ACB Chief Will Grace Singer Tourney (19 Jul 1996)

19 July 1996

ACB chief will grace Singer tourney

By SA`ADI THAWFEEQ

The confirmation received by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board that Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chairman Denis Rogers will be coming for the Singer World Series is a clear indication the Australians are keen to come to Sri Lanka.

Rogers is among three distinguished officials of the ACB who have been invited for the four-nation tournament which commences on August 24. The ACB chief executive Graham Halbish and former ACB chairman Malcolm Gray, who unsuccessfully ran for the ICC chairmanship, along with the president and secretary of the Indian Cricket Board and Zimbabwe Cricket Union are others to whom invitations have been extended.

Rogers, who is expected to arrive a few days prior to the commencement of the tournament, confirmed his acceptance of the invitation to the Sri Lankan delegation during the ICC meeting at Lord`s last week. He is expected to make a tour of Sri Lanka during his visit.

The Australians are the first of the four nations to announce their team for the tournament, naming a 13-man squad under the leadership of Mark Taylor in the first week of June. Defending champs India, Zimbabwe and host Sri Lanka are the other participating nations in the tournament which ends with the final on September 7.

However, their participation will depend on the current situation in the country shortly before their departure to Sri Lanka.

Halbish was quoted by agencies in Melbourne : "Our actual participation security of the team in Sri Lanka``.

Cricket Board sources said that the ACB is kept informed of the situation in the country by the Australian High Commission in Colombo.

The Australians refused to play their World Cup match in Sri Lanka in February this year, fearing the safety of their players following the Central Bank bomb blast.

The Australian team is expected to bring with them around 300 to 350 new bats to be presented to the Sri Lanka Cricket Board for distribution to needy clubs and associations.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)