Indians due to arrive on August 9 for three Tests
The Indian Test team once a frequent visitor to the shores of Sri Lanka, will be back for serious action after a lapse of almost four years on a three Test and no frills series on August nine.
The visitors who last played a Test series in Sri Lanka ended up 1-1, losing the Test match in Galle where the Lankan spinning legend Muttiah Muralitharan bid adieu after his record 800th Test wicket. The Indians won the third Test match at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium courtesy VVS Laxman’s timely century that took them home in a ding dong battle.
The tour agreed upon dates and venues also set upon only have to be officially ratified.
The tour will face the starter’s line with a practice match at the Colts Cricket Grounds – a team that would be full of young hopefuls. In all probability, Sri Lanka’s batting star for the past decade Kumar Sangakkara also may have called it a day by then.
This match will be played from 12-14 August.
After three days of practice, action will shift to Galle where the first Test match would be played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium from 18 to 22 August.
The second Test match will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club Grounds from 26 to 30 August.
Come September cricket action will be shifted to the hill country where the third Test match will be played from the 3rd to the seventh at Pallekelle.
Meanwhile it was also revealed at Sri Lanka cricket will be introducing a code of conduct for school cricket. SLC Interim Committee Chairman Sidath “Wettimuny speaking to the Sunday Times said that they already have had the preliminary rounds of discussions with the Sri Lanka Schools authorities on the subject.
He said “Very soon we will be putting out a small booklet explaining the code of conduct and it will directed towards the players, coaches, masters-in-charge and parents. Wettimuny explained “We expressed our concern about the present status of discipline in the game at the school cricket level. I mean the general code of conduct—the spirit of cricket. The booklet will be done in all three languages and it will be distributed amongst the schools shortly.
In answer to the question as to why he had said that Sri Lanka cricket is on a nosedive the Interim Committee Chairman said that he had been misquoted. “That is not what I said. I read out some of the statistics that Mahela Jayawardena had prepared. What I said was I too have fears, we could be in trouble. It is the present status of the game. We are not at our best and could be heading for trouble. Some of the statistics that Mahela showed are worrysome. Once Sangakkara, Dilshan – all these senior guys move out we need to be careful.” He said in conclusion.