Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced yesterday that during the presidential election to be held next month, Sri Lanka will play host to New Zealand for a two-match Test series.
The first Test is scheduled to start at Galle on September 18, but the board has announced that there will be a rest day on September 21 before the voting.
The SLC states that the Test matches are a part of the 2023–2025 ICC World Test Championship Cycle.
On September 18, the Test series, which will take place at the Galle International Cricket Stadium, will begin.
The two matches in the series will begin on September 18 and end on September 23, with the second match scheduled for September 26 and 30.
“New Zealand will play a test series in Sri Lanka during the presidential election.”
Due to the Sri Lankan presidential election, September 21 has been designated as a rest day for the first Test match, according to the SLC.
August 2019 saw New Zealand’s final tour to Sri Lanka, where they drew a two-match Test series against the island nation.
The nation will hold its first presidential election next month after declaring a sovereign default amid an unparalleled economic crisis in 2022.For the first time in over ten years, and the first time in Sri Lanka since 2001, a Test match will be played with a day off in between.
Before the idea was completely abandoned, rest days were a regular feature of Test matches in the bygone 19th century, particularly on Sundays in England. Nonetheless, there have been rest days because of a few unforeseen events like elections, holy or spiritual days, or lockdowns.
In the 20th century, this will only be the third. December 29, 2008, was a rest day in Dhaka during a six-day Test match that was the last to have one in light of parliamentary elections.
