Asgiriya Stadium
Encyclopedia
Asgiriya International Stadium, is a Cricket
stadium situated in Kandy
, Sri Lanka
. Asgiriya Stadium is the private property of Trinity College, Kandy
. It is around a 10 minute walk from the centre of the city. The venue would usually be used when an international team toured Sri Lanka for a Test Match. Asgiriya became Sri Lanka's the second Test venue, after the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, when it hosted Greg Chappell
’s Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1982–83
.
requirements for Sri Lanka to be granted Test status was to improve the infrastructure of its international venues. It was Gamini Dissanayake
's idea, the former Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket
, then called the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, to upgrade Trinity College’s cricket ground to international status.
The first cricket match at Asgiriya was against the Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1982–83
, becaming Sri Lanka's the second Test venue, after the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium. Test Matches were played regularly until the last Match, which was three years ago with the English cricket team in Sri Lanka in 2007–08. Sri Lanka won that Test, with Muttiah Muralitharan
claiming his 709th Test wicket to go past Shane Warne
as the highest wicket taker in Test cricket.
Sri Lanka’s first Test win at Asgiriya came in 1998 against Zimbabwe
, 15 years after the ground hosted its first Test. More success soon followed in the coming years as Sri Lanka won their first Test against Australia in 1999
, which still remains the Sri Lanka's only Test win against Australia; a game remembered for the dreadful collision between Steve Waugh
and Jason Gillespie
. Both players had to be airlifted to Colombo
for medical treatment after being seriously injured. Waugh broke his nose while Gillespie had a broken bone in his shin.
Asgiriya has also hosted a 1996 Cricket World Cup
fixture between Sri Lanka national cricket team and Kenya national cricket team with Sri Lanka making a record 398, the highest score at the time.
Asgiriya Stadium has hosted a total of 22 Test Matches and seven of them won by Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Cricket
decided to shift all international cricket to Pallekele, about 15 kilometers from the city, but it is possible that Asgiriya will get an occasional international match.
The stadium has the unique distinction of being the only Test class cricket stadium in the world to be owned and maintained by a secondary school, Trinity College, Kandy
, an elite private boys school in Sri Lanka, founded in the 19th century in the British Public School tradition.
Surrounded by mountains in the ancient Sri Lankan hill capital of Kandy
, Asgiriya is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. Ranjan Madugalle
, Ravi Ratnayeke
, Kumar Sangakkara
, and Kaushalya Weeraratne
, all of whom represented Sri Lanka at the highest level at cricket, are but a few who honed their budding cricketing talents at Asgiriya whilst schoolboys at Trinity.
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Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
stadium situated in Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Asgiriya Stadium is the private property of Trinity College, Kandy
Trinity College, Kandy
Trinity College, Kandy founded in 1872 by Anglican missionaries, is an Independent elite private boys’ school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka...
. It is around a 10 minute walk from the centre of the city. The venue would usually be used when an international team toured Sri Lanka for a Test Match. Asgiriya became Sri Lanka's the second Test venue, after the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, when it hosted Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
’s Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1982–83
Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1982–83
Australia won its first-ever Test against Sri Lanka in 1982-83:* @ Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy – Australia won by an innings and 38 runs...
.
History
One of the ICCInternational Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
requirements for Sri Lanka to be granted Test status was to improve the infrastructure of its international venues. It was Gamini Dissanayake
Gamini Dissanayake
Lionel Gamini Dissanayake was a prominent Sri Lankan politician and a former presidential candidate and Leader of the Opposition.-Early life:...
's idea, the former Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka Cricket, formerly the Board for Cricket Control in Sri Lanka , is the controlling body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It operates the Sri Lankan cricket team and first-class cricket within Sri Lanka....
, then called the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, to upgrade Trinity College’s cricket ground to international status.
The first cricket match at Asgiriya was against the Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1982–83
Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1982–83
Australia won its first-ever Test against Sri Lanka in 1982-83:* @ Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy – Australia won by an innings and 38 runs...
