Electronic Telegraph Cricket round-up (23 Aug 1998)

23 August 1998

Cricket Focus

Electronic Telegraph

SRI LANKA have been promised that they will never again be treated like the poor relations of Test cricket by England. Tim Lamb, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced at a dinner staged in London in the tourists' honour last week that England would guarantee Sri Lanka three-Test series in future.

"It makes all the campaigning and hard work worthwhile," said Ivan Corea, the United Kingdom secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka. "Tim will be a hero in our country after this."

REVOLUTION arrived at Guildford last week when Robin Marlar, Sussex's joint-chairman, invited a cluster of his fellow southern-based supremos to his house with the express purpose of forming an anti-MacLaurin coalition.

Marlar's aim, apparently, is to block any reforms proposed by Lord MacLaurin and his more progressive ECB colleagues at their meeting on Oct 19.

"It's time to stop Marlar," said one Sussex insider. "He's an autocrat. He's not representing the views of the club."

ENGLAND, still to decide on their best line-up for the ICC development tournament, will again face South Africa when the event opens in Dhaka. All matches will be played under floodlights.

Oct 24, Pre-qtr final: New Zealand v Zimbabwe. 25, Qtr-final: England v South Africa. 26, Qtr-final: Sri Lanka v New Zealand/Zimbabwe. 28, Qtr-final: Australia v India. 29, Qtr-final: Pakistan v West Indies. 30, Semi-final: England/ South Africa v Sri Lanka/New Zealand/ Zimbabwe. 31, Semi-final: Australia/ India v Pakistan/West Indies. Nov 1: Final.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)