Sri Lanka was today confirmed as the host country for the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy. The biennial tournament, which will involve all ten Test playing nations plus Kenya and Holland, will be staged between the 12th and 30th September.

"The ICC is delighted that the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka has agreed to act as host country for this major event," said its Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed. "We look forward to working closely with the Board in staging one of world cricket's most entertaining and high profile tournaments," he added.

Teams will compete for a prize fund totalling $1.15 million in the ICC Champions Trophy, the expanded successor to the ICC Knock Out, which has been staged twice over the past four years in Dhaka and Nairobi.

The event has a new format, with four Pools of three teams, rather than the straight knock out basis of its 11-team predecessors. Each side will play two Pool games followed by semi finals between the winners of Pool 2 and Pool 3, and Pool 1 and Pool 4.

The Pool allocations for the ICC Champions Trophy are:
Pool 1: Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand
Pool 2: England, India, Zimbabwe
Pool 3: Kenya, South Africa, West Indies
Pool 4: Holland, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

The semi final stages could see 2003 World Cup host South Africa paired with 2000 KnockOut finalist India, while the other match allows a potential re-run of the 1999 World Cup final, featuring a meeting between current holder Australia and beaten finalist Pakistan.

ICC media contact in Cape Town:
Mark Harrison,
ICC Communications Manager,
Mobile: + 44 787 944 1891

© ICC