2020 MCC-County Champions game to be played in Galle
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced that English season's traditional first four-day game between MCC and the County Champions will be hosted by Galle International Stadium in March next year. Essex, having won the Championship, will face an MCC side lead by Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara.
Sri Lanka's Galle International Stadium is set to be a part of history as it will be hosting Essex vs MCC in March 2020. This fixture was hosted by Lords' till 2010. It was then shifted to the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi for a few years. This year, however, it was held in the Dubai Cricket Academy, with the game ending in a draw. This Champions County match has been a curtain-raiser for the season ever since 1970.
"The Champion County match is an important part of MCC's commitment to maintaining a strong presence in the long-form game both domestically and globally," John Stephenson, MCC Head of Cricket, told in a press release.
"As always, MCC will put out a talented and exciting team in this fixture, providing strong opposition for this season's County Championship winners. MCC would like to thank Sri Lanka Cricket for their support, co-operation, and enthusiasm in hosting this fixture and we are excited to be working closely with them," he further added.
This is an honour for MCC President Kumar Sangakkara to lead the MCC side on his home turf. He is the first overseas MCC President and was elected in October this year.
"It is hugely important to support cricket in countries such as Sri Lanka and taking the Champion County match to Galle is a fantastic way for the Club to provide its backing for the game on a global level," he said.
"With England touring the country during the same period, this will make for an exciting sequence of events in Sri Lanka and, as one of the best cricketing destinations in the world, it will be a wonderful occasion for all involved. I am looking forward to playing for and indeed captaining the MCC team, which will be full of exciting young talent ready to challenge the County Champions," Sangakkara added.
Sri Lanka Cricket Cheif Shami Silva has acknowledged this announcement from MCC and has thanked them for showing faith in Sri Lankan Cricket. He is extremely pleased to host this event and believes that it will bring more audiences and provide greater exposure to cricket in the island nation.
"Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to thank MCC for choosing Sri Lanka as its venue to play the MCC Champion County Match in 2020, which we consider as an honour and a privilege bestowed upon the cricket-loving public of our country," Silva said.
"We are happy to be the host of this historic encounter, which marks the curtain-raiser to the new English domestic season. It is also very fitting that this team is led by none other than our own Kumar Sangakkara, who has recently become the first non-British MCC President," he concluded.
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