The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Galle

England and Sri Lanka will mark one of cricket's most poignant moments when they contest the third Test at the previously tsunami-ravaged Galle International Stadium from Tuesday. The stadium, situated close to the Indian Ocean in the country's coastal south, was destroyed by the Asian tsunami in 2004, which killed an estimated 300,000 people in a dozen countries. Some 31,000 people in Sri Lanka alone perished in the December 26 disaster.

It was rebuilt from scratch with a 500,000-dollar funding package from Sri Lanka Cricket and, nearly three years to the day since it was decimated, is ready to host a Test match again.

When Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse inaugurates the new stadium on the eve of the match on Monday with both teams in attendance, one man in particular will struggle to hide his emotions.

Former Sri Lanka Test spinner Jayananda Warnaweera, the stadium's long-time manager, still finds it hard to believe that his ambition to bring cricket back to Galle has been realised.

"I can't tell you how I feel to be able to return this beautiful ground to Test cricket," Warnaweera, who played 10 Tests between 1986 and 1994, told AFP.

"I had promised myself that Test cricket will be played here again and I have lived up to that vow. It's a very emotional and exciting time for me."

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said he was delighted to return to one of his favourite venues, which lies at the foot of the historic 17th century Galle Fort, a UNESCO world heritage site.

"It is one of my favourite venues. It's definitely going to be an emotional time for most of our guys. Lots of them in the team are from this part of the country," Jayawardene said.

Like many people around the world, Jayawardene remembers exactly where he was when news of the devastating tsunami began to filter through.

"We were playing in New Zealand when the tsunami struck and the first pictures we saw were that of Galle and we saw the ground under water.