English super fan rewarded for Sri Lankan odyssey

When England captain Joe Root raised his bat to celebrate his double century in the first Test against Sri Lanka, he made a point of acknowledging a special part of the ground.

Or, more specifically, outside the ground.

Root brought up his fourth Test double hundred on Saturday and celebrated by removing his helmet and saluting his teammates on the dressing-room balcony before turning and recognising a lone figure standing on top of the iconic fort at the Galle International Stadium.

That man is Englishman Rob Lewis, who has been in Sri Lanka for the past 10 months after England's tour of the island nation last March was postponed due to the pandemic.

Despite the initial series being called off and the England team heading home, Lewis promised to stay in Sri Lanka and wait for their return.

A web designer from outside of London, he has continued to work and has even turned to DJ’ing under the pseudonym Randy Caddick, a tribute to former England quick Andy Caddick

"I've been in Sri Lanka the whole time on blind faith, on a wing and a prayer," he told The Times.

"I thought, 'Oh, this coronavirus will be a month. I'll stay in for that month and then see what happens.' But it rumbled on … there's never been a point where I thought I should go home."

And when the tour was rescheduled for this month, it looked like his long wait was about to be rewarded.

But there were a few more obstacles to overcome. With the match being played behind closed doors due to the pandemic, Lewis can't actually enter the ground to watch his heroes close up.

And his plan to watch the game perched on the famous old fort, which offers a view of the ground from afar, were squashed on the opening day of the match when he was asked to remove himself (and the banners he had set up) from the UNESCO world heritage site.

But after England media manager Danny Reuben organised accreditation, Lewis returned to the fort on day three in time to accept Root's acknowledgement.

"It's been the most amazing morning of my life," he said in a Twitter video.

"I've had two days of hardship, just walking around the ground and looking through fences, looking at the TV in the cafe. It's been a real struggle so to be up here means the world.

"I haven't got words to explain how I feel (after) that."

Root and Lewis haven't been able to meet face-to-face given England's players are in a bio-secure bubble for the tour, but the skipper plans to reach out to the committed fan.

"Hopefully we get a chance to catch up with him in the next couple of weeks to touch base – whether that's a Zoom call or a phone call, it'd be nice to get in touch," Root said earlier this week.

"It's an amazing story and hopefully we can give him something to smile about to round off what must have been an incredible year for him."