Pallekelle Cricket Stadium ready for matches by April 2009

By S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports Corr.

CRICKET: Pallekelle Cricket Stadium should ready to play matches by April next year and thereafter it will lead the way for the staging of international matches - said Ashley de Silva, the Manager - Cricket Operations of Sri Lanka Cricket.

He made these observations when he declared open the office of the Kandurata Provincial Cricket Centre owned by the Sri Lanka Cricket at the Pallekelle Cricket Complex at Pallekelle last week.

Ashley de Silva said that the aim of Sri Lanka Cricket is to promote cricket in the outstations and a step further has been taken by the construction of the stadium at Pallekelle and now an office has been opened for cricket operations which will help to develop cricket in the province.

The outfield of the Pallekelle grounds is ready and the turf wicket is being done up and should be ready for playing of matches by April next year. Thereafter, the staging of matches will be considered after completing the infrastructure needed for such events.

Operations Manager of the Kandurata Provincial Cricket Centre - former St. Anthony's College and Combined Colleges cricketer C.P.P. Raj said that he is deeply indebted to Sri Lanka Cricket for having provided the necessary facilities to improve the structure and also the development of Cricket in the Central Region which comprises the district of Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya.

By conducting regular cricket programmes, the talent of young cricketers will be unearthed. They have men of immense experience in cricket coaches like the provincial coach Sunil Fernando who was responsible for switching the worlds greatest off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan from medium pace to spin bowling, which has yielded results the world of cricket had never known before. "To assist him there are district coaches Bernard Perera, Chaminda Kodikara (Kandy District), Migara Ekanayake (Kegalle District) and S. Karthigesam (Nuwara Eliya District).