second-generation Asians on the circuit as well. In Bavaria, cricket has spread to a few schools because of teachers who have holidayed in England and brought the game back to Germany and introduced it in their schools. That’s were a substantial portion of Germany’s Under-17 and Under-19 talent comes from.

How hard is it to teach cricket to someone who hasn’t a clue about the game? “We have brochures in English and German explaining what cricket is, what it’s about and how you can get involved,” Paul says. “And there are people who go about distributing it whenever we play.

“There are small groups of Germans who will come and watch. On one ground in Bonn on the banks of the Rhine, within five minutes of the game starting people will stop, watch, and then try to imitate the bowler because they can’t work out how he releases the ball without bending the arm. It’s funny to watch.”

Cricket in Germany is sold to newcomers as a social game and an opportunity for friends and family to get together and spend the day. “It is getting together at the interval, having a great meal with friends and family. We are trying to spread the message that there is more to it than just winning.”

And at the end of the day, the numbers in Germany are growing gradually.

	Members of Australia's Air Force Base and their families watch the cricket ... © George Binoy

I’ve been to a fair number of grounds at the Under-19 World Cup so far and there haven’t been many fans coming to watch the cricket. The few that do show up are mostly schoolchildren who have been brought in for their first cricket experience, or the families of players who have traveled to Malaysia to follow the cricket.

So when I saw a few people coming in nearly an hour early to the
Australia-Sri Lanka game at the Penang Sports Club, I assumed they were
related to the Australian cricketers. They had come well equipped with two
massive Australian flags, an over-sized ice box full of beer and soft
drinks – but mainly beer – an inflatable Wallaby and a pump to inflate it.
They were enthusiastic enough to haul a football goalpost about 50 yards
towards their tent so that they could drape their flags from it. I went up
to ask which cricketer’s family they were.

It turned out that they weren’t family. There’s a Royal Air Force base in
Butterworth, Penang and these fans were stationed there. There were about
ten before the start of the match but Grant, who appeared to be the chief
enthusiast, said he expected about 80 to come in. They have an Australian
Defence Force (ADF) cricket team and its banner, which has a pouncing tiger with
claws bared for a symbol, was signed by all the U-19 cricketers and hung
over the tent. The icing on the cake, however, was a “Bay 13” sign which
hung between the Australian flags, in honour of the famous stand at the
MCG which is renowned for its not-so-sophisticated behavior.

	... while some Sri Lankan fans support their team from another part of the ground © George Binoy

Soon more people turned out – and some families of the cricketers as well – and as the beer flowed the shouts of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi” grew louder. No day at the cricket is complete without a barbie, said one of them and so as lunch approached they set up a grill. We were over at the buffet at the press tent but their set-up looked infinitely more inviting. Several Australian players went over to the barbeque during the break though the Australian captain Michael Hill got waylaid by photo requests on the way. It began with two girls asking him to pose and then everyone wanted their pictures taken.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic. The Sri Lankan fans, athough they were less
conspicuous, had a tent of their own with a buffet and bar. “We drink
Australian beer but we beat them,” said one fan. They have a club here
named Oceans XI and claim they beat the ADF XI twice last year. They were
unnoticed early on but as the match progressed; they had more to cheer
about and made themselves heard.

	Nepal's players leave the field after completing a tight three-wicket win © George Binoy

Nepal finished third in Group C after a thrilling three-run victory against Namibia at the University Sains Malaysia. It was a finish meant for packed stands yet there were only a few Nepal supporters cheering on every dot ball towards the end of the Namibian run-chase. Overs were not an issue but the pressure had been mounting because the Namibian batsmen were simply not able to get Nepal’s spinners away. They were chasing a target of 165 and the equation had boiled down to six runs to win with two wickets in hand.

Morne Engelbrecht, the No. 9 batsman, swept the spinner in the air towards midwicket but the ball fell safe. The batsmen ran one but wanted another, the second run was fraught with risk. The throw at the bowler’s end was good and No. 10 batsman Elandre Oosthuizen was run out. The last pair added two more but with three runs to get, Engelbrecht was bowled by Gyanendra Malla. Nepal’s players converged on each other and celebrated in a heap before getting up to shake hands with the Namibians. As the jubilant Nepal players walked off, it was hard not to feel for their young opposition.

And right through it all, Paras Khadka, the Nepal captain, was egging his team-mates on. After each dot ball you could hear him clapping hard and shouting encouragements in Nepalese. He’s been in such situations before, most memorably during the 2006 Under-19 World Cup Plate Championship semi-finals against South Africa, when Paras bowled the last over with ten runs to defend.

“The batsmen didn’t get enough runs today,” Paras said. “But we needed two wickets and there were ten runs left. We knew if we could get one wicket the pressure would be on them rather than us.”

Paras is 20 years old [Associates countries can field players a year older than Full Members] and a veteran by U-19 standards; this is his third World Cup appearance. “I qualified for this World Cup by one-and-a-half or two months [within the age limit],” he says. “I just made the cut off date.”

What has been the most memorable moment of his career so far? “Winning the Plate Championship [in 2006],” he says without a moment’s hesitation.

“The reception was huge [when they returned to Nepal]. The boys were really felicitated well. There were lots of people and we were made to go around the city in a vehicle. The people were really proud of us. The sport has given me a lot of recognition and fame.”

Roy Dias, the Nepal coach, said Paras was an extremely bright student and feared he would leave Nepal to pursue higher studies. Paras was understandably hesitant while answering the question. “I would like to play cricket but you have to study because we’re not so professional in our country. We have to think of our careers. I don’t know, let’s hope for
the best.”

	Cricket anyone? © George Binoy

University Sains Malaysia in Penang is one of the biggest educational institutions in the county: it has about 20,000 students and is spread over 500 acres. And nestled on the border of its campus, by the main road, is the cricket ground where the Under-19 World Cup matches are being staged.

Nambia are playing Nepal today, a match which will decide the third and fourth spots in Group C. There are between 100-200 schools kids in the tents so I head over to have a chat. Malaysia beat Zimbabwe on Wednesday so I assume they'll be pretty excited about it.

There's a solitary net with a matting surface in one corner of the ground and a couple of boys, who are about 13, are having a hit. A red plastic chair is being used as a makeshift set of stumps and the batsman isn't wearing pads. "Aren't you afraid of getting hit in the shins?" I ask. "No!" says Farhan. Soon enough, the bowler, Nasiruddin, bowls one on the legs and Farhan gets hit on the thigh. He rubs it off, smiles, and is ready to bat again.

Farhan, Nasiruddin and another friend, Amar, are from Penang Free School, which was founded in 1816 making it the oldest English school in Malaysia and the South East Asia region. Amar is 15 and he says he plays for the schools Under-19 team. The games in the Under-19 World Cup are the first international games he's watching live.

They hesitate when I ask who their favourite cricketers are - they haven't watched much of the sport on TV. After further coaxing, one of them says Brian Lara, another Andrew Symonds while Farhan picked a Malaysian cricketer - Thomas Mathew - who once came to his school to talk about cricket.

There is an older group of boys near by - one of them is sleeping - from the SMT Technical School. They're hostelites and they hadn't heard of Malaysia's win against Zimbabwe. This is their first exposure to international cricket too and they haven't watched the Malaysian national
team play either.

Curiously, there are a large group of schoolgirls as well but most of them are talking among themselves or fiddling with their phones and cameras. "Do you play cricket?" I ask hesitantly. They said that they didn't even know what cricket was. So I sit for a while and begin to try and explain the game. Where do you start when you have to explain what a run is? They were eager to learn, though, and asked more than a few questions but they were aghast and amused when they learnt that a one-day match spans seven hours.

