As we flicked to the cricket channel on Foxtel the other day, we were pleasantly surprised to see a game in progress at the Hambantota Cricket Stadium, or more accurately, the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.

“Hey, Tom,” I commented, “That’s the cricket stadium we visited in Sri Lanka, in the middle of nowhere! The one we visited on the bus trip from Galle to Yala.”

We left the expressway E01 to the north at Sooriyawewa. Saw the random no-name “Cricket Stadium” sign, thought, oh, that’s amusing. But it was for THE cricket stadium out here in the middles of nowhere.  The one we saw on a TV documentary the day before about investments in Sri Lanka paid for/owned by the Chinese, and other questionable investments.

An Australia A team was there practising the previous week. The day we visited, there was a match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan vision/hearing impaired teams. They weren’t particularly happy that we were strolling around, invading the pitch for photos just prior to the start of their game.

The stadium is about 35km from Hambantota itself, built for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, and also used for the 2012 ICC World T20s. Apparently, they needed stadiums with more than 35,000 capacity, so they built Pallekele in Kandy, and this one. This one is the white elephant. It just happens to be in the hometown/electorate of the political Rajapaksa family. A cricket stadium in the middle of nowhere, complemented by neighbouring roaming buffalo.

According to our local tour guide, Jeremy, this isn’t the only white elephant in southern Sri Lanka.

The Hambantota port area was funded by the Chinese, with apparently zero consultation. Large ships can’t come in; Hambantota would be flooded if the sea walls were removed to allow access.

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport is another white elephant in the area. The airport cuts through a bird sanctuary, which is why peacocks wandering the runway at leisure were causing crash landings. It’s also allegedly too small for most planes.

A large convention centre (the Magam Ruhunupura International Convention Centre, MRICC) was built for the 2013 CHOGM Youth Forum. Apparently, however, there was not enough supporting accommodation in the area, so delegates were housed in cruise ships out in the port area. It seems the convention centre has hardly been used since.

According to Jeremy, the extension of the Southern Expressway was inaugurated eight months early due to the Rajapaksa’s son’s wedding. Shoddily done, it was subsequently torn up and redone to standard. Another waste of money!

Checking some of the details about these “white elephants” in Sri Lanka, I noticed there are numerous journalistic articles on the theme. No wonder Jeremy often referred to the money-hungry, under-performing assets as white elephants; it’s a common theme here.

Anyway, back to the cricket stadium. We are pleased to see it is getting some use, with the domestic Lankan Premier League (LPL) now in 2022. We took some photos at the ground back in July.

While many signs and pictures around hadn’t been changed since 2011 and 2012, the LPL team signage was relatively up to date. The portrait of “Gota” Rajapaksa in the foyer? Appropriately, crooked.