Radella Cricket Grounds


Radella Cricket Grounds is a Cricket ground in Sri Lanka situated in Radella, a village close to Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. The grounds are also known as Dimbula Cricket Club Ground.

Importance

This cricket ground is considered unique, being situated at the altitude of 4,000 ft. Radella Cricket Grounds is one of the few Cricket grounds situated 4,000 ft above sea level. Its setting is described as one of the most picturesque cricket grounds of the world.

History

Radella Cricket Grounds is home to the Dimbula Athletic & Cricket Club, which was founded in 1856. The first recorded match played in 18–19 November 1892, between touring Lord Hawke's XI and Up-country XI. Another notable match the grounds played host to was the tour match of MCC captained by future England cricket captain Mike Smith against Up-country XI in 1962.

Recent times

Probably the ground's most noted game is New Zealand's tour match against the President's XI in 1983/84 tour. Unfortunately the game was washed out due to rain. But Sir Richard Hadlee said that Sri Lanka is a good place for Swing Bowling owing to higher altitude and cloudy sky.
Since then little cricket has been played here. Four Youth Cricket World Cup matches were played here including the match between Pakistan under-19s versus Kenya under-19s.
The MCC's match against Janashakthi Group in 2000/01 is the last notable match played in the grounds.
International Cricket Council helps Sri Lanka Cricket to renovate the grounds.

List of matches played at the ground

First Class matches