Sri Lanka to try Twenty20 cricket

Sri Lanka are the latest country to announce that they will be jumping on the Twenty20 bandwagon and introducing a new domestic tournament later this year in an effort to rejuvenate spectator interest in domestic cricket.

Twenty20 cricket, an action-packed 20-over slogfest, may scare the five-day purists but it proved an unprecedented success in England last year, filling up the deckchairs on the county grounds as an average of 5000 spectators attended each match.

South Africa followed suit immediately, introducing their Pro20 Series last summer, and Pakistan announced last month that they would be playing their first Twenty20 competition in October.

"Domestic cricket lacks spectator interest in Sri Lanka," said Jayantha Kudahetty, Sri Lanka Cricket's marketing director, "and we believe this will be the ideal vehicle to revitalise enthusiasm among Sri Lanka's cricket-loving public."

The inaugural tournament will be held on three separate days from late August to early September. The schedule has been planned to ensure the participation of Sri Lanka's top players.

Taj Television, the Dubai-based broadcaster that has held Sri Lanka's cricket rights since 2001, has agreed to televise the 16-club knockout, the final rounds of which will be played under floodlights. The board is now searching for a sponsor.