Ayoung local cricketer recently returned from the trip of a lifetime, having toured Sri Lanka with the Jason Gillespie Academy.

West Gambier cricketer Jayden Prior was invited to tour with the academy and captained the side, playing seven games and winning five.

The Australian side took the field against a range of different teams, with the matches played in several different cities.

Prior said he enjoyed the tour and the challenge of travelling as a visiting team, which included playing in exceptionally humid conditions.

“We started off strong playing in Galle and other outskirt regions playing competitive oppositions, but once we made it to Columbo the competition became much stronger,” he said.

As the tour progressed, the competition became harder for Prior and his side however the team still managed to perform well, scoring over 200 runs and taking all 10 wickets in most matches.

Prior enjoyed his time with his side, which comprised players from predominantly metropolitan Adelaide.

“The team was a very close group and many connections were made over the tour,” he said.

Prior had a great series, performing well as an individual in several of the matches, passing 50 twice during the tour which he described as “a great feeling”.

“In total I made around 160 runs which I felt was a good tour with the bat,” he said.

Prior was also the wicketkeeper for his side and he got to experience the challenge of keeping in Sri Lankan conditions.

“It was very challenging due to the conditions, but I felt that my keeping skills were very good over the course of the tour,” he said.

“Overall I was very happy with my performance and felt that I gave my best every game.”

The tour gave Prior an excellent opportunity to play in different conditions to an Australian summer.

“The conditions were very challenging especially the weather and pitch conditions as the weather was extremely hot and the humidity making it very challenging,” he said.

Prior said the pitches also proved to be a point of difference for the visiting players, making them adapt quickly with bat in hand.

“The pitches were very different to the pitches in Australia as they did not have much grass coverage and they were very hard,” he said.

“We thought they were very similar to pitches here at first look, but once we started to play we realised there was no bounce and had a lot of spin.

“We had to adapt by either reaching out on the front foot, sweeping or going down the pitch and hitting straight.”

While there was plenty of crickete played, the touring players also got to experience Sri Lanka’s wildlife with a safari tour in Yala being a highlight for Prior.

But on the pitch the highlight was making great scores of 73 and 50 on pitches which are used for international games against some Sri Lankan under-19 spinners who know the conditions well.

The matches were played at international venues with Prior enjoying the experience of playing at massive venues.

“It was a great experience and exciting walking out to the middle of the international ground such as Galle and Pallekele as the grandstands and the historical features such as the fort at Galle were breathtaking,” Prior said.

“The feeling that I got walking out to bat at these places was the best feeling I have felt in my cricketing career and I will remember it for my entire life.”

The tour gave Prior a new perspective on what cricket means to a country like Sri Lanka.

“It helped me to realise how much cricket means to the Sri Lankans and also how much effort they put in,” he said.

Prior also found that his skills developed as the tour progressed, with his coaches offering plenty of advice on improvements which would take him to the next level as a cricketer and leader.

Prior adapted well to the challenge of captaining, which he said was a huge honour.

“Captaining a team where I did not know many of the players was difficult, but I was able to learn and adapt on the spot,” he said.

Prior also had to adapt to the different strategies of the opposition.

“The players we played were very different as they are very defensive and slow batters which is really hard to get out, but we did learn how the pitches were which allowed us to change some tactics,” he said.

“We went over there with four pace and three spin bowlers which was very difficult to manage as the pitches also had spin but not a lot of bounce which our spinners were challenged by.”

In a special moment towards the end of the tour, Prior gifted a pair of batting gloves to a child in need, after seeing that some of the teams shared their equipment.

After an impressive tour Prior has been offered a few different opportunities to excel on the cricket field.

He has been invited again to go over to South Africa next April in the under 19 team, as well as offered two positions in the B grade teams in Adelaide as well.