Richmond Cricket Club have returned from a tour to Bangladesh with a new readiness for the England club season to start.

Staying with members of the UK ex-pat community in Dhaka, the schedule took them to England’s first two one-day internationals and they took part in the British Business Group Sixes tournament in Mohakhali.

The group also got to meet some of the poor and vulnerable people being supported an aid programme, managed by Britain’s department for international development.

This included an event with the women and children victims of acid attacks at a celebration of International Women’s Day.

Richmond’s “Rangers” were humbled by the resilience and positive outlook of the Survivors – as the England team had been earlier in the week.

Candles were lit as a symbol of solidarity in the fight against domestic violence.

The group was also keen to give something back to their host country, and spent a day visiting APON – a drug rehabilitation centre for street and slum children located in the countryside surrounding the “mega city” that is the 13 million people of Dhaka.

This visit, perhaps more than anything else from the trip, left its mark on the Rangers.

Ian Moore, organiser of the trip from the UK side said, “The children there, ranging in age from around 7 to 15 years old, greeted us with local songs; and a moving welcome speech from one of the workers there, a former “inmate” himself, floored us all with his humility and grace.

“We then spent the rest of the morning coaching the kids cricket (with many showing great hand-eye co-ordination and talent), followed by some very competitive matches in the afternoon!”

“All in all, we’ve had a once-in-a-lifetime trip, experiencing a small, but significant portion of life for the vast majority of the country’s 159 million inhabitants, having some laughs along the way, and we hope to organise a return trip to see this beautiful country and its lovely people again in time for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.”