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Australia's cricket tour to Sri Lanka in August will commence with a triangular one-day contest which will precede the three-Test series.

Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) sources said that India will be the third country in the competition which also has hosts Sri Lanka.

The triangular will be the first one-day tournament Sri Lanka will play after the World Cup in England in May/June.

Meanwhile, the BCCSL will take a decision shortly how soon they will require the services of ace spinner Muthiah Muralitharan for the contests.

Muralitharan is expected to play for English county Lancashire after the World Cup. But he may not be able to fulfil his contract till the end of the season because of the Australian tour and the tri one-day series. He may be asked to return home by at least August 20, which would allow him about two months of cricket with the county.

Muralitharan is currently recovering from a shoulder operation and will miss the Asian Test championships and the one-day triangular contest in India. He is expected to be fit for the World Cup.

Umpires for Indo-Lanka Test

South African Rudi Koertzen and Zimbabwe's Russell Tiffin will officiate in the second match of the Asian Test championship between Sri Lanka and India at the SSC grounds from February 24 to 28. Pakistan's Salim Badar will be the third umpire.

The umpires for the rest of the championship are: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Lahore from March 4-8: David Shepherd (England) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa), 3rd umpire - Srini Venkatraghavan (India); Final at Dhaka from March 12-16: David Shepherd (England) and Doug Cowie (New Zealand), 3rd umpire - to be named.

Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and David Orchard (South Africa) are officiating in the current Test between India and Pakistan at Calcutta with Sri Lanka's K.T. Francis as the third umpire.

World Cup Dinner

A Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) London souvenir welcoming Arjuna Ranatunga and the world champions will be launched on May 1 at the World Cup dinner scheduled to be held at Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane.

The event promises to be a grand affair, according to a release from the BCCSL's UK representative committee who are hosting the event. Air Lanka who are flying the world champions to London will also fly the musical group Gypsies, who will perform exclusively for the world champions.

Raffle prizes, which include two return air tickets to Colombo on Air Lanka, autographed bats etc will be part of the event for which the committee is working round the clock to ensure its success.

The UK representative committee comprises Asitha Jayaweera (president), Ivan Corea (secretary) and Deepal Ahangama (treasurer). The committee includes Sarath Abeysundera, Deepal Dharmasekera, Alan Wahab, Dr. Daya Pandithagunawardena, Thalath Ismail, and Lakhi Liyanage.