Prior to Asgiriya being built, Trinity College played their cricket at the Bogambara Stadium. In 1904 Rev. Alec Garden Fraser assumed office as Principal, he was conscious about the lack of a suitable playing space for the school and the lack of a cricket pitch. Fraser acquired an abandoned wasteland owned by the War Department, the site being at Asgiriya, 270 meters away from the school. The lease rental of the land at the time was Rs. 30 per year. In 1910 Trinity was given permission to build their own ground. The stadium broke ground in 1909 and was built until 1915.[2]
Before gaining Test status, one of the ICC requirements for Sri Lanka was to improve the infrastructure of its international venues. In 1981 the former Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, Gamini Dissanayake, an old Trinitian, took charge of upgrading Asgiriya into an international cricket stadium, which he did in a period of 150 days. On 5 January 1982 President J. R. Jayewardene ceremonially opened the stadium. Jayewardene also opened the pavilion in 1982.[1]
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 was Sri Lanka's first 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 and Kenya, when Sri Lanka made 398, the highest World Cup score at the time and highest ODI team total until 400 passed.
Asgiriya Stadium has hosted a total of 22 Test Matches and seven of them have been 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.[5]
In December 2014 it was announced that the stadium would be renovated and improved, with a new electronic scoreboard.[6]
Distinction of the stadiumedit
Surrounded by mountains in the ancient Sri Lankan hill capital of Kandy, Asgiriya is considered by ESPNcricinfo to be one of the most beautiful venues on earth.[7]
1915 - Robert Chalmers, 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. Sir Robert Chalmers graces the occasion.
2001 - Sri Lanka cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan scored his only career half-century and his highest Test score of 67 against India at Kandy in 2001, including three sixes and five fours.
^ abSenhas, Chaniru; Pathiraja, Nimuthu; Rehan, Anandakumar (26 April 2023). "From a hill to a cricket ground – The Asgiriya stadium". Trinity College. from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^"Test venues in Sri Lanka: The Oldies". The Papare. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
^Marikar, Hafiz. . Sundayobserver.lk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
^Miller, Andrew (3 December 2007). "Murali sparks delirium in Kandy". ESPNCricinfo. from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^Clementine, Rex. . Islandcricket.lk. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
^Marikar, Hafiz. "Asgiriya Stadium gets face-lift". Daily News. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
^"Cricket Records in SL: Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy in Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^"Cricket Records in SL: Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy in ODI matches". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^"Cricket Records in SL: Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy in Women ODI matches". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
External linksedit
ESPNcricinfo
Asgiriya Stadium at CricketArchive
"The ground which gave cricket Kumar Sangakkara" by Alan Gardner
April 08, 2024
asgiriya, stadium, sinhala, අස, ගනය, tamil, அஸ, னம, cricket, stadium, situated, kandy, lanka, private, property, trinity, college, kandy, around, minute, walk, from, centre, city, venue, would, usually, used, when, international, team, toured, lanka, test, mat. Asgiriya Stadium Sinhala අස ග ර ය ක ර ඩ ගනය Tamil அஸ க ர ய ம த னம 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 1 Asgiriya Stadium104th Dharmaraja Kingswood Cricket EncounterGround informationLocationAsgiriya KandyCoordinates7 17 59 N 80 38 02 E 7 29972 N 80 63389 E 7 29972 80 63389Establishment15 January 1915 Broke ground 1909 Capacity10 300OwnerTrinity CollegeOperatorTrinity CollegeTenantsSri Lanka CricketKandy Cricket ClubEnd namesHunnasgiriya EndHanthana EndInternational informationFirst Test22 26 April 1983 Sri Lanka v AustraliaLast Test1 5 December 2007 Sri Lanka v EnglandFirst ODI2 March 1986 Sri Lanka v PakistanLast ODI16 December 2001 West Indies v ZimbabweFirst WODI29 November 1997 Sri Lanka v NetherlandsLast WODI25 April 2004 Sri Lanka v IndiaTeam informationSri Lanka national cricket team 1983 2007 As of 2 September 2020Source CricketArchive ESPNcricinfo Contents 1 History 2 Distinction of the stadium 3 Ground figures 3 1 International Matches 3 2 Key 4 Key milestones 5 World Cup Cricket 5 1 1996 Cricket World Cup 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory editPrior to Asgiriya being built Trinity College played their cricket at the Bogambara Stadium In 1904 Rev Alec Garden Fraser assumed office as Principal he was conscious about the lack of a suitable playing space for the school and the lack of a cricket pitch Fraser acquired an abandoned wasteland owned by the War Department the site being at Asgiriya 270 meters away