Sri Lanka: DACC gets `greenlight' to develop club and ground (28 Sep 1997)

Sunday 28, September 1997

DACC gets `greenlight' to develop club and ground

By P. Rajaratnam - Nuwara Eliya Group Cor.

THE 141-year-old Dimbula Athletic and Cricket Club (Radella Club) is to get a new lease of life as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka has at last given the `green light' for this ancient planters' club to developed to international standards, where the national cricketers will have all the practices prior to their foreign tours in the future. This has been made possible due to the effort of the evergreen sportsman and the veteran upcountry planter P. H. A. N. Dias.

A top level discussion with the BCCSL and the local officials were held at the Radella Club to map out the masterplan, which will have facilities for hostel, indoor games, extension to the pavilion and the grounds, and coaching facilities to schools in the district.

The discussions were attended by Messrs Jayantha Paranathala, vice-president BCCSL, Vil Cassim, Ronnie Gunaratna, Malcom Perera, members of the BCCSL and P. H. A. N. Dias, Tuan Doole, president and Trevor Nugawela and others of the DACC.

The BCCSL officials indicated that when foreign teams played in Sri Lanka number of such teams wanted the matches to be played in outstations, rather than confining to Colombo alone - hence, priorities has been given to places like Matara and Kurunegala in addition to Radella in the Hill country.

The weather conditions at Radella are similar to that of England, South Africa, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and Australia.

According to Dias, when Zimbabwe played the first one-day international against Sri lanka at Radella in 1983, Bob Nixon who was the commentator for Zimbabwe said that Radella was the best and the most beautiful ground in the world.

The ground was surrounded by green fields of tea and trout streams also situated at an elevation of 4,500 ft above sea level with hotels in Nuwara Eliya for accommodation to the visiting teams with the best golf course too.

Mr. Dias says he is the happiest man today as his dream have come true as he has at last made the BCCSL to realise that there is no better place for cricketers to practice than at Radella.

When the discussions were in progress between the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka and the local members here, the heavy machineries started work on this once neglected grounds.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)