Training College grounds lack facilities
The Training College ground in Balapitiya is the home cricket ground of Revatha College and is an alternate ground for schools from Ambalangoda to Galle for their school cricket fixtures.
The dilapitated Training College shelter which they use as a make-shift pavilion
It is also used by students of surrounding schools for their sports meets and sports practices. Located near the beach the TC ground has a reputation for excellent draining conditions and it is said that a match could resume within an hour after any heavy downpour.
But the ground lacks basic requirements such as a shelter, toilet facilities and water. In a case of emergency one has to relieve themselves in the shrubs which surround the ground.
On being asked officiate at a cricket match recently I encountered a six foot cobra twenty feet away from the boundary line one morning. And players who go to retrieve balls are at risk.
It would be prudent if the authorities take steps to clear the surrounding shrub and provide basic facilities for the many sportsmen and women who use this ground. A bouquet should go out to the Police for keeping the surrounding area free of the regular booze parties and unruly elements which were a menace to the sports men and women in the past.