Sri Lanka given Boxing Day Test at MCG

Star batsman Kumar Sangakkara has maintained that one of his targets before retirement is to help Sri Lanka win a Test Match in Australia.

Sri Lanka will play the prestigious Boxing Day Test Match at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) later this year, 17 years after the infamous no balling of champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in 1995 in front of over 55,000 spectators.

It will be Sri Lanka’s second appearance at the venue for the traditional Test Match. Cricket Australia also announced that Sri Lanka will play a three match Test series this time although the country’s previous two visits to the country were restricted to two match affairs in 2004 and 2007.

The last and only time Sri Lanka played in a three Test series in Australia was in 1995, which they lost 3-0, amidst the chucking controversy and bad umpiring.

Hobart in Tasmania will host the first Test between the countries starting on the 14th of December followed by the Boxing Day Test at MCG. Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) will host the traditional New Year Test starting on 3rd of January.

Kumar Sangakkara, the number one ranked batsman in Test cricket, has often spoken about his dreams of winning Test Matches in South Africa and Australia and while he achieved one of those milestones last year scoring a match winning hundred in Durban in the Boxing Day Test, the 35-year-old probably has one last opportunity to have a crack at the Australians.

Sri Lanka will also play a five match ODI series against the Australians followed by two T-20 Internationals.

The first T-20 International will take place on the Australia Day on January 26th. Traditionally the Australia Day matches are played in Adelaide, but development work at the venue has forced Cricket Australia to shift the game elsewhere. The game will be now played at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium. The seven week tour will come to an end with the second T-20 International at MCG .

Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia in December-January

Dec 6-8: Warm up game - Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI at Canberra

Dec 14-18: Australia v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Hobart

Dec 26-30: Australia v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, MCG

Jan 3-7: Australia v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, SCG

Jan 11: Australia v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI, MCG

Jan 13: Australia v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, Adelaide Oval

Jan 18: Australia v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI, Gabba

Jan 20: Australia v Sri Lanka, 4th ODI, SCG

Jan 23: Australia v Sri Lanka, 5th ODI, Hobart

Jan 26: Australia v Sri Lanka, 1st T20I, Sydney Olympic Park

Jan 28: Australia v Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I, MCG