Dambulla - Sri Lanka's next Test venue

Dambulla, a hamlet in the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka, will soon be the venue of the Island's eighth Test match cricket ground. Situated 56 miles from Colombo in the Northern Central Province, cricket fever has already spread around the village.

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) has set aside Rs. 60 million and work has already commenced on the site. Cricket Board President, Thilanga Sumathipala, speaking to CricInfo said, ``We need to take cricket into these areas for the simple reason that Kandy, as we all know, is very unpredictable with the weather. So it's best to have a ground in the dry zone, where you could shift the venue at very short notice. We also have good five star hotels around Dambulla, which will cater for the needs of the cricketers and cricket fans.''

During the England tour in February 2001, it has already been decided by the board to play one Test in Dambulla. I visited the site and was amazed by what I saw. Work is underway with local labour from around the area. The village folk said they were very happy with what was going on. One elder said, ``we have found employment in the area. Dambulla will be soon be world famous now that cricket is coming here in a big way.''

The local lads who were starved of cricket in and around the area said that with a last match ground around, they would not have to travel to Kandy or Kurunegala to play cricket. One boy said ``our parents are poor, now they would get employment with shops and eating houses soon springing up.''

A bank employer from the area said ``the need in now to form a cricket club, may be call it the Dambulla Cricket Club, so the lads can play as members and who knows, in the not too distant future the club can have a few Test players.''

People now visit Dambulla because of the temples and rocks on their way to Sigiriya. Soon they would come to witness Test cricket.

It was indeed heartening to see the amount of enthusiasm shown by the village lads who have taken to the game in an encouraging manner. They all know that soon a Test ground would take pride of place among the other attractions of the area.

Former cricketer and a renowned cricket commentator Premasara Epasinghe who had also visited Dambulla to get first hand insight of the envisaged Test ground was full of praise for the people of the area. Speaking to CricInfo, he said: ``The need of a cricket ground in Dambulla was on the cards about two years ago, but because of certain developments that took place within the cricket structure of our country, work on this project was held up. To me this is a dream come true now. I have good knowledge and would able to give listeners first hand information on the radio regards this ground and its development in all my sports round up programmes.''