A Sri Lankan institution

As I stepped into the P Saravanamuttu Stadium (PSS), nested along a discreet road by the name of Lesley Ranagala Mawatha ('avenue' in Sinhala) in Colombo, it was just as I had read and heard it to be. After the impressive SSC, home to Sri Lanka Cricket, and the Galle Stadium, which is open all around with virtually no raised structures barring the pavilion, allowing passers-by to take in the cricket, the PSS was small and unobtrusive. Its setting is akin to something of a club venue, with low stands and grassy banks, and the ivy-covered scoreboard.

The media had yet to descend on the venue, being an optional day for the players to have nets. I had planned to meet Kumar Sangakkara here, but he hadn't arrived and so I walked around the stadium to bide my time.

What first caught my attention were the massive honours' boards, listing cricket and hockey players to have been produced here. The PSS is host to the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club, inaugurated in 1899 and which has produced a superstar by the name of Muttiah Muralitharan. The ground used to be called the Colombo Oval but was changed to its current name, after Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the Tamil Union's president from 1958-50 and chairman of committees from 1935-50.

There is history at the PSS. It hosted Sri Lanka's first Test, against England in 1982, and has been a regular on the Test match rota. In 1985, it was the venue for Sri Lanka's first-ever Test win, over India. But the PSS is famously remembered as the ground that Don Bradman stepped on en route to England in 1948 during one of Australia's four 'whistle-stop' tours. It is in fact the only place in Asia where Bradman played. The Australians played in Colombo against the All Ceylon team on April 2, 1930, and Bradman was out hit-wicket for the first ball bowled by NS Joseph, playing in his debut match. This is one of only two occasions that Bradman got out hit-wicket. On March 27, 1948, a crowd of about 20,000 gathered at the Colombo Oval to see Bradman play for the last time in Sri Lanka. He only made 20, but he was well appreciated.

After Muralitharan, the PSS' most famous son is Mahadevan Sathasivam, whom Gary Sobers called "the greatest batsman ever on earth". He has a stand named after him, and inside the bar there are enlarged black and white pictures of him batting and walking out for the toss with Bradman.

Ranil, in charge of the construction happening in the new bar at the Sathasivam Stand, tells me that his grandfather played here and collected "about 100 letters from the Don" compared with "just 13 for Greg Chappell", which were handed over to the Bradman Museum in Australia.

There are other musty pictures in the room, but the ones which stand out are the two captains walking out, one of Bradman coming to the crease, head and eyes bowed in appreciation, and a snapshot of the first Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Trophy winners of 1950-51, the Division A Ceylon Cricket Association. The bar was a touching addition to a ground that, without spectators or players, seemed very much at ease with its low-profile appearance.

Other facilities are on offer, such as tennis, badminton, squash and swimming, but the PSS will always be known for its rich tradition of cricket. After two contrasting matches at the SSC and Galle, the series, tantalisingly poised, now moves to the PSS. It could not have got a quainter setting for it.