For them the visit to watch Namibia and Nepal was a field trip. They clapped when the ball crosses the ropes but they didn't know that it meant four runs for the batting side. They were clapping because the boys next to them were! The girls play a multitude of sports at their convent school - hockey, netball, basketball, volleyball, squash and even golf, I was told - but not cricket. Not yet.

	James Harris: "Ice Skating? We've been told, if we're terrible, not to go on" © Getty Images

Starbucks has been a haunt on the tour so far, mostly because of the free internet which is great when you need to email stories the end of the day. It's not just the odd journalist who spends quality time there, several of the players go there too, to use the internet to keep in touch with people at home. It's a long tour with plenty of action happening so the families want constant updates.

"I spend a lot of time here communicating on the internet," says James Taylor, the England opening batsman, who hasn't been giving his middle-order team-mates a chance to bat. "It's free here. So I keep in touch with people back home on my i-Touch. It's the easiest way to communicate and it's cheap."

So how does Taylor spend his time when he's not playing matches or practicing? "When I have time off I generally just chill by the pool and just try and relax as much as I can. In the tense environment of the World Cup it's important to relax. I spend my time sun bathing by the pool, or
in my room watching DVDs or occasionally shopping."

In a foreign country, the weather and cuisine are favourite topics and the food in Malaysia is extremely different to the bread and meat based staples in England. "It's different [the Malaysian food] but you learn to adapt," Taylor says, before adding that "the odd McDonalds goes down
well."

The players spend a lot of time in the evenings after practice roaming around the mall that is part of the team hotel. The shopping is cheap in Malaysia, at least compared to what it costs in England. As you walk around, you can't help notice several people standing around the railings looking downwards. There's an ice-skating rink on the ground floor and it's always crowded. "I would like to go ice skating," says Taylor. "I'm more likely to get injured because I'm not very good at ice skating."

	Napoleon Einstein's grandfather wrote a letter to Albert Einstein ... and got a reply © Getty Images

Soon enough, I bump another of England's Jameses - there are four in the squad. James Harris is one half of their new-ball attack and he picked up two wickets against Bermuda with sharp bouncers. Incidentally he was the first 17-year-old to take a seven-wicket haul in the County Championship in England.

"Ice Skating? We've been told, if we're terrible, not to go on," says Harris. "So a lot of the boys aren't very good. Just for safety reasons really to avoid a broken arm or something. I've done it before but I'm not the best so I've decided it's probably not the wisest idea." The ice-skating may be off limits but there's plenty of other entertainment to keep the boys occupied. The darts board is a popular pastime as are the pool and snooker tables by the dining area.

**
There have been some memorable names in cricket - perhaps none more so than Hogsflesh - but there's one at the Under-19 World Cup that runs it close. Napoleon Einstein, an offspinner from Tamil Nadu, is part of the Indian squad.

"My grandfather was a scientist," says Einsten. "He wrote a letter to Albert Einstein and even got a reply from him. I've got no idea [what the letter was about] even though I've read it. My mother was a physics graduate and she teaches Physics in one of the schools. So I'm Einstein. Napoleon is my father's name.

"We don't believe in God. In our family, we're rationalists. Other people are named Krishna and Ram after Gods, so we were named Einstein and Napoleon after great people."

	The celebration after his first wicket in Trinidad © Getty Images

For almost all the players involved, the Under-19 World Cup is the most publicised event they've been part of on the international circuit. But there's one who has had a bigger experience: this is Malachi Jones' second World Cup but unlike others who played the U-19 tournaments in 2004 and 2006, Malachi's prior World Cup experience was in the Caribbean in 2007.

Bermuda have just been thrashed by ten wickets in their Group D match against England at the Royal Selangor Club. Malachi scored 2 and didn't take a wicket in 5.4 overs. Believe it or not, he feels the heat more in Malaysia than he did in the West Indies, both literally and figuratively.

He was the youngest member of the Bermuda squad in the Caribbean and not much was expected of him then but he's one of the senior boys in the U-19 team with international experience. "I have to produce more than I did at the senior level, so I feel a little more pressure on my game," Malachi says. "I think it's getting to me a little bit. I'm trying to settle down and not worry about the team looking up to me so much."

Malachi's World Cup debut in 2007 was magical. Seventeen at the time,
was given the new ball against India and ran in to bowl at Robin Uthappa.

"I was the youngest in the team so nobody was really expecting much from
me," Malachi said. "So I didn't have many nerves in my system. So I freed
up and tried to just get the ball as close to the stumps as possible."

It was a full delivery just outside off stump, Uthappa poked at it
nervously, the ball flew towards first slip where the massive Dwayne Leverock defied
gravity by diving full stretch to his right to pull off a stunning one
handed catch. The players converged on Malachi, and after he emerged from
the bottom of the heap, you could see that he had tears in his eye.

"It was a good catch," Malachi said. "I thanked him [Leverock] for the
catch and the effort he put in. I took it as a stepping stone in my
career."

So what was that World Cup like for Malachi? He says it was a great
experience from which he learned a tremendous amount from all the Test
players - Sachin Tendulkar in particular - around him. "I took it as a
training camp and took the opportunity to learn as much as I could about
the game."

Malachi spent his time between that World Cup and this one training and
going on a few senior tours. He's 18 now and by the time the next U-19
World Cup comes around he might be too old. However, he would have to play a part if Bermuda harbour hopes of qualifying for another senior World Cup. Malachi, who wants to
study liberal arts, will be striving to mix it with the big boys once again.

	"For me, cricket has taken me everywhere. You’ve got to grab your opportunities" © George Binoy

While walking around the Kinrara Oval on Saturday, a journalist friend pointed someone out to me who said that he was a fast bowler who had bowled Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid at the nets when India were in Kuala Lumpur for the DLF Cup in 2006. So I went up to him and asked him who he was and felt quite sheepish when he replied that he had been playing for the Malaysian national side for 15 years and captained them for eight. Suresh Navaratnam is 33-years-old now. He began playing for Malaysia in 1993, at the age of 18 and led the country from December 1998 to 2006.

A common gripe, and a realistic one, in smaller cricketing countries is that you can’t make a living out of playing cricket. Suresh, though he understands the larger problems, has had an extremely different experience with the sport. “People say, in this country, that cricket won’t take you anywhere,” Suresh said. ”But for me, cricket has taken me everywhere. You’ve got to grab your opportunities.”

Suresh’s family is originally from Sri Lanka – his grandfather was from there – but his parents were born in Malaysia and so was he. He took up the game at the age of 12, under the influence of his father and uncles who used to play actively. Why choose cricket when other sports were so much bigger in Malaysia? “I just followed my father,” he says.

Suresh was born in 1975, and during his formative years cricket was a rarity on local television. Yet he says his early heroes were Javed Miandad and then Steve Waugh. He used to read about the sport in papers and when people went to England and returned, he would soak up information from publications like Wisden and The Cricketer. A local channel used to telecast an hour cricket highlights once a week. They were mostly old matches involving England and West Indies but he used to watch and it was around then that he began to admire Curtly Ambrose.

His family had a significant impact on his early cricket days but his father died a year after Suresh was 14, a year after he began playing cricket. In some ways, he says, that became an encouragement for him to do well. He rose through the ranks of school cricket, played for his state, Selangor, then went on to play at the junior levels for Malaysia before breaking into the national side at the age of 18.

In 1996, Suresh got a major break. Graham Halbish, who was with the Australian cricket board at the time, brought two Australian teams - the seniors and an A side – to Malaysia to play a Super 8s tournament. It was an experimental format – eight players in a team and 14-overs-a-side contest. Suresh was part of an international team captained by Allan Border which included players like Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva and Chaminda Vaas, fresh from their World Cup victory. Suresh was the only Malaysian in the squad.

