Colombo bomb blast will not affect Asia Cup

Sri Lanka's cricket authorities are adamant that the Asia Cup will proceed as planned, despite Wednesday's suicide bombing in Colombo that killed five people.

The Asia Cup, in which the Test nations of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be joined by the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, is set to begin on July 16, and continue for a fortnight.

But Ray Illangakoon, a spokesman for the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, told BBC Sport that there was no threat of cancellation. "It is not a bad situation here. Not one cricket board has approached us and asked for a re-scheduling of the tournament." he said, adding that extra security would be provided on request, although no team had yet seen fit to do so.

"Security is a matter of concern," added SK Nair, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, "though it was not discussed at the selectors meeting. We will be coordinating with the Sri Lankan board on this issue."