I am sorry to report that the England squad have been making slow progress in Sri Lanka. Not with our cricket, of course – we’re perfectly happy with the way our preparations have gone for tomorrow’s first Test – but our journey from Colombo to Kandy was comically slow. It was about 65 miles from start to finish, we set off at 9am on Wednesday and didn’t arrive until 3pm. That did include a two-hour stop at an elephant sanctuary, but we still had a good four hours of travelling time for a journey that would probably have taken about an hour back at home (unless it was on the M62). Perhaps we should have travelled the whole way by elephant.

We had set off from our hotel with quite a convoy – police motorbike in front, followed by minibuses containing players, management and television crews, with another police car at the back – but within 200 metres of leaving, the chain of vehicles had broken completely. Convoys do not work on Sri Lankan roads. It was single carriageways all the way, lots of country roads, plenty of steep hills and then the inevitable roadworks. Is it not possible to go anywhere in the world without encountering roadworks? Apparently not.

The stop-off at the elephant sanctuary was a particularly welcome break, especially for an animal-lover like me. A few of our lads opted to play golf instead – Vaughan, Collingwood, Pietersen and Mustard are especially keen golfers – but I was keen to get up close and personal with the elephants.

It’s not the first wildlife experience I’ve had on this tour. During our first tour match in Colombo, there were a few snakes lurking just beyond the boundary. For some reason, I decided to play the Steve Irwin role and picked up one six-foot beast by his tail, which seemed like a good idea until he got angry, at which point I dropped him and fled. I’ll think twice before picking up a snake next time.

We had our first practice at the ground in Kandy yesterday and we’ll be there again this afternoon for our last session before the series gets under way. On the day before a Test, the home side are always given preference when they want to train, so when we’re away from home, that usually means we’re given the afternoon slot.

While we were practising, I sneaked a look at the Test pitch and I’d be happy if it stayed the same until tomorrow morning. It looked like the green, green, grass of Headingley yesterday and first thing in the morning it was quite damp (the Test starts at 10.30am). I’m told, however, that the pitches for England’s recent one-day series over here often looked green the day before a game, but after a cut, a roll and a baking in the sun they usually turned out to be batsman-friendly. I’m still looking forward to bowling here, though, because this is one of the grounds at which seam bowlers have done well in the past.

It’s no secret that our big selection debate is whether Owais Shah or Ravi Bopara is picked as our sixth batsman tomorrow morning. They may be rivals for that No 6 slot at the moment, but you wouldn’t guess it to see the pair of them together off the pitch.

They’ve been like two peas in a pod ever since we arrived in Sri Lanka. Ravi is a bit of a geezer, a wide boy and a joker with loads of energy, while Owais is quieter and more serious. But the two of them have been inseparable, always in each other’s rooms, watching DVDs, talking cricket and eating together. Whoever gets the nod tomorrow, there will certainly be no jealousy between them.

As well as getting our cricket back on track yesterday, we were also briefed about the bombings that happened in Colombo shortly before we had left on Wednesday. We didn’t actually know about them until we were informed yesterday and there has been no need to bulk up our security now we’re out in the sticks in Kandy. We have a security adviser called Reg Dickason with us permanently. He’s got a spectacular moustache and looks like the man on a tube of Pringles, but he’s not a bad bloke for an Aussie.

I imagine that security may be stepped up when we go back to Colombo for the second Test next week, but we won’t have any problems with going back to the capital. We’ll be happier still if we’re one-nil up in the series by then.

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• Graham Spiers