Even though he went on to represent Malaysia in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, that Super 8 tournament, though it failed to take off as a concept, is Suresh’s favourite cricketing experience. He played against the best Australian players of the time – Mark Taylor, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Michael Slater – and future stars such as Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden who were part of the A team.

Suresh’s performances must have caught Halbish’s eye for Halbish invited Suresh to Australia to play for his club Mulgrave. So in August 1996, he was playing the Super 8s and in October he was in Australia, where he went on to play for four seasons.

Suresh says cricket’s given him a lot. He went to university in Malaysia to study sports science and he got picked for the course primarily because he was a national player. He admits that he’s had a lot of luck along the way but says that you’ve just got to keep at it.

	Colin and Charles Amini are continuing the family tradition © George Binoy

Most of us are influenced – to a certain extent at least – by our parents, and they by their parents. So when all the members of your family sitting at your dinner table are national cricketers, it’s only natural that you tend to take up the sport. That’s precisely what happened to Colin and Charles Amini. Colin’s the captain of the Papua New Guinea Under-19 side and Charles jnr, his younger brother, is also part of the squad. Their aunt, Cheryl, is the media manager of the Papua New Guinea team, and she talked me through several generations of cricketers from the Amini family.

Her grandfather, Amini (Colin and Charles jnr’s great-grandfather), began playing cricket in the early 1900s. He used to form a team and travel by boat to Port Moresby, the capital city and main cricketing centre of Papua New Guinea, to challenge the city teams. And so it began.

Through Amini, his children took to cricket. His son Bryan (Cheryl’s father and the grandfather of Colin and Charles jnr) had a chance to do his schooling in Toowoomba in Australia and was exposed to cricket there. Bryan went on to become the first local to captain the Papua New Guinea team at a time when cricket was played primarily by the English and Australian expats in the country. He led his country against the touring Fijians in 1975, and also against Clive Lloyd’s West Indies.

Like his father had an influence on him, Bryan had an impact on his children. Everyone in the family played regardless of age or sex. Backyard cricket, even with makeshift equipment like bats carved out of wood and cardboard, was a popular pastime when the family got together.

After Bryan stopped playing, he took up cricket administration in Port Moresby. He also worked in foreign affairs and he was Papua New Guinea’s high commissioner to New Zealand. It was there that his son Charles (Colin and Charles jnr’s father) played on turf pitches for the first time.

Charles continued playing cricket when the family returned to Papua New Guinea and got selected for the national side. Charles played for Papua New Guinea for several years around the 1990s and got married to Kune, who, given the family she was marrying into, is the current captain of the Papua New Guinea women’s team. The women in Papua New Guinea have been playing cricket for a while but started on the international circuit around 2006. Cheryl was part of the team that played the first match against Japan.

Their three sons have continued the legacy. Charles was posted in Melbourne for four years when his sons were young and that’s where they were introduced to turf cricket. Chris Amini, the eldest of Charles’ three sons, led the Papua New Guinea team in the U-19 World Cup in 2004 and his younger brother Colin is this year’s captain.

So that’s Amini, Bryan, Charles, Chris, Colin, Charles jnr, Kune and Cheryl, who assures me that there were two more cousins. That makes around ten. Now how many Chappells and Hadlees were there?

	Bermuda's Under-19 squad beat the heat by wearing shorts © George Binoy

For all practical purposes the Under-19 World Cup began for the teams the moment they landed in Kuala Lumpur. The build-up to the first round of matches has been hectic: apart from practice sessions and warm-up matches, the teams have had to attend seminars on anti-corruption and anti-doping, go for photo shoots, do introduction videos for television, sign miniature bats for sponsors, and meet the competition. England and India even found time to attend a charity function. In short, everything has been new and most of the players are soaking it all in.

However, the tournament was officially opened on Friday during a short
ceremony at the Kinrara Cricket Academy and the teenagers had to shed
their jerseys and shorts and get spruced up. You couldn’t help but feel
for them as they stood in single file on the field, looking spiffy but
sweaty in their blazers, trousers and boots. Not all of them came
completely formally dressed though: Bermuda beat some of the heat by
wearing bright red Bermuda shorts with their blazers, while South Africa
might not have been the smartest in their collared t-shirts but they
certainly looked more comfortable.

The media contingent had grown considerably and there were several local
journalists, from print and television, as well as one from Papua New
Guinea. The families of the players also formed a sizable section of the
crowd. The families of Bermudian players Rodney Trott and Malachi Jones
were here, as well as several parents of the Australian and Ireland teams,
who announced their presence by applauding loudly when their teams walked
out. There were loud cheers for the local Malaysian team and when Pakistan
marched out, the claps were almost in respect for the champions of 2004
and 2006.

The event began with a troupe of drummers performing before a para-glider
swooped into the ground, carrying the ICC and Malaysian flags, which he
handed over to ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed and P Krishnaswamy, the
chairman of the organizing committee of the World Cup. There were a few
speeches from Speed, the president of the Malaysian Cricket Board Tunku
Tan Sri Imran. There was a curious performance by a troupe of dancers, moving to Justin Timberlake’s Sexyback, which didn’t quite fit in with the overall theme, but the players, who had been growing visibly restless in the sun, milled around and captured it all on camera.

As everyone moved towards the lunch that awaited there was a lot of
mingling, and several families and players spent time taking photographs.
For most this will be a once in a lifetime experience and, as Speed put it
succinctly, they were trying to enjoy every minute of it.

	Clive Rose's on-field performances will be closely watched by his father, Jude © Getty Images

The diversity of teams involved in the Under-19 World Cup offers a unique opportunity to meet journalists from different countries and gain an insight into cricket and its intricacies in various nations.

However, there were hardly any at the team hotel on Thursday and so when I saw a man with a backpack and camera at the Club Aman, where Australia were playing West Indies in a warm-up match, I labeled him as a journalist from a distance.

Turned out that I was wrong. He was Jude Rose, whose son Clive is a left-arm orthodox spinner in the Australian Under-19 squad. He’s in Malaysia following Australia’s, and Clive’s, progress in the tournament. Jude was there first but there are more coming. Fast bowler James Pattinson’s father is expected as are allrounder David King’s and captain Michael Hill’s.

Amid the attention that a tournament of this nature generates, it’s easy to forget that the players in national colours attending official functions are merely teenagers. And although there’s no substitute for team-spirit and camaraderie, having a parent not very far away can be a boost mentally, as challenges crop up during the course of the tournament.

	Wayne Parnell, South Africa's U-19 captain, signs miniature cricket bats © George Binoy

The sun hadn't risen when the plane landed in Kuala Lumpur at 6.50 am, which was odd. What was perhaps odder was that the average Malaysian was oblivious to the fact that their country was hosting a 16-team international tournament, due to begin in a few days time. The businessman on the flight didn't know until he saw the headline about Pakistan's defeat in the in-flight paper. Badminton, he said, was Malaysia's biggest sport. The woman in an electrical appliance store was wide-eyed and said "Cricket World Cup? Here?" while the cashier at a fast food chain didn't know either, though his outlet was a five-minute walk from the hotel where the teams were staying.

It's the first time the Under-19 World Cup is being staged in a non-Test country and the build-up to it has been quiet. Perhaps that's the way it should be, to reduce the pressure and spotlight on the teenage contenders. I spotted two small banners advertising the tournament at the airport and none on the drive into Kuala Lumpur. But walking towards the team hotel, it was impossible to miss the decorations in red, pink and gold. False alarm. The dressing up was for the Chinese New Year and not the U-19 World Cup. There were no banners in the lobby either announcing that the cream of cricket's teenagers were in Malaysia.

