Australia Never Scheduled To Play Tests In Sri Lanka in August (26 May 1996)
The Australian cricketers will not play any Test matches here in August this year, but will definitely come here for the fournation Singer cricket tournament to be played from August 28 to September 8
26-May-1996
26 May 1996
Aussies never scheduled to play Tests here in August
By Leslie Fernando
The Australian cricketers will not play any Test matches here in
August this year, but will definitely come here for the fournation Singer cricket tournament to be played from August 28 to
September 8. This was confirmed by Sri Lanka Cricket Board boss
Upali Dharmadasa who met Australian Cricket Board officials in
Melbourne recently.
The Aussies were never down to play Test matches in Sri Lanka on
this visit. This was confirmed by upali Dharmadasa and Thilangs
Sumithipala - vice-president of the board, who was in that position in the previous board too.
The earlier set of office-bears of the Board has sent a letter to
the Australian cricket Board requesting two Test matches be
played on this tour, but there was no reply to that letter.
When Cricket board president Upali Dharmadasa and secretary Triphone Mirando were in Australia they had fixed up their schedules
for 1996-97 and so they couldn`t accommodate Sri Lanka for Tests.
Upali Dharmadasa said that the best Australian team will be here
for the Singer series and there were no fears about the security
situation. The Australian authorities will be in touch with their
High commission here and will be monitoring the situation.
For the Sri Lankan cricketers, the 1996-97 season will be a hectic one. After the Singer four-nation tourney, the Hong Kong
sixers will be from September 21 and 22, then tour of Kenya from
September 28 to October 7 (four nation one-dayers) and then to
Sharjah from November 15 to 30.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board has invited Australia and India for
the ``A`` teams for a triangular series here with Sri Lanka ``A``
in October this year. This tourney is confirmed.
The year 1997 will see Sri Lanka playing seven Test matches
The first assignment is in March where Sri Lanka will play
against a World XI or Australia in Hong Kong.
The tour of West Indies will come next in April-May. There will
be two Tests and three one-day internationals. The dates will be
fixed later.
Then Sri Lanka will host the Asia Cup tournament in August. The
PILCOM under 19 tournament between India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka will be in Sri Lanka in August.
The India-Sri Lanka test series will be in August - September.
There will be two Tests. Then Sri Lanka will tour India in September - October to play three Tests. Then Sri Lanka will go to
Pakistan in October for the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the
Pakistan Cricket Board. This will be a Quadrangular tournament
involving Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa and matches
will be limited-over games.
Source :: Daily News (http.//www.lanka.net)