Afro-Asian Cup begins on August 17

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the Afro-Asian Cricket Cooperation Chairman, has announced that the first of the three-match Afro-Asian Cup between Asia XI and Africa XI will take place at Supersport Park, Centurion, in South Africa, on August 17. The second and third matches are scheduled to be held on August 20 and 21 at Durban.

Dalmiya also said, in a PTI report, that the matches, which have been given official status by the ICC, would be played under lights and would begin at midday. The proceeds from the series, which will involve top cricketers of the participating countries, will be used to develop cricket in Asia and Africa at all levels after meeting the tournament expenses.

The selection panels for the two teams will comprise a representative from each of the participating nations. The Asia XI selection panel includes Majid Khan (Pakistan), Ravi Shastri (India) and Sidath Wettimuny (Sri Lanka). Bangladesh are yet to name their representative. Mike Proctor (South Africa), Psyche Nkala (Zimbabwe) and Tom Tikolo (Kenya) are the selectors for the African XI.

The winners of the series will get US$100,000 in prize money. US$25,000 will go to the winners of each of the individual games, US$5000 for the Man of the Match and US$10,000 for the player of the series. Dalmiya added that talks were on with several media companies for the games to be telecasted live and that discussions with sponsors were yet to reach a final agreement