The Poolie Bunker

England's first one day series win on the sub continent since 1987

Typical of England to stumble upon a successful 50 over team six months AFTER the World Cup

In any case England's best win since the Ashes triumph for me, nobody ever wins in Sri Lanka

A great win agreed.

The players who begin with 's' have starred. Swann and Shah.

Did I read that you're going out there?

Yes, me a and mate are going out to India for a bit of travelling in November. We are starting in Bombay and working our way down to Madras to Fly to Sri Lanka for the tests at Kandy (arrive on day three of that so we'll probably walk in to see Hoggard get bowled by Murali to wrap up an innings defeat!) and Colombo. The lad who is pro at HCC, Thara is Sri Lankan so we'll be meeting up with him.

I think the sides battling qualities reflect the characteristics of the skipper, I bet Darren Gough feels a bit of a tool it was only last week he said Collingwood should be replaced by KP.

They spent a fortune getting that place decorated a couple of years ago, I think the decor those chose makes it look like an Indian Restaurant! Yes and the 'Stage' is tiny is was better when they used to just shift the Pool table and use the dart board cubicle as a dressing room

I was in the other friday sat with your dad and TGP's dad the other Friday they were on about the night the match factory burnt down when Pools played York City!!

....I'd like to add we did leave for the Marina BEFORE the bingo started!

Whoop diggedy doo we beat Sri Lanka!

In the most intense sport in the world as well.

Ah, Kandy, now there's a town for you.
The bloody place was closed when I went there but I could see it had potential!
(Explanation on request.)

World Cup finalists and have lost twice at home in one day series since 1994. Cricket is an extremely intense sport, and I should know I've played it at a reasonable level

Ps. Why was Kandy closed!?

I thought you'd never ask!

a) It was Wesak, during which alcohol sales are forbidden.
b) Their stupid president went and got himself assassinated so there was a curfew!

1993 if I remember rightly.

But I could see that in different cirumstances it would probably have been a cracking town.

The lad who I am going away with was in Sri Lanka last year during some religios festival when you couldn't buy a drink, one waiter in the hotel asked if he wanted a beer, he brought out a tea pot full of Cobra (what is that by the way?) complete with saucer, tea cup, milk, sugar, and spoon

Kandy's a damn sight more interesting than Colombo, but unless things have changed dramatically in 14 years it's a pain in the arse getting there!
I remember us taking what they impressively called the "Inter City Express" from the capital. That was straight on the back of a seven hour train ride from Matala to Colombo. For the first hour of the Kandy ride the train was packed with suburbs commuters, half of them hanging from the outside of the train like you see in pictures.
Then most of them got off leaving us in peace for the remaining FOUR HOURS it took to cover the last 100km! What a day.
It's not the slowest train I've been on but there again the others didn't claim to be expresses!

But once you're there it is definitely worth the visit. Just make sure the president is out of the country when you go and get plenty of cans in if the parade of the tooth is imminent! (http://www.sridaladamaligawa.lk/english/)

The lonely planet says Colombo to Kandy is a mere three hours these days, hope it's true. Mind the train journeys will be nowt in Sri Lanka compared to some of bastads in India, Calcutta to Madras for example just your 28 hours It's less than 20 bar to fly down so I think we might take that option for that one!!