Galle International Stadium is a
cricket stadium in
Galle,
Sri Lanka, situated near the
Galle fort and fringed on two sides by the
Indian Ocean. It is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. Before being brought up to international cricket standards, it was known as ‘The Esplanade’, and is the home ground of the Galle cricket club.
History
The ground was built in 1876 as a race course. There was no permanent pavilion until 1892, when a ‘grand stand’ was built according to a suggestion of Mr. P A Templer, the then Secretary of the Galle Municipality Council. Eventually the racing ceased and the ground was used for cricket matches more than races. In 1927, the ground was officially declared as a cricket stadium.
The ground hosted its first
first-class match on 29 February 1984. A
turf wicket was introduced to the stadium in 1945 under the guidance of Mr. Dhanapala Lorensu Hewa who was then secretary of the Galle Cricket Ground. The assistance of the
Colombo Cricket Club was also taken for this.
The ground was later upgraded to international cricket standards, and became the seventh international cricket stadium in Sri Lanka able to host Test matches. The first
test match was played on the ground on 3 June 1998. It was played between
Sri Lanka and
New Zealand, resulting in a win for Sri Lanka by an innings and 16 runs. The first
ODI match was...
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