Then Larry Gomes, the West Indies U-19 coach, walked by followed by a bunch of kids in maroon T-shirts and soon you could see several clusters of yellow, green, blue and red. The teams' itinerary was choc-a-bloc: they had net sessions, head-shot sessions and player-promo sessions, the kind in which Paul Collingwood introduces himself as "right-hand batsman and
right-arm 'fast' bowler. Then they had to sign countless miniature bats for sponsors and, most importantly, attend a talk by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Security Unit where they were briefed on the dos and don'ts of the circuit. In between, the captains and coaches found time to speak to the media, albeit there were only two media people around. I was told that there was quite a crowd when Malaysia had their media stint on Tuesday.

The laidback atmosphere with free access to everyone was in stark contrast to a senior international fixture. And perhaps that's the way it should be for these players aren't senior cricketers yet and they will learn how to cope with the spotlight once it trains on them.

Sarfraz Ahmed slept with the World Cup last night and you can hardly blame him considering it looked to have slipped away from him yesterday. The Pakistan team savoured their victory today, as the Indians made a hasty retreat back home – although, to be fair, it was always their schedule to fly out of Colombo early this morning. However, I expect they are now fairly happy with that planning.

After filing my last couple of stories I had some spare time before heading to the airport. One final chance to do a spot of shopping, making sure I have souvenirs for everyone. Today was also an example of things happening when you least expect them – and bit like India’s collapse last night.

I’ve got to the stage of not thinking twice about the driving skills of the tuk-tuk drivers and that was always a recipe for something to go wrong. On probably my last journey after three weeks of some near-misses but no actually hits we had a full-blown prang on the way back from the shopping centre. Speeding up a narrow street a van was pulling out in front of the tuk-tuk; I could see it, surely the driver could? Well, he hadn’t, or he liked a challenge. With his foot on the gas we headed towards a narrowing gap between the van and the wall, it was time to just cross your fingers.

I thought we might just squeeze through. Nope. Clunk, snap, screech. I can’t really use the words that came out of my mouth as we pulled to a sudden halt. Sticking my head out of the cab I could see a very irate guy holding up his front bumper. My driver obviously had certain priorities; first he checked his tuk-tuk, which had a huge dent in the side, then went to placate the van owner.

Anyway, no major damage done – except to the bumper, and in many ways it was an apt end to my time in Colombo. It started, three weeks ago, with a journey through the morning rush hour and it has ended with one final brush with the city’s individual driving skills. The time here has been a real eye-opener, both in witnessing a crop of young cricketers to experiencing the subcontinent for the first time. It is certainly a part of the world I want to visit again. For now, though, I’d best get ready to dig out the thermals – apparently it is a bit chilly back in London.

What an extraordinary match; 180 runs, 20 wickets, 60 overs. They are the bare numbers but don’t do justice to the sheer drama of today. One minute Pakistan had been routed for 109 – World Cup over. Twenty minutes of chaos later India were 9 for 6. As they say, cricket’s a funny old game.

It was an unusual day all round really. There was a sense of anticipation surrounding the Premadasa as I walked in shortly after lunch time. A number of TV crews had flown in especially for this match and the press box was the busiest of the tournament. The Pakistan supporters, who had turned out to watch the semi-final, were back in force. When India were bowling they were noticeably subdued, but certainly came alive as Anwar Ali produced his triple-wicket over. They made a heck of a noise, considering they were all concentrated in one stand, and I tried to imagine the ground full of Sri Lankans cheering on their heroes.

Many of the fans hung around to watch the trophy be presented to Sarfraz Ahmed and then to cheer the players on a mini lap of honour – a full circle would have been rather pointless as no one was in three quarters of the stadium. But, post-match presentations are a strange beast, especially at the end of a tournament or series. You have the excruciating part of the beaten side having to trudge up to accept their medals, while probably wishing they were a million miles away. Then they have to stand there as the winners grab hold of the silverware before being able to skulk off to the dressing room to lick their wounds.

Then comes the press conference and after two weeks of two or three journalists having a casual chat with the coach or captain, this one was a bit more serious. At the back there was a bank of cameras, next to them there was the guy – he’d obviously drawn the short straw – who was keeping the spot lights on by holding two bare wires into the socket. One false move and we would be plunged into darkness. And the questions were, shall we say, thorough with some being longer than the answers they received.

It’s amazing how different a player can be on and off the field; Sarfraz was balling out at his team-mates as they pulled of their minor miracle, but he does not have the greatest English so Mansoor Rana did most of the talking for Pakistan camp. However you could see the joy in Sarfraz's eyes and even though I couldn’t understand a word of what he said in Urdu, I didn’t really need to. To pull off a win like this in any match is impressive, to do it in a World Cup final is very special.

This evening was the closing dinner for the World Cup, an event attended by the two main finalists and the two teams who contested the Plate final – New Zealand and Nepal. There were the usual speeches which we can gloss over, the main fun came after the official part of proceedings had been done and dusted.

The Indians and Pakistanis were on their best behaviour, they have a fairly important match tomorrow, and were heading for the door shortly after the tiramisu had been served. However, they did stay around long enough for a second dose of the very attractive Sri Lanka dancers who brought some lively entertainment to proceedings. There certainly seemed a few more interested faces for the dancing than pre-dinner speeches.

The New Zealand team had sat through the first part of evening looking rather glum at their team table, still trying to digest how they had managed to lose the Plate to Nepal. But they soon began to loosen up and treated the hall to a passionate rendition of the famous Haka, which is performed by the All Blacks ahead of rugby internationals. They received a generous round of applause from everyone and perhaps the cricketers should consider adopting the routine before their matches. Good on them, too, for not wallowing in defeat and enjoying their final few hours in Sri Lanka. In the morning they start a 25-hour journey home, via three countries and many more timezones.

Then, as the sound system took over and started to churn out some more recognisable tunes Nepal started to let their hair down. Soon, they were ‘giving it large’ to the R&B tracks, prompting more interest from the photographers who had decided to hang around. There was certainly no holding back as jackets came off and the dancing got more exuberant.

Their excitement was unconfined, as their win earlier in the day began to sink in. Roy Dias, the coach, wore a huge grin all evening as did Kanishka Chaugai as he tried not to break into a fit of giggles during a brief interview on stage. Their moments of fun were completely justified, they have brought some of the highlights of the tournament on the field and tonight they gave a few off it, too.

Was that the Aussies choking that I watched today? “The pressure got to us,” said Moises Henriques, their captain. The favoured outcome of today’s match was the powerfully consistent Australians (at least in this tournament) to out do the talented but inconsistent Pakistanis. But that depended on which Pakistan arrived. For 17 overs it seemed for all the world that it was the reckless version, but then an extraordinary turnaround occurred. When Pakistan were 80 for 5 we all feared another one-sided final, that’s what it was – but for the other side.

The Australians lost their composure in the field, discipline with the ball and just had an old-fashioned stinker with the bat. They were well-coached, well led and had the best possible support team – but today all that was outdone by raw talent. Mansoor Rana, the Pakistan coach, has had his squad together for about two months – other teams have been together up to two years. But as Rana said: “It is the nature of Pakistanis to do things when they are needed most.”

Rana also said the Pakistan support, the first meaningful fan base to appear at the tournament, helped to spur the side on and they showed their appreciation by going over to them at the end. The Khettarama area of Colombo, where the Premadasa is built, has a strong Muslim community and one small corner of the ground was decked out with flags and banners. The noise level steadily rose during the evening and the final wicket brought a chorus of delight.

With two huge rivals now set to clash in the final there is certainly an increased interest, especially with the series in Pakistan now being dead. Two more TV stations are making their way to Colombo and, according to the tournament media manager, a batch of journalists are making the short hop from India. Rahul Dravid has also shown his support for the Under-19s following saying: “We heard the news [about them reaching the final] and we all cheered and are right behind the guys.”

The semi-finals have been two one-sided to be called classic matches but hopefully, given the sudden surge of interest, the final will provide a worthy finish. The two teams lining up means there is every chance.

