Even the warm-up match between the touring Bangladesh team and the Sri Lanka Development Emerging Team received significant attention from the picturesque beach town of Matara. When the sides square off today, it will mark the first time that an international team will play at the Uyanwatte Stadium after a gap of 10 years.

To commemorate the occasion there will be a ceremony before the start of the match and the organisers procured a CD from the Bangladesh team management to play the visiting team's national anthem. An additional point of interest surrounding the match is the inclusion of Kumar Sangakkara, who has not played competitive cricket since fracturing his index finger in the Boxing DayTest in Australia, in the EmergingXI side.

Bangladesh were however focused on how they can make the maximum use of the practice game before the two-match Test series. Shane Jurgensen, the head coach, wanted to give all his 14 players an opportunity in the match except left-handed batsman Tamim Iqbal, who has been nursing the injury on his left wrist that he sustained during a Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match three weeks ago.

Despite missing some key players including star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, the Tigers were in good spirits during their practice session at the Matara Sports Club ground yesterday and were eager to erase their forlorn memories in the island.

The team has received better care so far compared to the previous visits. The team management believe that the Tigers' recent positive performances in the international arena was the reason for the improvement.

Jurgensen was trying to motivate his boys by asking them not to think about the past record. Along a similar line of thought, captain Mushfiqur Rahim said that the team can draw confidence from the three-day match on their way to a new beginning in Sri Lanka.

“Mainly I would love to see our bowlers bowl in right areas in the practice match and it would be fantastic if our top order get some runs in the match. We must try to control as many session as possible, which would be our main focus. The hot and humid weather has surprised us a little, so the match gives us the chance to acclimatise,” said a confident Mushfiqur.

The focus will certainly be on Mohammad Ashraful, who has a good record against the Lankans but came into the team because of Shahriar Nafees's injury at the eleventh hour. The right-hander is the only Bangladeshi player to have visited the town thirteen years ago to play theUnder-19 World Cup, but he had little time for nostalgia; rather he was desperately looking forward to get back among the runs in the three-day match.

“I played one match in that World Cup. The ground and the hotel (Dickwella Resort) have remained almost the same. Actually I'm now looking forward to grab the opportunity I have received. I think it would be altogether a different story this time as this team is very confident and has been playing good cricket for the last two years. I will miss playing against Murali (Muttiah Muralidaran) but the absence of Murali and (Chaminda) Vaas definitely creates a chance for us,” said the right-hander.