, becaming Sri Lanka's the second Test venue, after the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium. Test Matches were played regularly until the last Match, which was three years ago with the English cricket team in Sri Lanka in 2007–08. Sri Lanka won that Test, with Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
claiming his 709th Test wicket to go past Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
as the highest wicket taker in Test cricket.
Sri Lanka’s first Test win at Asgiriya came in 1998 against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1997–98
Sri Lanka won the Test series 2-0:* @ Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy – Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets* @ Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo – Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets...
, 15 years after the ground hosted its first Test. More success soon followed in the coming years as Sri Lanka won their first Test against Australia in 1999
Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1999
Sri Lanka won the three-match Test series 1-0 with 2 draws:* @ Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy – Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets* @ Galle International Stadium – match drawn* @ Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo – match drawn...
, which still remains the Sri Lanka's only Test win against Australia; a game remembered for the dreadful collision between Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
and Jason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...
. Both players had to be airlifted to Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
for medical treatment after being seriously injured. Waugh broke his nose while Gillespie had a broken bone in his shin.
Asgiriya has also hosted a 1996 Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
fixture between Sri Lanka national cricket team and Kenya national cricket team with Sri Lanka making a record 398, the highest score at the time.
Asgiriya Stadium has hosted a total of 22 Test Matches and seven of them won by Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka Cricket, formerly the Board for Cricket Control in Sri Lanka , is the controlling body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It operates the Sri Lankan cricket team and first-class cricket within Sri Lanka....
decided to shift all international cricket to Pallekele, about 15 kilometers from the city, but it is possible that Asgiriya will get an occasional international match.
Distinction of the stadium
Trinity College, Kandy
Trinity College, Kandy founded in 1872 by Anglican missionaries, is an Independent elite private boys’ school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka...
, an elite private boys school in Sri Lanka, founded in the 19th century in the British Public School tradition.
Surrounded by mountains in the ancient Sri Lankan hill capital of Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
, Asgiriya is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. Ranjan Madugalle
Ranjan Madugalle
Ranjan Senerath Madugalle is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who became a match referee in 1993. He was educated at Trinity College, Kandy, and Royal College, Colombo....
, Ravi Ratnayeke
Ravi Ratnayeke
Joseph Ravindran 'Ravi' Ratnayeke is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who batted right-handed and bowled medium pace. Ratnayeke played 22 Tests and 78 ODIs from 1982 to 1990, his Test best bowling performance of eight wickets for 83 runs at Jinnah Stadium Pakistan was a Sri Lankan Test record at the...
, Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
, and Kaushalya Weeraratne
Kaushalya Weeraratne
Kaushalya Weeraratne is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler....
, all of whom represented Sri Lanka at the highest level at cricket, are but a few who honed their budding cricketing talents at Asgiriya whilst schoolboys at Trinity.
Key milestones
- 1892 - Cricket is introduced at Trinity College
- 1911 - Work on Trinity's Asgiriya grounds begins
- 1915 - His Excellency Sir Robert ChalmersRobert Chalmers, 1st Baron ChalmersRobert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers GCB PC , was a British civil servant.-Background and education:Chalmers was born in Stoke Newington, Middlesex, the son of John Chalmers and his wife Julia...
, G.C.B., declares open the new Asgiriya Playing field with its pavilion and gymnasium. - 1915 - The first inter-school cricket match to be played at Asgiriya takes place, between Trinity College, Kandy, and S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. Trinity beat St Thomas' by an innings and 18 runs. His Excellency Sir Robert Chalmers graces the occasion.
- 1969 - Marylebone Cricket ClubMarylebone Cricket ClubMarylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
vs the Central Province in a 50 over match. - 1982 - Asgiriya becomes a Test Cricket Stadium
- 1983 - First Test match takes place, between Sri Lanka and Australia
- 1986 - First ODI takes place, between Sri Lanka and Pakistan
- 1996 - Hosts a 1996 Cricket World Cup1996 Cricket World CupThe 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
fixture between Sri Lanka national cricket team and Kenya national cricket team with Sri Lanka making a record 398, the highest score at the time.