It wasn’t the worst of days for Sameera de Zoysa, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain, against Zimbabwe. Called on as a replacement for Angelo Mathews he scored 63 and his side won to keep themselves in with a shout of winning the Super League play-off. So when Sri Lanka’s coach said: “I thought he struggled with some of his field settings, and that’s why we gave away a few too many runs,” he can probably consider himself a tad unlucky.

But it shows the desire for the host nation to do well. There has been disappointment from locals that the team did not reach further in the main Super League section, which shows that their progress has been followed despite no one being at the grounds. It has also been a tough few days for Sri Lankan cricket as a whole, what with the senior side losing the VB Series finals despite winning the first match, then the news that Sachithra Serasinghe, their main Under-19 batsman, had been sacked from the squad for misconduct.

These sorts of things hurt Sri Lankans. They are proud of their cricket and their cricketers. They still love to talk of their World Cup triumph in 1996 or of any Sanath Jayasuriya century. I’ve not seen first-hand the pressure of expectation put on Indian players in their own country, but in a less obvious way there is a similar pressure on Sri Lankans.

There aren’t always the outward shows of emotion, but the day Sri Lanka beat Australia in the first VB Series final it was the talk of Colombo. If there is a cricketing issue being discussed the average Sri Lanka will have their opinion – it is their culture. The treatment of Muttiah Muralitharan down under opened some old wounds and there is a clear feeling he is still picked on. People get upset if any of the star Sri Lankans are questioned and also get annoyed when they see things not going right.

That pressure is reflected in the constant search for perfection. If de Zoysa, or any of the young Sri Lankans, want to move to the next level it is something they will have to get used to. It won’t only be the coach who is always demanding improvement – in many ways the public is the harshest judge of all.

What a way to go – 58 all out and in front of the TV cameras to boot. There was nowhere to hide for England. Over the last few years the senior side has largely eradicated those collapses that so typified the 1990s, and when a clump of wickets do crash together – as at Lord’s last summer when they slumped to 21 for 5 against the Aussies –someone, on that occasion Kevin Pietersen, is usually there to at least give a score some respectability.

During the tour of Pakistan before Christmas, England were seemingly heading for a draw at Lahore. They lunched on 201 for 2, but before anyone had contemplated their afternoon tea the match was over as England lost eight for 43. It was a similar procession today, at Premadasa, but the Under-19s didn’t have a 200-run head start. It is amazing once a collapse starts how they gain an irresistible momentum.

When the U-19s were 38 for 8 the most famous England capitulation of my generation – the 46 all out at Trinidad – came flooding back into the memory. On that occasion England had an hour to bat on the fourth afternoon and lost Mike Atherton first ball, here they had 20 minutes before lunch, survived the first ball but proceeded to lose three. It was a torrid little time to bat, and a completely pointless regulation that put England in that position.

Despite getting a pasting with the ball they had got through their overs at a decent lick – 37 overs of spin helped. But because of this they then had to bat straight away, after chasing leather for 50 overs in 33 degrees. I’m not saying a 45-minute break would have made any difference, but surely it would have given them a better chance. And this wasn’t just to fit in with TV, it had happened early in the tournament but with less dramatic consequences.

The England lunch break must have been a depressing affair with the realisation that the World Cup had gone. Moeen Ali, in a refreshingly open interview afterwards, said: “We really thought we had a chance of winning the tournament, but we got a thrashing.”

But, in a slightly sadistic way, there is a thrill in watching a batting collapse, the unstoppable bowlers and frenzied atmosphere. And today at least the end came quickly – there is nothing worse than a hopeless one-day innings that stretches itself out to the bitter end. Not that England will be feeling any better about things. People often say that no one remembers who loses a semi-final – today’s proceedings will take some forgetting.

The crowds for this tournament have been non-existent, even for Sri Lanka’s matches, but at least the semi-finals and final should have a few more people taking notice of the action as the games are being beamed around the world. Today the Premadasa Stadium was getting the finishing touches as it prepares to host the first semi-final – England against India – a day/night match tomorrow. The ground certainly has a different feel than the others used in the tournament.

Camera gantries have been put up at either end of the ground, the locked-off cameras are in position for those close run-out or stumping appeals and the production crew has hit town. And whereas the other grounds had all their advertising covered with huge black sheets, creating a rather bland scene, the Premadasa is fully emblazoned with the official sponsors of the World Cup. It isn’t to the taste of everyone, but at least it feels like a significant match is being played.

Now all that is needed are the commentators, who have been arriving over the last few days and include household names like Paul Allott and Robin Jackman. They’ll have to have done their homework because the players on show over the last few days of this tournament are not household names – yet.

For the players, having these matches shown around the world is a huge moment. It is their chance to shown millions of people (at least that’s the figure being hoped for) what they are capable of. As Steve Mullaney, the England allrounder, told me recently: “People will take notice of what they see on TV, it is really important for us to perform well as it is how they will remember us.”

Towards the end of today’s Ireland-New Zealand clash there was one minor problem – the power went off. Apparently they had decided to test the generators and back-up systems to ensure they would be ready for the semi-final. But, perhaps it wasn’t the best moment with a match going on at the time. No power creates a two-fold problem; firstly the press box becomes a sauna – it is the only enclosed media centre of the tournament and with the sun beating through the windows, and humidity increasing, it turns into a human greenhouse. The second issue is filing, as all the wonderful technology that makes the job run smoothly doesn’t work well without power. Today we were told it was an ‘external issue’ and in a typically Sri Lankan way no one seemed overly concerned by the situation.

But it’s best to get any teething problems out of the way before the main event. By the end of tomorrow one team will be in the World Cup final, the other sampling the feeling that they came so near, yet so far. However, at least they’ll have had a chance to show the world their talents – that’s so long as no one pulls the plug out.

Mine will be a ‘Jayasuriya Triple Century’ please, and for him a ‘Border’s burger’. For the uninitiated that’s two chicken breasts with chips and a burger with all the trimmings (how Sri Lankan) at the Cricket Club Café in Colombo, an amazing place crammed full to bursting with memorabilia from every avenue of the sport. It, therefore, won’t surprise people when I say I have spent a few evenings down there since arriving in town.

It is a fascinating place for someone with my mild – and not at all unhealthy – interest in cricket. I visited for the first time on my first day here, and I think there were bets being taken on me taking out permanent residency in it for the three weeks. It hasn’t quite turned out like that – Colombo is well stocked with decent places for dinner – but I reckon the waiters are starting to recognise me.

If there is a piece of cricket history that’s worth a mention, especially involving Sri Lanka, England or Australia it will have a place inside. Autographed bats from a variety of sides line the walls, as do newspaper cuttings and scorecards from famous matches. In case you want to now what time a Test match is starting in any country, no fear, there are clocks dotted around showing the time in each nation. And, if you were thinking that it might be nice to see a game for yourself, then there is sign post showing the distance to every Test ground.

Also, if there is a match on TV, it will be on TV here, even if it is the highlights of a game from many years past. Whenever you flick on the sports channels they will be showing some highlights package involving India or Sri Lanka (although one evening I had the slightly surreal viewing experience of watching Geoff Boycott bat against West Indies – it just made you realise how times have changed). However, it isn’t just cricket that has given this place its name for major sporting events.

In 2003 it was the scene of England’s greatest triumph of their tour – the rugby team that is. The cricketers descended on the club for the World Cup final against Australia, resulting in joyous scenes when Jonny Wilkinson kicked that winning drop goal. If there is a sporting event on, this is place to come and watch it. Over the last couple of weekends rugby has again been the focus as the Six Nations swung into action. The bar has been well populated with fans, especially from the UK, cheering their team on with a pint and a pie.

