Too many turfs at Uyanwatte Stadium
Many hours of play have been lost in the under 19 school cricket fixtures being played at the Uyanwatte, the reason being insufficient covers at the stadium. When it rains there are insufficient covers to close all twelve center wickets and the few covers available have not been cared for by the players themselves!
Covers provided by SLC are neglected
The Uyanwatte ground is owned and maintained by the Matara Municipal Council and is the home ground for St Servatius College, Rahula College and St Thomas’ College Matara. The Matara District Cricket Association is expected to promote the game in the district with assistance from Sri Lanka Cricket.
Initially Uyanwatte had only six center strips but Sri Lanka Cricket together with the District Cricket Association added seven more center wickets to use ground as the practices venue for the teams that participated in the women’s T20 World Cup in 2012.Although it was expected that the people of Matara and cricket in the district would benefit by selecting Uyanwatte for the women’s T20 world cup in 2012 it was not to be so. Since 2011/12 season cricket was disrupted at this venue and continued to be disrupted even now when it rains on match days. Whenever international matches are played at Uyanwatte SLC brings sufficient covers from Sooriyawewa and Galle.
The square at Uyanwatta with a dozen wickets
The last match to be disrupted at Uyanwatte was the under 19 division II encounter between St Thomas’ College Matara and Devapathiraja College Rathgama. Only three and half hours of play was possible on day one after a late start and no play was possible on day two as the end strips which were not covered did not dry up.
It is best to reduce the number of center wickets as the ground lacks the manpower to cover the full square when it rains and provide sufficient covers for the rest and most important thing would be to ensure that the covers are taken care of!