Galle Stadium ready for Test - Duleep

CRICKET: The Chief Executive Officer of Sri Lanka Cricket Duleep Mendis yesterday confirmed that the tsunami hit Galle Stadium will be ready to host the England team for the third and final Test match in December.

Earlier reports suggested that the Galle Stadium will not be ready in time to play the Test match which will be worked off from December 18 to 22. The Stadium is one of the most scenic venues in the world until it was devastated along with the entire Southern coast of Sri Lanka by the terrible tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004.

The CEO of SLC Duleep Mendis said that the Galle Stadium will be completed by November and they will not have any problems in hosting the England team for the third Test.

The future of the venue was in some doubt but thanks to international support from such luminaries like former England all rounder Ian Botham and Australian spinner Shane Warne who had in fact captured his 500th Test wicket at this ground earlier that year, a pledge was made to rebuild the ground from scratch.

Until the disaster the Galle Stadium had been something of a Sri Lankan stronghold with six wins and two defeats from 11 matches with the majority of these victories engineered by the spin wizard Muttiah Muiralitharan who had claimed a total of 87 wickets in those matches.

(C.D).