Consolation for match-starved Sri Lanka

• Talks on for India Test series and Australia ODI series

By Champika Fernando

Ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will have three more additional Test matches ahead of his planned retirement at the end of the West Indies tour to reach the magical figures of 800 wickets, as India has tentatively agreed for a three-match Test series in July. Muralitharan, who is scheduled to retire from the longer version at the end of the three-match home series against West Indies in November, is eight wickets short of 800 wickets and the tour added would give the ace-spinner renewed hopes of reaching it earlier than expected.
Under the ICC’s Future Tour Programme (FTP) Sri Lanka has only three Test matches for the calendar year.
Sri Lanka Cricket were in talks with Cricket Australia, South Africa Cricket and Board of control for Cricket in India to explore possibilities of getting at least one of them to play a bilateral series at home to give sufficient matches for the national cricketers, who have a solitary three-match series scheduled for the year.
In addition to the proposed three match Test series, Sri Lanka will also play a tri series also involving India and New Zealand soon after the Asia Cup scheduled for June this year.
Sri Lanka, co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup, has made a strong proposal to earn the hosting rights of the 2010 tournament while Malaysia has also made a proposal for the same.
Sri Lanka will also tour Australia later in the year for a limited overs series before the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka.
Cricket Australia has agreed to play a three-match ODI series and one T20 match in October but a Si Lanka Cricket official said that they were in discussion with Cricket Australia to increase it to a five-match ODI series.
“What’s the point in going to Australia and playing only three matches? Instead we have proposed them a five match series for which we have got a positive response,” said SLC secretary Nishatha Ranatunga.