It is easy to see why this place has a reputation around the world. A number of teams from the World Cup have enjoyed evenings here – a visit to Colombo (cricket related or otherwise) is not complete without, at least, one night here. I’m hungry just thinking about it…guess where I’m off to for dinner tonight. I’ll have my usual please.

Today was a ‘Poya Day’ in Sri Lanka - a Buddhist ritual which happens four times a month and equates to the four phases of the moon. This was a full-moon day, the most important of the phases and a monthly national holiday in Buddhist tradition. Yesterday there were lavish parades around the streets of Colombo, involving herds of dressed-up elephants, as the city prepared itself for a day of worship.

This meant there was no cricket today, so as the World Cup reaches its half-way point let’s take stock and see where we have got to. At the ‘business end’ of the tournament – the Super League – two mouth-watering semi-final line-ups have appeared following a week of qualifying matches and the quarter-finals. England take on India, a preview to the contest about to start between the full sides, while Pakistan face the impressive Australians.

Two of the possible finals from those matches revive huge rivalries, which have been a major part of world cricket in the last 12 months – England v Australia and India v Pakistan. Whatever happens, the four biggest countries are fighting for the main prize and a tournament can’t ask for much more than that.

In the lower reaches of the Super League, Sri Lanka – chastened after their thrashing by Australia on home soil – will want to fight for the consolation of the play-off prize, while Bangladesh will aim to bounce back from their defeat against England.

The Plate competition gives the associate members a further chance to show what they are capable of, plus South Africa and New Zealand the chance to head home without egg on their faces. I reckon Nepal, who face Uganda in the quarter-finals, could be the dark horses here. They challenged England, should have beaten Zimbabwe and downed Ireland in the group stages and ought to be too strong for Uganda.

This tournament has yet to have the shock result of a minnow beating a major nation, but South Africa and New Zealand won’t have it all their own way as they aim for the consolation of the Plate.

Anyway, that’s enough speculation – can you tell it’s been a quiet day? No action on the field tomorrow, either, as it was a scheduled rain day for the quarter-finals and the rain has managed to restrict itself to the occasional evening deluge. There has been some impressive cricket this past week, but you get the feeling that it could be about to get even better.

Nondescripts is an unassuming cricket ground, the only one of the five used for this tournament that hasn’t hosted a Test or ODI. But while it may not have held international matches, it certainly has an impressive production line of international players. Reading the honours board on the back wall of the pavilion is like a who’s who of Sri Lankan Cricket.

From recent times there are names such as Kumar Sangakkara, Malinga Bandara and Hashan Tillekeratne. Going further back you reach Rajan Madugalle, now a match referee, and Asoka de Silva, now an international umpire. Players from this club certainly don’t finish their international careers when they hang up their pads. It is fascinating to see one club that has brought through so many players – the saying in England used to ‘strong Yorkshire means strong England’, in Sri Lanka that could quite easily be ‘strong Nondescripts means strong Sri Lanka.’

I’m not the only one to have admired the list of names. I’ve heard players asking about the large mural that is painted above the bar, showing some of the club’s successful players. A cricketer’s development is not all about what happens on the field. It is also about taking an interest in the bigger picture, so hearing a player query the history of the club suggests these possible future stars understand more than just the bat and ball.

One of the greatest players in the club’s history is Aravinda de Silva, and the locals are very pleased to talk about him. With Sri Lanka have been trounced by Australia next door at the SSC, I went and watched the end of Zimbabwe against Pakistan. As I took a walk around the outfield, I was beckoned over by a group of people leaning over the wall – goodness knows why they don’t come in, it’s free after all. Anyway, they started with the usual questions – which country was I from, which team did I support, why was I here…you get the picture.

Then suddenly they’d heard enough about me – not the first time that has happened – and said: “This ground (pointing to the School’s ground next to the NCC) is where Aravinda played his cricket. He was so good, did you see his World Cup century, he smashed it everywhere. He used to do that here, too. The ball would fly over the wall all the time.”

de Silva was indeed a quality player. One of the innings I remember best was his Benson & Hedges Cup final century, in 1995, against Lancashire (apologies here to the Cricinfo office, who thought they’d escaped county references for at least three weeks) where he blitzed the bowlers to all corners. That innings was so good he won the man-of-the-match award in a losing cause. So, I can appreciate where the local fans were coming from.

There was a real joy on the faces of those people when they talked about de Silva. Sri Lankans love to talk about their cricketing heroes and this famous club has certainly given them a fair range to choose from – but Aravinda remains a firm favourite.

You’ll have read the occasional passing reference to tuk-tuks in this diary already, but the three-wheeled vehicles have become such a part of my everyday life around Colombo that I felt they deserved an entry of their own. The question is really, where do I start? Is it the hair-raising cornering? The total disregard for the rules of the road? Or the confrontations with traffic many times bigger and stronger?

Inside view: The tuk-tuk experience is not for faint-hearted © Cricinfo Ltd

Well, there are no two tuk-tuks, or trishaws as they are also known, that are alike. Some are fairly bland, just there to do a job, while others are lavishly decorated with loving care and attention. Some drivers have family pictures in their cab and brightly coloured fabrics covering the seats. Some are kept in top-notch condition, others, you think, must be about to fall apart around you.

One thing I learnt early on is that negotiating the price for a ride is very much like buying a house, you never accept the first offer. Once you have done a journey a few times you have a bit of bargaining power and it is often possible to force the driver down a few notches. One thing they aren’t so good at is having change, so when you offer a 1000 rupee note it begins a drawn out process over who is going to sort out some smaller notes.

However, the fun really starts when the driver sets off. The first thing they will often do is tear up the wrong side of the road – or even the duel-carriage way – instead of finding the next turning spot. Road signs mean very little and traffic lights sometimes even less. Creeping while the light is on red is seen all over the world, but these guys take it to a new level. By the time the signal changes, they are often halfway across the junction, revving their engines as if about to launch into a drag race with their mate opposite.

Size certainly doesn’t matter in the case of tuk-tuks. They hold no inferiority complex over buses, lorries or cars and are quite happy to take any of them on in a duel to reach that next gap in the traffic. You see, they are all equipped with that one vital piece of equipment for driving in Sri Lanka – the horn. If you aren’t hearing them there is something wrong, if you do hear them they are invariably trying to prevent something going wrong. If your horn fails you may as well not bother trying.

However, the drivers have been doing this for years, who am I not to trust them, and most know what they are doing – but not all. When you say your destination there will always be a nod, smile and acknowledgement that they know exactly where it is. I have found, in reality, that isn’t quite true all the time. So there is often the situation where the driver pulls over to ask directions, sometimes two or three times in a ten minute journey.

But for all the turns that surely can’t be made, sideswipes and collisions that seem inevitable, I have yet to see a tuk-tuk crash. There is time, of course, and the odds of my next entry here being about a broken leg have probably shortened, but it wouldn’t be Colombo without the tuk-tuks. Taking a taxi will seem quite the same again.

After two matches at the SSC, Colombo’s second biggest ground following the Premadasa Stadium, it was time to take a look at another of the town’s multitude if venues. Like Antigua is said to have a beach for every day of the year, I’m sure this place can match that for cricket grounds. They are everywhere, of all shapes and sizes, and very conveniently three of them (and, as if by magic, three of four for this tournament) are within about 100 yards of each other.

The press box at Colombo Cricket Club didn't offer the best view of the scoreboard © Cricinfo Ltd

So when I say I went to another ground, it certainly doesn’t mean I had to venture into the unknown – more like turn left instead of the right this morning. Colombo Cricket Club is typical of smaller grounds; one main pavilion building, a small open stand, the groundstaff's shed, the scoreboard and the press box. Now, I don't like to quibble about little issues that crop up during the day – and there haven’t been any so far this tournament – but the CCC threw up a tricky proposition.

