Colombo Cricket Club Ground

Colombo Cricket Club Ground

Ground information
Location	Maitland Crescent, Colombo
Capacity	6,000
Owner	Colombo Cricket Club
Tenants	Sri Lanka Cricket Colombo Cricket Club
End names
Press Box End Pavilion End
International information
First Test	14 March 1984: Sri Lanka v New Zealand
Last Test	16 April 1987: Sri Lanka v New Zealand
Domestic team information
Colombo Cricket Club (? – present)
As of 28 April 2009 Source: Cricinfo

Colombo Cricket Club Ground (CCCG) is a multi-purpose stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is currently used mostly for domestic first-class cricket matches and for hosting warm up matches for touring teams. The stadium can hold 6,000 people and hosted its first Test match in 1984.^[1] It is one of the smallest test grounds in the world. Three Test matches have been held at the Colombo Cricket Club Ground.

Ground

The Colombo Cricket Club Ground is the home ground of the Colombo Cricket Club, the oldest first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. The Ground is one of the three cricket grounds located in Maitland Crescent, Colombo, the other two being the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground and the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground.^[2] It is one of the smaller cricket grounds in Sri Lanka, and is also one of the smallest Test cricket grounds in the world. The Colombo Cricket Club Ground was formerly known as the Maitland Crescent Ground.^[1][2]

The playing area of the ground takes up most of the space with a narrow area available for spectators to be seated on each side. On one end of the ground is the scoreboard and a concrete stand that houses the press box. This end is known as the Press Box End. The other end is the Pavilion End, where the main pavilion is located. The ground can hold 6,000 spectators.^[2]

Matches held

The first cricket match on the Colombo Cricket Ground was held during the 1911/1912 season.^[3] Its maiden first-class cricket match was held in 1927 when the Europeans (Ceylon) hosted the Marylebone Cricket Club.^[4] The ground is also noted for hosting a Marylebone Cricket Club team captained by Douglas Jardine.^[1]

Over the years, only three international test cricket matches have been played on the Colombo Cricket Club Ground.^[1] The ground's maiden Test match was held in 1984, beginning on 14 March. It was held between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, resulting in a win for New Zealand by an innings and 61 runs.^[5] Another Test match was held between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, beginning on 14 March 1986. The last Test cricket match that was held on the Colombo Cricket Ground was on 16 April 1987, again between Sri Lanka and New Zealand.^[5]

Domestic first-class cricket matches are now held on the Colombo Cricket Club Grounds. It also hosts touring teams in warm-up matches.^[1] The Colombo Cricket Club Grounds was also a venue for the 2006 under-19 Cricket World Cup,^[6] being one of the five grounds that were chosen to host the matches.

See also

• List of Test cricket grounds

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/ground/59294.html
2. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/sri-lanka/colombo/sightseeing-in-colombo/the-cricket-club-in-colombo.html
3. ^ http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/25/1697.html
4. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Colombo Cricket Club Ground". CricketArchive. http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/25/1697_f.html. Retrieved 3 September 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/44/44547.html
6. ^ http://www.cricketfundas.com/u19wc06.html