Central Province C.A. gears up to meet Aussies

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

CRICKET: Central Province Cricket Association and the Kandy District Cricket Association is all set stage the Sri Lanka vs Australia Twenty-20 and the One-Day International at the Pallekelle Cricket Stadium, Pallekelle in August.

This was disclosed by the Secretary of the Central Province Cricket Association (CPCA) Janaka Pathirana at a media briefing held at Pallekelle.

He said that the two Provincial Associations will handle all arrangements for the three matches along with the Tour Organising Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket who visited this venue about a week back to inspect the facilities at this venue.

Janaka Pathirana said that the tickets for the three matches are available at Abans Limited (Kandy) and the Pallekelle Cricket Stadium and they are selling out fast, especially for the first Twenty-20 which has been a virtual sell out with only a small quantity of tickets available. He advised the cricket fans to purchase their tickets early to avoid black marketeering by unscrupulous persons on the day of the matches.

The Australian cricketers are expected to arrive in Kandy on August 3 and will have practices on August 4th and 5th under lights.

The itenary at Pallekelle is as follows:

Saturday August 6th Sri Lanka vs Australia Twenty-20 commencing at 7 p.m.

Monday August 8th Sri Lanka vs Australia second Twenty-20 at 7 p.m.

Wednesday August 10th Sri Lanka vs Australia One-day International Day / Night commencing at 2.30 p.m.

2nd Test Pallekelle

The two teams will leave for Sooriyawewa on August 11th.But they will be back at Pallekelle on September 5th to play the Second cricket test which will be played at Pallekelle from September 8th to 12th. They will travel by air.

The two teams will be accommodated at Five Star Earls Regency Hotel, Nattarampotha which is about ten minutes drive to the venue of the matches.

Also handling the arrangements for the matches played at Pallekelle are President of the CPCA and KDCA former Parliamentarian Tilina Tennakoon and Honorary Secretary of the Kandy District CA Roland Perera who was the Venue Manager for the three World Cup cricket matches played at Pallekelle in March this year.

The staging of these matches at Pallekelle and giving an opportunity of witnessing the International matches for the cricket fans in Kandy and handing over part of the match arrangements to the local cricket Association would not have been possible if not for the efforts of the present Chairman of the Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket Upali Dharmadasa.

100 volunteers required

Roland Perera said that they intend obtaining the services of over 100 volunteers to reduce costs in staging this match. They will have to help Sri Lanka Cricket by cutting down expenditure in the areas handled by them. The local Police and the Army will also help in the crowd control and to meet any contigency.

The President of the CPCA and KDCA Tilina Tennakoon said that the Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage is one of the persons instrumental in handing over the match arrangements to them which is an indication of the confidence he has in the local Cricket Associations which has men of experience who have staged many Test matches and One-Day Internationals in Kandy particularly the Asgiriya Stadium.

Also helping the match arrangements will be former Test cricketer Jayananda Warnaweera and Sujeewa Godaliyadde.

Cricket fans in the hill capital and the surrounding areas are grateful to the Chairman of the SLC Upali Dharmadasa for playing these matches at Pallekelle. Janaka Pathirana thanked him for giving the KDCA and CPCA an opportunity to handle the arrangements for the four fixtures. They will give out their best and their dedication will be reflected in the match arrangements.

Thus the hill capital is all set to receive the Australian cricketers next week and this will be their first visit to the newly constructed Cricket Stadium at Pallekelle. This will also the first time Twenty-20 matches will be played at Pallekelle.

As for the weather up in the hills, it is bright and sunny at the time of writing. The wicket will come under the care of National Curator of the SLC Anuruddha Polonowita who will be assisted by the local curator Asitha Wijayasinghe and the Provincial Manager Operations Kandurata C.P.P. Raj.