Schedule for West Indies tour of Sri Lanka confirmed
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced the full schedule for matches against the visiting West Indian team, ESPNCricinfo reports. The Carribean side are set to play against Sri Lanka in two Tests, three ODIs and two T20Is in October and November.
Jason Holder was recently confirmed as skipper of the West Indies side in the Test and ODI formats after he replaced Denesh Ramdin as captain of the Test side. Contrary to reports that Galle was likely to be stripped of its status as the tour opener, the venue will play host to the first Test which begins on October 14.
However, SLC have stuck to their intentions of cutting down on the costs associated with the venue by deciding on Colombo as the base for the visitors. A week’s training at the Sinhalese Sports Club in the capital city will be followed by a three-day tour game. The second Test which begins on October 22 will also be staged at Colombo with the P Sara Oval stadium, a venue where the visitors have never played a Test match before.
The R Premadasa stadium and Pallekele will play hosts for the shorter formats with the first two ODIs staged at the former on November 1 and November 4 while the third and final ODI will be played at Pallekele on November 7. All the matches will be day-night affairs.
Pallekele host the first T20 on November 9 while the 44-day tour ends with the second T20 which will be played at the Premadasa on November 12.
The tour will serve as the first assignment for Jerome Jayaratne who has been appointed Sri Lanka’s interim coach following the resignation of Marvan Atapattu after the island nation suffered their first series loss against India at home for more than 22 years.
Full schedule:
| Match | Venue | Date(s) |
| Tests | ||
| 1st Test | Galle | October 14-18 |
| 2nd Test | P Sara Oval | October 22-26 |
| ODIs | ||
| 1st ODI | Premadasa | November 1 |
| 2nd ODI | Premadasa | November 4 |
| 3rd ODI | Pallekele | November 7 |
| T20s | ||
| 1st T20 | Pallekele | November 9 |
| 2nd T20 | Premadasa | November 12 |