Sri Lanka will be touring New Zealand to play two Tests, three ODIs and as many T20Is in March 2023. Ahead of the all-important tour, the Sri Lankan team will be training at the Radella Cricket ground, which is situated 4,200 feet above sea level in Nuwara Eliya.
The stadium which was built in 1856 has been renovated and is now ready for the national team to train in, according to Sri Lanka Cricket. The SLC further stated that it is the only high-elevation cricket ground that can be utilized for national-level cricket training in Sri Lanka.
The renovation work of the ground began after permission was given by SLC Member Club, Dimbula Athletic and Cricket Club, the facility’s owners, to use it for national team training.
Following the permission, a 20-member, highly experienced ground management team headed by Godfrey Dabrera, Manager, International Venues and Facilities of the SLC, worked for a few weeks to redevelop the ground and make it appropriate for national team training.
The ground has four centre turf wickets and five newly laid practice turf wickets, and also has other facilities, to allow the team to train without much trouble. The Sri Lankan team will travel to Radella on the 16th of February and will train for a week over there before leaving for New Zealand as Radella has similar conditions to New Zealand.
The SLC further revealed that last week, a practice game was also played at the ground to determine its suitability for national-level cricket.
Sri Lanka have a great chance to qualify for WTC final
The upcoming tour of New Zealand is extremely important for Sri Lanka as they’re in contention to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship 2023. They need to win both the Tests against the Kiwis and hope that India whitewashes Australia by 4-0 in the ongoing Test series or the series gets drawn 2-2. Any of the two scenarios will clear the path for Sri Lanka to seal a place in the WTC final.
If they manage to do so, it will be a historic achievement for the Island nation which also won the Asia Cup last year.
Source - CricTracker
-Agencies
