Tsunami hit stadium set to host England

COLOMBO: The tsunami-hit Galle International Cricket Stadium has overcome a heritage hurdle and is on track to host Sri Lanka's third Test match against England in December, an official said Friday.   

The curator of the picturesque ground in the southern resort town of Galle, Jayananda Warnaweera, said construction work could be delayed by rains but he hoped that it would be completed by a November 15 deadline.   

Conservationists of the Galle Heritage Foundation claimed that a new three-storey stand at the stadium blocks the view of a 17th-century Dutch fort, which is a world heritage site, and violated reconstruction rules.   

However, Warnaweera said the problems had been sorted out and the rebuilding was going ahead as planned.   

"The president (Mahinda Rajapakse) himself called all the relevant parties and had a discussion at which everything was cleared," Warnaweera said.

"We can have the England Test as scheduled."   

Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Duleep Mendis also expressed optimism that the Galle ground, a happy hunting place for the national team, would be completed for the December 18 match.   

"The ground will be ready for the Third Test," Mendis said.    The stadium was devastated by the December 2004 South Asian tsunami, which killed an estimated 31,000 people on the island.