from the school The lease rental of the land at the time was Rs 30 per year In 1910 Trinity was given permission to build their own ground The stadium broke ground in 1909 and was built until 1915 2 The ground was opened ceremonially by the Governor Sir Robert Chalmers on 15 January 1915 The first inter school match was between Trinity and S Thomas College Mount Lavinia on 24 and 25 February 1915 3 Before gaining Test status one of the ICC requirements for Sri Lanka was to improve the infrastructure of its international venues In 1981 the former Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket Gamini Dissanayake an old Trinitian took charge of upgrading Asgiriya into an international cricket stadium which he did in a period of 150 days On 5 January 1982 President J R Jayewardene ceremonially opened the stadium Jayewardene also opened the pavilion in 1982 1 The first cricket match at Asgiriya was against the Australian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1982 83 becoming Sri Lanka s the second Test venue after the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium Test matches were played regularly until the match against England 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 4 nbsp Asgiriya Stadium Score BoardSri 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 was Sri Lanka s first 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 and Kenya when Sri Lanka made 398 the highest World Cup score at the time and highest ODI team total until 400 passed Asgiriya Stadium has hosted a total of 22 Test Matches and seven of them have been 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 5 In December 2014 it was announced that the stadium would be renovated and improved with a new electronic scoreboard 6 Distinction of the stadium editSurrounded by mountains in the ancient Sri Lankan hill capital of Kandy Asgiriya is considered by ESPNcricinfo to be one of the most beautiful venues on earth 7 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 Ranjan Madugalle Ravi Ratnayeke Nilantha Ratnayake Kumar Sangakkara and Kaushalya Weeraratne Niroshan Dickwella 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 Ground figures editInternational Matches edit Key edit 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 TiedGround FiguresFormat P H T N D N T Inaugural MatchTest matches 8 21 7 9 0 5 22 April 1983One Day Internationals 9 6 3 3 1 1 2 March 1986Women s One Day Internationals 10 4 2 2 0 0 30 November 1997Updated 27 March 2024 Key milestones edit nbsp The Hunnasgiriya end of Asgiriya Stadium1892 Cricket is introduced at Trinity College 1911 Work on Trinity s Asgiriya grounds begins 1915 Robert Chalmers 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 Sir Robert Chalmers graces the occasion 1969 Marylebone Cricket Club 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 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 2001 Sri Lanka cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan scored his only career half century and his highest Test score of 67 against India at Kandy in 2001 including three sixes and five fours World Cup Cricket edit 1996 Cricket World Cup edit Main article 1996 Cricket World Cup 6 March 1996 ScorecardSri Lanka nbsp 398 5 50 overs v Kenya nbsp 254 7 50 overs Aravinda de Silva 145 115 Tito Odumbe 2 34 5 overs Steve Tikolo 96 95 M Muralitharan 2 40 10 overs nbsp Sri Lanka won by 144 runsAsgiriya Stadium Asgiriya Kandy Sri Lanka Umpires Steve Dunne and V K Ramaswamy Player of the match Aravinda de Silva Sri Kenya won the toss and elected to ball first See also edit List of Test cricket grounds Trinity College Kandy Pallekele International Cricket StadiumReferences edit a b Senhas Chaniru Pathiraja Nimuthu Rehan Anandakumar 26 April 2023 From a hill to a cricket ground The Asgiriya stadium Trinity College Archived from the original on 27 March 2024 Retrieved 27 March 2024 Test venues in Sri Lanka The Oldies The Papare Retrieved 6 May 2020 Marikar Hafiz Great cricketers have played on Trinity College grounds Sundayobserver lk Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 17 December 2013 Miller Andrew 3 December 2007 Murali sparks delirium in Kandy ESPNCricinfo Archived from the original on 27 March 2024 Retrieved 27 March 2024 Clementine Rex Sangakkara regrets Asgiriya losing Test status Islandcricket lk Archived from the original on 17 December 2013 Retrieved 17 December 2013 Marikar Hafiz Asgiriya Stadium gets face lift Daily News Archived from the original on 1 May 2015 Retrieved 1 May 2015 Asgiriya Stadium Retrieved 17 February 2019 Cricket Records in SL Asgiriya Stadium Kandy in Test matches ESPNcricinfo Retrieved 27 March 2024 Cricket Records in SL Asgiriya Stadium Kandy in ODI matches ESPNcricinfo Retrieved 27 March 2024 Cricket Records in SL Asgiriya Stadium Kandy in Women ODI matches ESPNcricinfo Retrieved 27 March 2024 External links edit ESPNcricinfo Asgiriya Stadium at CricketArchive The ground which gave cricket Kumar Sangakkara by Alan Gardner Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Asgiriya Stadium amp oldid 1215814357, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