As I wandered into the ground, trying to avoid the two team buses that were attempting, what seemed to be, logistically impossible reversing into incredibly tight spaces, I asked for directions to the media area. Sent across to the other side of the ground I meandered over the outfield, dodging the occasional stray practice ball, and admired the large traditional scoreboard. I think manual scoreboards add to the character of a ground; The Oval had the fastest operators in the west, Adelaide’s is stunning, while Sydney’s is heritage listed.

The board at CCC does not quite reach those heights, but still produces an efficient show; well at least I think it did. I can’t tell you for sure because the press box and the scoreboard are side by side (and I mean almost touching), completely facing the ground. When I noticed this a bad neck was expected by the end of the day with stretching to try and read the thing. That didn’t happen, but only because even if you lent well out of the box it still didn’t help. Having scoreboards like this is not unusual, it’s just that there is often another one on the opposite side of the ground giving basic information like the total and overs.

Not here, so the day was spent relying on the media assistants – a hardworking bunch of people who have, so far, outnumbered the actual media at most matches – to keep the stats rolling in. And they did a sterling job, especially given that this match turned out to be the tightest in the tournament so far.

In fact, the whole operation at each ground has been impressive – viewable scoreboard or not. Probably the most important guy has been the technician, who goes through what seems like an extraordinarily complicated wiring process each morning to give us phone lines (I could have sworn he’d picked up a trans-atlantic phone call today) but never fails to get us connected. Nothing is ever too much of a problem, a familiar and endearing trait from many Sri Lankans, which makes even not being able to see the score at a cricket match seem like a trivial matter.

In many ways, the World Cup is bigger news in the lesser-known cricketing nations. This was well demonstrated today with two journalists from Nepal covering the clash against England, while there are also journalists from Uganda, Ireland and Scotland covering their countries. And they are only the ones I know about.

My knowledge of the Nepalese players was somewhat lacking at the start of the match – and it wasn’t helped by first names appearing on the backs of some shirts, compared to surnames on the scoreboard. So I bent the ear of the reporter from the Kathmandu Post, and enjoyed an enlightening conversation about the rise of their cricket.

It has now become the No. 2 sport in the country, still trailing football by some distance but rapidly gaining ground. During the Afro-Asia Cup qualifying tournament, which Nepal won to earn themselves a place in this World Cup, between 15,000 and 20,000 fans turned up for the final. This was at a ground with no seating and little crowd control. Apparently the awards ceremony at the end was held up by a crowd invasion as the coach was lifted into the air in triumph.

The recent rapid rise of cricket in Nepal is emphasised by the story of their opening bowling Amrit Bhattarai. He is just 15-years-old, so has the chance of emulating Kanishka Chaugai, his captain, by playing in three World Cups. But the more amazing fact is that he has only been playing cricket for 18 months – now he is opening the bowling for his country. Talk about fast-tracking. A number of the U-19 squad have also already represented the full Nepal side, and their problem is creating a large enough pool of players to pick from.

I chatted briefly to Roy Dias, their coach for five years, following the match, and he said he was proud of the effort show by his team, but disappointed they couldn’t get closer to England. “It is very disappointing, because we dropped a few catches and that cost us important runs. But it was still a good score to chase and we got a nice start with Kanishka batting well, but sadly he pulled his hamstring and that altered our rhythm. Then we lost three wickets on run outs, that’s a crime. You can get out, just not run out.”

These lessons will be learned in time, especially if the enthusiasm and commitment that was evident today continues to spread. The raw ingredients are there, now comes the hard work.

In their current form there are not many sides that could outdo the full Australian side when it comes to a crushing one-day win. So, it comes as no surprise, that when it does happen it is another Australian team that manages it. While South Africa suffered a 57-run drubbing at Sydney, the Under-19 version were crushed by 175 runs in Colombo.

The small, but vocal group, of Australian supporters at the SSC © Cricinfo Ltd

Not bad for a team that had lost its two warm-up matches. But Matthew Mott, the assistant coach, said to me before the match that “they had learned some lessons,” and South Africa felt the result.

The star of the Colombo show was Tom Cooper, a tall and correct opening batsman from New South Wales, who watched two partners fall in the space of three balls before guiding his side towards their massive total. Today was not one of Colombo’s warmest, but batting for nearly 40 overs was still hard work, so there is certainly one person who will have enjoyed the Supersub rule, as Cooper was given the second innings off and could put his feet up in the dressing room.

“I was buggered to be honest,” he admitted, “so it was nice to come off and I enjoyed my rest. I didn’t have a word with the skipper or anything, he just gave me the nod during the lunch break.” Expect a few more century-makers to be looking their captain’s way during the next two weeks.

Given how well Cooper played, and the powerful striking from Aaron Finch and David Warner, it was just a shame that virtually no one was in the ground to watch. There is free entry to all the matches in the tournament: either the message hasn’t got around or people had better things to do on a Sunday.

The groundstaff, who spent most of the day lounging in the shade of a stand, until some threatening clouds began to approach, made up about two thirds of the people who did watch. There were a few locals scattered around the pavilion and a few expats had made their way down to cheer on their team. However, the biggest section of support was a group of Australians who cheered their side all day. Sat just below the dressing room, they were made up mostly of player’s families but at least they added some small atmosphere to the day. When the two teams lined up for the brief post-match ceremony they gave a hearty rendition of that well known classic, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi.”

News filtered through to the SSC that there was similar non-existant crowd at the Premadasa Stadium. A small crowd for an Australia-South Africa clash is one thing, but when the home team is involved it does make you wonder whether the tournament is going to grab the imagination of public. It would be shame if it didn’t as there are some gifted players on show.

But it is early days yet. The group of workmen that appeared with a truck on one of the grass embankments are obviously more optimistic about the crowds flocking in. They built a drinks stall which was certainly capable of catering for more people than needed refreshments today. Talking of drinks, I’ll toast Tom Cooper – well played.

Here, with my finest weather-presenting impression is the forecast for Colombo. It’s hot, and stays hot all day and all night, but when it rains, boy, does it rain. Yesterday evening I was sat in the Sri Lankan office of Cricinfo, putting together an entry for this blog, when I realised I could hear water cascading down the window panes. Funny time to wash the windows, I thought, before opening the door to see sheeting rain. Within minutes the road outside the office resembled a river and the dusty surface had turned to mud.

The strikingly ornate Gothami temple © Cricinfo Ltd

But, if that was impressive it was nothing compared to the deluge that struck Colombo today, unfortunately on Independence Day when everyone was on holiday and would have packed out the beaches if the sun had shone. At about one o’clock this afternoon, typically just as I was about to leave the house, the thunder rumbled in and the heavens opened again.

Now, tropical rain in Sri Lanka shouldn’t come as any surprise, but this isn’t the main wet season and today’s downpours surprised a few people. When the country held the 2000 Under-19 tournament it was staged a month earlier and rain played havoc with a number of matches.

I attempted, fairly unsuccessfully, to dodge the worst of rain as I went to one of the hotels in town to collect an invite to tonight’s opening ceremony. When I came out a brief dry interlude encouraged me to take a walk along a random street to see where I would end up. However, I wasn’t alone for long as I had one of those surreal experiences that can only happen on the subcontinent.

I wasn’t paying attention when this friendly chap – who became known as 'Dom' for simplicity sake – started matching me stride for stride and chatting about the weather. After a couple of false starts I worked out he was one of gardeners from the hotel, so I complimented him on his very fine lawns and shrubs, and he quickly tagged on that I was a Brit and was quite excited when he found out I was here for the cricket. He then insisted that I go with him to look at a temple and two minutes later we were in a tuk-tuk that would end up staying with us for the next two hours.

