da aposte e ganhe： The newly reconstructed stadium at Galle is facing a race against timeto be fit for the third Test between Sri Lanka and England on Tuesday,after heavy unseasonal rain hindered the attempts of groundstaff andconstruction workers
Andrew Miller in Galle15-Dec-2007
Then and now. Galle was devastated by the tsunami in 2004 and, three years later, is still not quite ready © Getty Images
The newly reconstructed stadium at Galle is facing a race against timeto be fit for the third Test between Sri Lanka and England on Tuesday,after heavy unseasonal rain hindered the attempts of groundstaff andconstruction workers to put the finishing touches to theirpreparations.With just three days to go until the final Test of the series, much ofthe playing area was underwater, while workmen were still layingpaving and building ticket-booths on the concourse in front of the newpavilion. By Saturday afternoon there was no electricity or runningwater inside the ground’s buildings, and most of the grassy bankswhere England’s spectators sat during the ground’s last internationalfixture in 2003 are currently deep pools of mud.And yet, there is no question in anyone’s minds that the show must goon regardless. Of all the symbols of the terrible tsunami thatdevastated Sri Lanka in December 2004, perhaps none was more poignantthan the obliteration of Galle’s stadium. International sport is,after all, meant to be escapism on a vast scale, but the rubble andruins of one of the most glorious venues in the world meant that nosports fan could fail to appreciate the stark realities of thedisaster.The message is that, if international cricket can return to Galle,then so too can a normal life for the thousands who were dispossessedthat day. “It will be ready come what may,” said the stadium’s headgroundsman, Jayananda Warnaweera, who has been working round the clockwith an army of labourers, in a bid to overcome the atrocious workingconditions. “It has been a long haul but for the people of Galle thisis a celebration and we will make it happen.”For England’s cricketers, the desire to fight back from their 1-0series deficit has been subsumed by an appreciation of the biggerpicture. “We’re pretty much going to have to take the stance thatwhatever we have to play on, we’ll go out there and play on it,” saidPaul Collingwood, who made his Test debut at Galle in 2003. “It’s assimple as that.”It’s obviously not finished at the moment but they are working veryhard and progressing day by day, so hopefully it’ll be playable,” saidCollingwood. “Driving down in the bus from Colombo, the further we gotdown, there was a real sickening feeling, seeing the destruction thatwas caused. That’s why it’s vital to put the smiles back on people’sfaces and get on with it.”