Well one of the key reasons to be in India this winter was for the England cricket test tour, a 5 test match series. As the Cricket World Cup was recently in 2023 also in India, this series includes some different venues, rather than the usual large cities of Mumbai and Delhi. First up was the Hyderabad test…

The stadium filled up as it was a holiday weekend in India, with many tickets given away to local school children and families.

It was a close match with England securing a rare overseas victory, as they bowled India out on the final day. The score card read; England 246 & 420, with India 436 & 202, England winning by 28 runs.

The 2nd test moved east to the coast, to the seaside city of Visakhapatnam. Not as big or crowded as Hyderabad, its a pleasant place for a match, previously visited by me on the tour of 2016. The coast outside the cityhas some wonderful beaches.

This time it was more India’s game, with them winning and the scorecard reading; India 396 & 255, against England’s 253 & 292. India’s winning margin 106 runs, levelling the series at 1-1.

I chose not to go to the third match, which was in Rajkot, again previously visited on the 2016 tour. Instead heading to Sri Lanka for two weeks before returning to India for the fourth match. So a break from the cricket over to some beaches in Sri Lanka…