Welagedara Stadium ( si, වෙලගෙදර ක්‍රීඩාංගණය , ta, வெலகெதர விலையாட்டு அரங்கம்) is a multi-use stadium that has hosted international and local

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

matches and other events in

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

, Sri Lanka. The stadium can hold at least 10,000 spectators. It has regularly hosted international tour matches, unofficial test matches and U19 one-day games. The stadium is beside the

Dambulla Dambulla ( si, දඹුල්ල ''Dam̆bulla'', ta, தம்புள்ளை ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a town situated in the north of Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre af ...

Road,

, 95 km away from the capital,

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

. The giant Elephant Rock nearby provides a dramatic backdrop.

Further information

Although the stadium was officially declared open by the then Minister of Home Affairs, Justice

Felix Dias Bandaranaike Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike ( Sinhala:ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බණඩාරනායක) (5 November 1930 – 26 June 1985) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, who served as Cabinet Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secret ...

in 1972, its history dates back to the British colonial period. It hosted its first international level match (as Welagedara Stadium) when a Sri Lanka Colts XI played the touring Pakistanis in February 1986. Some games of the

2000 Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2000 ICC Under-19 World Cup was an international limited-overs cricket tournament played in Sri Lanka from 11 to 28 January 2000. It was the third edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup and the first to be held in Sri Lanka. The 2000 Wor ...

and the

2008 Women's Asia Cup The 2008 Women's One-Day Internationals Asia Cup was the fourth edition of the ACC Women's Asia Cup, a Women's One Day International cricket tournament organized by the Asian Cricket Council. Four teams took part in the tournament: Bangladesh, ...

were held at Welagedara Stadium. Several international List A matches, U-19 games and Unofficial Test matches and many club cricket games have played at the stadium since the 1980s. The Battle of the Rocks is a match with a long history that is regularly played there between

Maliyadeva College ''විද්‍යා භූෂනං පුරුෂ භූෂනම්'' ''Vidya Bhūshanam Purusha Bhūshanam'' , motto_translation = Science is the jewel of man , location = Negombo Rd, Kurunegala , city ...

and St. Anne's College, Kurunegala, and a match called the Battle of the Greens is held there between

Royal College Wayamba, Kurunegala Royal College Wayamba, Kurunegala ( si, වයඹ රාජකීය විද්‍යාලය; also known as Wayamba Royal College) is a national school in Kurunegala, Established in February 1993 Sri Lanka. Current students of the school are k ...

, and Sir John Kothalawala College. Notable international cricketers such as

Rangana Herath Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath ( si, රංගන හේරත්; ta, ரங்கன ஹெரத்; born 19 March 1978), known as Rangana Herath, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all forms of the game and a f ...

Lanka de Silva Lanka de Silva (born 29 July 1975) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played in three Test matches and 11 One Day Internationals in 1997. He is also the current interim head coach of the Sri Lanka women's national cricket team. Domestic care ...

and Eric Upashantha have played at the stadium in their younger days.

Gallery

Image:Welagedara stadium kurunegala 1.JPG, Image:Welagedara stadium kurunegala 2.JPG, Image:Welagedara stadium kurunegala 3.JPG, Image:Welagedara stadium kurunegala 4.JPG,

External links

{{commons category, Welagedara Stadium
Welagedara Stadium
at Cricinfo Cricket grounds in Sri Lanka 1972 establishments in Sri Lanka Buildings and structures in Kurunegala District