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ACC chief hails Test championship

India will meet Sri Lanka in the tri-nation Asian Test Championship, which also features Pakistan, from February 24 to 28 at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo.

The Lankans then fly to Lahore, to take on Pakistan in their second game, from March 4-8.

Any doubts of the tournament being postponed were quelled by Asian Cricket Council chairman Thilanga Sumathipala during a news conference last evening.

He said doubts were raised whether the championship would take place following reports that it may be postponed due to the Indo-Pak Test series. He announced that the championship was ery much on, and that it would provide a new fillip to Test cricket, serving as the stepping stone towards the eventual dream of a world-level championship of Test cricket.

The first match of this new venture would take place in Calcutta from February 16 to 20 between India and Pakistan.

This Test will be followed by the Sri Lanka matches. At the end of the preliminary phase, the top two teams in the standings will qualify to play in the final at Dhaka from March 12 to 16.

The champion team will receive prize money of $250,000 and the losing finalist will stand to gain $145,000.