Galle’s renovated stadium is set to host the third Test, but the match will have a delayed start due to inclement weather
Andrew Miller in Galle17-Dec-2007Five-day BBC weather forecast for Galle
Start time 12.00 local 0730GMT Tuesday
All eyes are on the weather as cricket returns to Galle after three years © Getty Images
Players and fans alike will be forced to wait just a little whilelonger for international cricket to return to the tsunami-ravaged cityof Galle, after a late shower on Monday afternoon forced theauthorities to delay the start time of the third and final Testbetween England and Sri Lanka.After two days of sunshine, including aswelteringly hot final day of practice, all the puddles in theoutfield had dried and the muddy banks had been baked to a goldenbrown finish, but such is the tightrope that this ground has walked inthe build-up to the match, that a half-hour shower was enough to tipthe balance and force the start time to be pushed back by two hours.Play is now scheduled to get underway at 12pm local time which,according to a Sri Lanka Cricket spokesman, will give the groundstaffsufficient time to tend to a damp wicket and dry the outfield ahead ofa last-minute mowing. Inevitably, the news has given rise to fearsthat the match could end up as a complete washout, but aftereverything that this ground has been through in the past three years,the teams are sure to do everything in their power to get the contestunderway.As far as Sri Lanka Cricket is concerned, the stadium is already openfor business. This morning, it was given the presidential seal ofapproval, as the country’s leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, flew in byhelicopter from Colombo to officially open the pavilion that now bearshis name. The centre of Galle was shut down for two hours amidfrenzied levels of security, and the fuss presumably didn’t help thearmy of workers around the ground, whose last-minute touches will nowbe going on long after the 11th hour.However gloomy the current prognosis may be, the state of the stadiumis already so far removed from the scene three years ago. “It’s veryhard to even imagine what it was like,” England’s captain,Michael Vaughan, said. “I just remember pictures of buses and debris flyingaround the ground. That’s why this week is a special week for all theSri Lankan people, and we’re just delighted to be the first team here.Hopefully we can spoil things a bit by winning, but I think there is abigger picture here. The game of cricket is back in Galle and everyoneshould really be celebrating.”After so many years out of service, there is an understandable mysteryas to how the pitch will play. “The two wickets we’ve been using arefour or five metres away from tomorrow’s pitch, and they have beenpretty fast and bouncy and seamed,” Vaughan said. “The test strip hasa bit less grass and is softer, with a bit more moisture. We’ll haveto wait and see because I think it’ll be a bit of a lottery foreveryone.”England have options aplenty for their line-up. Matthew Hoggard hasbeen named in a 12-man squad and could slot back in to lead theattack, although Vaughan did speak enigmatically of a mystery nigglein the England camp, which turned out to be an ear infection that’sbeen afflicting Steve Harmison. After the performance he put in atColombo, it ought to require an amputatedlimb to stop him from picking up where he left off.Had the heavens not distorted the issue this week, Graeme Swann wouldprobably have been a shoo-in to make his debut as Monty Panesar’s spintwin, but he could yet feature if England gamble and push the in-formMatt Prior up to No. 6, thus making room for a five-man attack. Thedangers of such a strategy are inherent, but England are in a strangesituation with their batsmen – all of them have shown glimpses ofform, but no-one as yet has made a century.”I’d rather have it this way round with us all playing well but notgoing on,” said Vaughan. “We all look in good touch, but it’s just amatter of getting over that barrier. There’s no reason why someonethis week won’t stick their hand up and get a real big one for us.”The flip side of taking a risk with the selection, however, would bethe ramifications of defeat. If England return home with a 2-0deficit, they will slip three places to No. 5 in the world rankings,with Sri Lanka moving in the other direction, ahead of India and SouthAfrica.Either way, all such selection thoughts will be postponed tothe last available minute. “Who knows what the wicket will do,” saidVaughan. “All we’ve got is hindsight to assess the best bowlers to get20 wickets on this pitch. We just have to make sure we perform welland to a really high standard. Winning Test matches over here isreally difficult, so we need to set the building blocks early in thegame, and get Sri Lanka under pressure.”Even as the afternoon sun was baking down on Galle, the groundstaffwere covering every available inch of grass with tarpaulins, pinned inplace with tractor tyres, as an insurance against the elements. At4pm, it began to rain, but not with the torrential force of days goneby. Somehow the show is going to go ahead this week.
