India receives invite for three-match series

Hard on the heels of its thrilling Test series win over the world's number one team, India has been invited to participate in a series of three one-day internationals in Australia in September.

Intended as a follow-up to last year's successful indoor series between Australia and South Africa at Melbourne's state-of-the-art Colonial Stadium, it is believed that the matches have been scheduled for mid-to-late September. At least two have been earmarked for Colonial, although the timing of the series will again clash with Australian Rules Football finals in Melbourne and might make the staging of a third match at the same venue more difficult.

The Australia-South Africa series - played over three matches in August last year - made history, bringing teams together for one-day international fixtures in an enclosed venue for the first time. It was seen as a great success by both countries' official Boards and the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) has consistently maintained that it is keen to stage a repeat series.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the ACB's equivalent body in India, is yet to formally discuss the matter. Such a visit to Australia would need to be squeezed into a tight schedule in 2001 given that the Indian team's itinerary also includes tours of Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and South Africa and the hosting of the four-cornered Asia Cup series of one-day internationals. But early indications from the sub-continent suggest that the BCCI would be likely to respond positively to the Australians' invitation.