Galle International Stadium
 |
|||
| Ground information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Galle, Sri Lanka | ||
| Coordinates | 6°01′54″N 80°12′58″E / 6.0316°N 80.2160°ECoordinates: 6°01′54″N 80°12′58″E / 6.0316°N 80.2160°E | ||
| Establishment | 1876 | ||
| Capacity | 35,000 | ||
| Owner | Galle Cricket Club | ||
| Tenants |
Sri Lanka Cricket Galle Cricket Club |
||
| End names | |||
| City End Fort End |
|||
| International information | |||
| First Test | 3–7 June 1998: Sri Lanka v  New Zealand |
||
| Last Test | 4–8 August 2016: Sri Lanka v  Australia |
||
| First ODI | 25 June 1998: Sri Lanka v  India |
||
| Last ODI | 6 July 2000: Sri Lanka v  South Africa |
||
| Team information | |||
|
|||
| As of 4 August 2016 Source: Cricinfo |
|||
Galle International Stadium (Sinhalese: ගාල්ල ජාත්යන්තර ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩාංගනය) (Tamil: காலி பன்னாட்டு அரங்கம்) is a cricket stadium in Galle, Sri Lanka, situated near the Galle fort and fringed on two sides by the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. Before being brought up to international cricket standards, it was known as ‘The Esplanade’, and is the home ground of the Galle Cricket Club.
The ground was built in 1876 as a race course. There was no permanent pavilion until 1892, when a ‘grand stand’ was built according to a suggestion of Mr. P A Templer, the then Secretary of the Galle Municipal Council. Eventually the racing ceased and the ground was used for cricket matches more than races. In 1927, the ground was officially declared as a cricket stadium.
The ground hosted its first first-class match on 29 February 1984. A turf wicket was introduced to the stadium in 1945 under the guidance of Mr. Dhanapala Lorensu Hewa who was then secretary of the Galle Cricket Ground. The assistance of the Colombo Cricket Club was also taken for this.
The ground was later upgraded to international cricket standards, and became the seventh international cricket stadium in Sri Lanka able to host Test matches. The first test match was played on the ground on 3 June 1998. It was played between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, resulting in a win for Sri Lanka by an innings and 16 runs. The first ODI match was scheduled to be held on 25 June 1998 between India and Sri Lanka, but was abandoned due to the ground being waterlogged from overnight rain and heavy raining in the morning.
...
Wikipedia