Dom insisted that this was one of the best in town and the Gothami temple was indeed a strikingly ornate building. After taking off our shoes my new guide showed me around the various rooms, explaining what different paintings and statues meant.

Then it was on to another Sri Lankan special – a gem factory. A very knowledgeable young man called Michael – a qualified gemologist apparently - talked me through how Sri Lanka’s famous gems are made. Without major details, it involves volancos, rivers, the sea and a lot of digging. Suddenly, all that A-level geography came flooding back. Well, not quite.

Back in the tuk-tuk Dom seemed very pleased with himself and said we should stop at the beach before he went home. Once we got to the shore he jumped out, we settled up with the driver and as quickly as he’d appeared Dom was on his way – he was late he said, and would get in trouble if he was any longer. Well, I thought, that doesn’t happen every day but, then again, plenty of my Colombo experiences have been firsts.

A refreshing aspect to my early days in Colombo has been the attitude of the players and management that I have so far come across. It is fair to say that, at times, dealing with full international teams can be a frustrating and impersonal affair, as you are directed through one official channel then another before being told there is ‘no comment’. Nothing of the sort here, those I've met have been happy to talk and ensure the World Cup is shown in the best possible light.

Australia's Adam Ritchard gets to grips with fame © Cricinfo

These players have yet to put up their guard – they have no reason to – they are not weighed under by ongoing pressure on them. Whether it is milling around at the hotel or having a chat with some of the players during a lunch break, they are relaxed and confident. It is all part of the experience and they also realise that good coverage of the tournament gives them more exposure and can be a boost to their careers. Relationships with the media won’t always be so cordial, but while they are life is so much easier.

Working with the media is just one of a host of other roles that those players who progress through the ranks will find become a part of their everyday life. The days leading up to the start of the tournament, on Sunday, have not only been filled with the warm-up matches, but an array of administrative commitments – a small taste of what will await a few in the future. And don’t think, for one minute, they get an easy ride because they are youngsters. This is a full-on ICC tournament and comes will all the associated bells and whistles.

Probably the most eye-opening of the tasks for each team will have been their meeting with the ACSU – the anti corruption unit – an hour-long talk about how to ensure the players avoid any unscrupulous activities. This is the serious part of the day, as there is an ongoing campaign to ensure the sport stays clean and fair. Some of these players will be around for the next 15 years, so they may as well get into good habits early.

The teams are then herded into a large room, for the mini-bat signing session. There are 75 for each team to scrawl their signatures on, the difference here as opposed to the full national sides is that you can often make out the names – they haven’t been overworked as yet and had time to resemble more a wiggly line than an actual name. However, they are asked before hand to resist the temptation to include “any hearts, kisses or little doodles”.

But the players are serious about why they are here and quickly complete the two tables of bats – the Australians apparently were the fastest, although the Indians didn’t hang around. Despite the fact that most of them would probably rather be fitting in some last-minute training, the two squads that were involved while I was knocking about the hotel – Australia and Namibia – were clearly aware of their responsibilities. But they are also young enough to enjoy it without any preconceptions.

Who says England can’t win a match with spin? The probable threesome for the senior tour of India – Shaun Udal, Ian Blackwell and Monty Panesar – won’t be giving Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid nightmares, but the Under-19 side today showed the way, bowling England to a moral boosting warm-up win. To India’s Under-19 team Graeme White, Nick James and Moeen Ali will have sounded like a similar prospect to that facing the full squad next month. But they proved that with the backing of some thoughtful captaincy and the confidence to throw the ball up anything is possible. Food for thought as Vaughan and Co. prepare for their next challenge.

Bloomfield Cricket Ground, the scene of England's impressive win against India © Cricinfo

England, though, would do well not to get carried away. These types of matches are notorious for sending out the wrong signals, but what was eye-catching about the whole game was the intensity of proceedings and the thrill at the result. You would be unlikely to see any full national side whooping and hollering after winning a practice match, which partly goes to explain why Test sides often slip up - the desire isn’t quite there. However, both teams today – but especially England – were really up for this one. It will have had something to do with their 11-0 trashing in Bangladesh (making any win a joyous occasion) but it also shows what it means to these young guys to be representing their country. The scenes at the end looked more like the World Cup was theirs – well, if they continue in this style, they will have a decent chance of being there at the end.

It was a great match in which to get my bearings as far as the World Cup goes, and as it turned out, my bearings around Colombo. One thing I’m learning fairly quickly here is that the best-laid plans don’t always come off. Being the start of a tournament I’d had accreditation issues to sort early in the morning. That was fine, an easy tuk-tuk ride (well, all these things are relative) from the house I’m staying in, to the impressive Taj Samudra hotel, right on the sea front in Colombo. Getting from there to the ground, now that’s a different story.

Firstly, Galle Road, the major route in town, was shut in parts for the rehearsal ahead of Sri Lanka's Independence Day celebrations on Feb 4. This, as the tuk-tuk drivers kept explaining, was a real pain. But still, the guy seemed confident when I said “Bloomfield Cricket Ground.” After another ten minutes of playing dodgems with the traffic we arrived at a cricket ground. Only it was the SSC, one of the main Test grounds in the city. Across the road is the Nondescripts Ground. OK, so I wasn’t in the right place but at least I knew where I would need to go come Sunday and the first proper matches.

I obviously wore the “I have no idea where I am” look because another driver came up and asked if I needed another ride. They aren’t slow to spot the floundering visitor and the possibility of a nice bonus. However, I’m learning to confirm a fare before leaving, so a mere 100 rupees later I was at the right ground, in time to enjoy a match that whetted the appetite for the weeks ahead.

Forgive me if some of my comments over the next few weeks seem slightly
clichéd or old-hat. This is my first trip to the subcontinent and it
doesn’t matter how much you hear from other people, there is nothing like first-hand experience.

My flight left Dubai in the early hours of Wednesday morning, meaning
there was very little sleep beforehand and, with the journey taking just four hours, very little sleep on board. So, it was with slightly bleary eyes that I stared out of the window as we descended into Colombo, the lush, green landscape appearing out of the haze. However, any feeling of weariness was soon cast aside as my senses were sent into overdrive on entering the bustling – and at first glance, chaotic - Colombo life.

The first challenge was to locate the correct taxi driver amid a sea of people outside the arrivals hall. I gambled that a man holding a slightly miss spelt version of my name was the right guy – taking the view that not too many people with a similar surname would be getting off a flight from Dubai. Next came the baggage handler, who didn’t miss a trick and was convinced I was hiding some nice “London money” from him. The best I could offer was some left over Dirhams, which I’m sure he never quite believed.

Airport negotiated, it was time for the trip into town. If I’d had any ideas about nodding off for an hour, that notion didn’t last long. Parts of the journey were breathless; faced head-on with a large truck on the wrong side of the road, there is not much you can do than have total faith in your driver. But as we progressed further along our route it dawned on me that the system of tooting horns and waving arms actually worked and kept things moving. The tuk-tuks squeezed in among the lorries, which vied for position with the cars and four-wheel drives.

Midway through the journey into Colombo, the driver asked how I would be paying for the trip. Good question; I knew I’d forgotten something at the airport. No problem. The car was swung around, pulled up in front of a bank and I was pointed in the direction of an ATM. I’d not given much thought to the exchange rate and had to think for a moment before keying in the seemingly absurd amount of 5000 rupees. If I was to ask for anything greater than double figures back home, the machine would probably start smoking, chew up my card and tell me not to be so stupid. To ask for a thousand anything, never mind the currency, took some getting used to.

But here I have the joy of being able to divide by roughly 180 to get the equivalent in pounds. Now, my 180 times table is a little rusty these days so, back in the cab, my phone-cum-calculator told me I’d withdrawn the princely sum of £27. Excess baggage and merchandise might well be an issue in three weeks time. Until then, this is an experience I’m intent on living to the full.