Date-stamped : 07 Oct95 - 14:26
Tuesday 03, October 1995

Sri Lanka to tour South Africa next year ?

by Dinesh Weerawansa South Africa is likely to host Sri Lanka for
a  three-Test series next year, thanks to the efforts made by the
President of the Board  of  Control  for  Cricket  in  Sri  Lanka
(BCCSL), Ana Punchihewa.

Punchihewa said that the United Cricket  Board  of  South  Africa
(UCBSA)  has  responded  favourably  to Sri Lanka`s request for a
Test series there. "The South Africans were here  last  year  and
now  Sri Lanka plans for a tour there. We have made a request and
the UCBSA President, Dr.Ali Bacher has shown his  willingness  to
host Sri Lanka,`` he said.

Punchihewa said that  Dr.Bacher  has  requested  a  copy  of  Sri
Lanka`s  international  calender.  "He  wanted  to  know what our
international commitments are and to see when he can  accommodate
Sri  Lanka  for  a home series. We have already sent our calender
and are expecting a favourable reply from UCBSA,`` he said.

Punchihewa has always exposed the possibilities of  international
exposure  to  Sri  Lanka  particularly  at  Test level and made a
strong voice at the last International Cricket Council meeting at
Lord`s.  But  Sri  Lanka could not impress England who decided to
stick to their customary One-Off Test for Sri Lanka.

When asked to comment on our story yesterday headlined `Sri Lanka
worthy  of  more Tests` written by one of Britain`s most powerful
voices in the field of cricket Frank Keating of Guardian  newspa-
per, the Cricket Board chief Punchihewa was a happy man and said;
"Atleast there is one man to support our claim,``.

The Guardian, in a strongly worded article, said that the 13-year
old  snub  Sri  Lanka received from Lords can only be put down to
money. It lashed out at the cricket  moguls  at  Lords  over  the
present state of play concerning Tests with Sri Lanka.  Said Pun-
chihewa: "When we requested  them  (England)   to tour here  (Sri
Lanka)  they   demanded a high guarantee fee of  Rs.  two million
per player setting an  impossi- ble task for  us.  When  we   re-
quested  for more than a Test, they cited  finan- cial losses and
other reasons,``.

Even  Pakistan  too  have  been treated in a  similar  manner  by
the  Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB), according to the BCCSL
chief.

Under Punchihewa`s  leadership, Sri  Lanka  cricket  has  reached
great  heights.  It  was in New  Zealand early this year that Sri
Lanka  broke the ice registering   its    first    ever  overseas
Test  and  series   win  and  last week, Sri Lanka, for the first
time, won two successive Tests against Pakis- tan  and  took  the
series 2-1 in Pak- istan.

`This should be  an  eye-opener to all Test playing countries  to
grant  Sri Lanka more  Tests,``  he  said.  When asked weather he
still believes in his dream  of   `making   Sri    Lanka  world`s
best  Test nation  by  the  Year 2000, he replied: "We have every
reason to feel so. We have got the best possible start in  reach-
ing   our aim.  We never dreamt of such a  good start to our cam-
paign,`` a smiling Punchihewa said.

But, he said,  that  the  local cricketers  must  be  given  more
chances   to prove their class at Test  level.  "I hope, with our
highly successful performance in  Pakistan,  they (other Test na-
tions   including    Eng-  land),  will offer more Tests  to  Sri
Lan- ka,`` he said.

Punchihewa said that he has in- vited the President of the  Board
of Control for  Cricket  in  West  Indies, Peter Short for a tour
of  Sri  Lanka during the 1996 World Cup in the Indi- an sub con-
tinent.

Not only  the  cricketers,  but also the dedicated team of crick-
et offi- cials should be given continuity to maintain their  good
work  and make Sri Lanka the best Test playing nation by the year
2000.

<END> Contributed by Fauzer Uvais (AUVAISFM@cube.curtin.edu.au)