R Premadasa Stadium, Khetterama, Colombo
The R. Premadasa Stadium was built in 1986 at the behest of then President Premadasa. Sri Lanka was keen to have a standard venue to rival the main world venues as Sri Lanka fought to get full test status and this huge 35,000 seater concrete bowl seemed the ideal solution. This is where the 2nd text England v Sri Lanka Tour 2012 is played.
A perfect venue for Cricket Holidays, initially the stadium had a 14,000 capacity but this rose to 35,000 after extensive renovations in 2009 in preparation for the 2011 World Cup.
Sri Lanka gained full test status and the first Test Match was played out between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium in 1992. The stadium has played host to many famous games in the following years, most recently hosting matches at the Cricket One Day World Cup in 2011. The most well-known match would be the famous occasion in 1997 when India Played Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka recorded the world record for the highest ever test score – 952 for 6 declared with Sanath Jayasuriya top scoring with 340 in a 576 second wicket stand with Roshan Mahanama. Traditionally, the ground is seen a batsmen friendly surface and the flat pitches, with low bounce and slow pace tend to produce long games and high scores.
In 2012, the stadium is due to host 15 matches of the Twenty-Twenty World Cup of 2012, including the finals and semi-finals. In April 2012 the England Test team will play Sri Lanka at the ground as the second part of a two match series.
The stadium itself was built on marshy land in Khetterama, Colombo. Not a conventional tourist area by any means, the stadium is nonetheless close to the main central area of Colombo – the area around the Galle Face Green. There are several hotels here – but most famously the stately Galle Face and Galle Face Regency provide old world glamour and charm. A three wheel taxi will get you from there to the stadium in about 15 minutes of noisy and buzzy journey. For the fainter hearted, conventional taxis are also available and might take slightly longer as they tend to get more stuck in traffic.
Many touring supporters choose to avoid the noise and pollution of central Colombo and stay instead in the outlying suburb of Mount Lavinia. The most famous hotel is the Mount Lavinia Hotel and it has become something of an institution among cricket fans. The hotel is still only 45 minutes from the ground – in heavy traffic – but the position by the sea and beach atmosphere mean fans feel they are on a cricket holiday.
You Might Also Like:
- 2011 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka will co-host the 2011 Cricket World cup along with India and Bangladesh. Fixture details and venues are still...
- We salute Murali The legend that is Muttiah ‘Murali’ Muralitharan plays his last test this weekend – at Galle against India.’ We at...
- England Cricket Tour of Sri Lanka 2012 The dates are in and the England Cricket Team are playing Test Matches against Sri Lanka in Galle between 26th...
