A combination of heavy rain last night, drizzling rain today, a poor draining ground and a broken down 'super sopper' means we have spent the whole day sitting at the hotel rather than fighting out a Test match. With our extraordinary facilities in Australia it seems unusual that a full day of Test cricket could be abandoned due to the pouring rain during the night.

When we arrived at the ground this morning there was literally pools of water sitting on the outfield around the masses of blue covers. Groundsmen with towels and rags in their hands were filling buckets to the brim and depositing the unwanted water into bigger puddles outside the playing arena. While this technique would be effective, it is very slow and labour-intensive leaving us with little chance of any play before lunch. Unfortunately more rain has fallen during the day making the prospects of play today impossible and equally as miserable for tomorrow.

Touring these parts of the world shows us how lucky we are in Australia. Yesterday during the initial break in play we walked to the top of the Galle Fort overlooking the town and the cricket ground. During our visit I came across kids playing cricket with the oldest cricket bat you would ever see and a dirty old cricket ball. The practice net was sitting uninhibited with a cow grazing nearby as his closest ally.

At home we are so used to near-perfect facilities that includes highly effective draining grounds; changing rooms that are like hotel rooms and technologically advanced labour equipment. These countries simply do not have the same luxuries. It is a credit to their love of the game that they keep producing such talented players. The kids who play the Sri Lankan version of Kanga cricket at the breaks are highly talented and athletic little fellas who obviously gain immense pleasure from the game of cricket. It is humbling to watch their enthusiasm, which is infectious. Every time I leave Australia I say the same thing; in a nutshell we are so lucky.

Knowing that the AFL Grand Final has been on all afternoon has added to the frustration of today. Obviously Aussie rules football isn't a high priority to the Sri Lankan television stations so the chances of watching the game were next to nil. North Melbourne's number one supporter Ricky Ponting has been listening to every minute of the game via the Internet. To say he is a pleased man this afternoon is like saying a kid is happy in a chocolate shop. I know a few North supporters at home who would have been jumping for joy all day. We are jealous here, especially as we haven't seen a ball of Test cricket bowled all day.

Let's hope the rain goes away this afternoon and tonight so that some Test cricket can be played here in Galle, where cricket is like a religion.

JL