Sri Lanka’s opening Test against New Zealand at Galle next month has been allotted six days including a rest day to fit in with the country’s Presidential election.
The first Test will commence on September 18, and it will have a rest day on September 21.
The decision is in line with “Presidential Election of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka” ICC release said on Friday.
This is the first six-day Test that Sri Lanka is hosting for over two decades since Zimbabwe played here in Colombo in 2001 where they had to take a break as it was Poya Day which is Full Moon.
The two-match series forms part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle.
The second test will be held at the same venue from September 26th-30th.
In Test cricket, match fixtures often included rest days until last century when many games were played over six days rather than five with Sunday being an off day usually.
Bangladesh was also involved in a similar six-day match during their series against Sri Lanka in December 2008 when they had a rest day because of parliamentary elections.
Currently, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are ranked third and fourth respectively in the World Test Championship standings.
