Disconnected from the action

	Watching with the mute button on © Cricinfo Ltd

The Rangiri Dambulla Stadium is a lovely setting to watch cricket. Unlike many international stadiums, it isn’t boxed in by concrete stands on all sides. It has just one covered stand, running from wide long-on to deep extra cover, with the rest of the ground barely having ten rows of seats. Besides the cricket, a ticket allows you to gaze at the boats cruising the vast reservoir adjoining the stadium, the surrounding greenery and the hillsides in the distance.

The press box, perched near the top of the stand, provides a vantage view of the natural beauty around. However, for someone like me, viewing the cricket from the air-conditioned enclosure for the first time, the silence inside the press box gives an unsettling sense of disconnect from the action. There is no thwack of the bat on ball, players appealing earnestly seem part of a mime in the middle, and it’s hard to get a feel of the game. You might as well be in some other city.

Even that constant background music that is part-and-parcel of cricket in Sri Lanka, from the numerous bands joyously performing in the stands seem to be nearly on mute-mode from the press box. If you step out and stroll around, the merry din transports you to a party atmosphere. Get back in, and you might as well be at a browsing centre with a great view.