Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground

The Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground (SSC Cricket Ground) (Sinhala: සිංහල ක්‍රිඩා සමාජ ක්‍රීඩාංගනය) (Tamil: சிங்களவர் விளையாட்டுக் கழக அரங்கம்) is one of the most famous cricket grounds in Sri Lanka, and the headquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket, the controlling body of cricket in Sri Lanka.[1][2] The ground is sometimes described as "the Lord's of Sri Lanka",[3] It hosts the most domestic finals and is an important international cricket venue. The ground staged its first Test in 1984 against New Zealand and its first One Day International in 1982 against England.[2] The Sri Lankan team has an impressive record here. Out of 38 Tests played at the SSC as of January 2015, Sri Lanka has won 18 matches, and drawn 14, with only 6 losses.[4]

Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground
Maitland Place
A Test match in March 2001 between Sri Lanka and England.
Ground information
LocationCinnamon Gardens, Colombo
Coordinates6°54′21.32″N 79°52′09.85″E
Establishment1952
Capacity10,000
OwnerSinghalese Sports Club
TenantsSri Lanka Cricket
End names
Tennis Courts End
South End
International information
First Test16–20 March 1984:
 Sri Lanka v  New Zealand
Last Test23–26 November 2018:
 Sri Lanka v  England
First ODI13 February 1982:
 Sri Lanka v  England
Last ODI22 February 2020:
 Sri Lanka v  West Indies
First T20I3 February 2010:
 Canada v  Ireland
Last T20I4 February 2010:
 Afghanistan v  Canada
Team information
SSC (1974 – present)
As of 22 February 2020
Source: Cricinfo

History

In 1899, a combined school cricket team, composed mainly of cricketers from Royal College, S. Thomas' College and Wesley College beat Colts Cricket Club by a one run. A decision was made to form an all-Sinhalese club, and thus Singhalese Sports Club was founded.[5] The club leased a land in Victoria Park with sandy soil and covered with cinnamon trees.[6]

In 1952 the club leased another 20 acres (81,000 m2) and moved to its present location in Maitland Place, which was used as an aerodrome by the allied forces in World War II.[2]

Ground

The pavilion of the ground was built in 1956 with the sponsorship of Donovan Andree, a leading nightclub entrepreneur.[6] A giant scoreboard and sightscreens were built in the mid-70s. Later the current scoreboard was built. The ground also has a media center and commentary box with modern facilities. Various sponsors including Lankabell, Seylan Bank and HSBC have built stands bearing their brands. There are two grass embankments for the spectators.

Highlights

In 1992 Australian tour of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka lost the SSC Test match to Australia by 16 runs after being set a target of only 181 runs.[7] This is one of Sri Lanka's narrowest defeats in Test cricket.[8] Shane Warne took three wickets in thirteen balls; this was his first notable performance in Test cricket.[9]

In the 2001-02 Asian Test Championship, Mohammed Ashraful of Bangladesh become the youngest cricketer to score a Test hundred,[10] one day before his 17th birthday. However Bangladesh went on to lose the match by an innings and 137 runs.

Chaminda Vaas took 8 wickets for 19 runs in 2001/02 against Zimbabwe, the best bowling performance in a One Day International match.[11] The Zimbabwean total of 38 was the lowest team innings total in ODIs at that point of time.[12]

Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene shared a partnership of 624 runs against South Africa in 2006/07 season, the highest partnership for any wicket in Test and first class cricket.[13]

Ground Figures

Key
  • P Matches Played
  • H Matches Won by Home Side
  • T Matches Won by Touring Side
  • N Matches Won by Neutral Side
  • D/N/T Matches Drawn/No Result/Tied
Ground Figures
FormatPHTND/N/TInaugural Match
Test matches[14]4220801416 March 1984
One-Day Internationals[15]60231119713 February 1982
Twenty20 Internationals[16]200203 February 2010

Updated 26 July 2018

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.