With Sri Lanka qualifying for the final of the Emirates Triangular Series to be played at Lord's on August 20, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced today that the provisional three-day tour fixture against Sussex to be played at Hove from August 19 to 21 has now been cancelled. The three-day game against Hampshire will take place as scheduled at Southampton from August 22-24 before Sri Lanka meet England in the one-off Cornhill Test at the Foster's Oval from August 27-31.
Novice Umpire
The Test will see the sixth overseas umpire to stand in six Test matches in England this summer. Ed Nicholls of Guyana, one of the least experienced members of the National Grid international panel is expected to arrive this week to take up his assignment.
Already there is a big furore created in England over the umpiring of English as well as overseas appointed umpires in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa, won 2-1 by England. Pakistan's Javed Akhtar who stood in the series deciding Test at Leeds became the villain of the piece when close scrutiny revealed that five of the batsmen he condemned should not have been given out. Nicholls' appointment is expected to bring more controversy to a summer that has already been set on fire by questionable umpiring decisions.
No One-day International status
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the matches played in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur next month would not have one-day international status. This means that whatever records are set up during the tournament will not be accounted for and the performances of the individual players will not go into their personal career figures.
Lankans visit Diana Memorial
During their stay in Northampton, the Sri Lankan cricketers visited Althorp to pay their respects to Diana, Princess of Wales. The players were shown around the museum and circled the island where Diana is buried, the ``The London Times'' reported. Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga who had made the request for the visit personally, presented a cricket bat and poetry books on Diana to her brother Earl Spencer.