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Wizards of Oz to ignore Lankan bomb threats

The last time a bomb went off in Colombo ahead of an Australian visit, the cricket board of that country had no hesitation in ordering their players to stay away -- and never mind the fact that on that occasion, it was a World Cup fixture Australia was supposed to play in the embattled isle.

Earlier, in 1987, Australia had cancelled a Test-cum-ODI tour of Sri Lanka following a similar spurt of seperatist violence.

Now, the newly crowned world champions are due to tour there again -- and lo, a suicide bomber does his thing. The bomber threw himself on a car carrying Neelan Thiruchelvam, a member of the moderate Tamil United Liberation Front. Both Thiruchelvam and the bomber were instantly killed by the blast. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are believed to be behind the blast.

This time, though, the ACB has been equally prompt -- in insisting that the team will go to Sri Lanka for the upcoming triangular series that also involves India.

The Australian High Commission in Colombo is reportedly in touch with the ACB, and has advised the latter that the planned tour, which also encompasses a Test series, can go ahead.

The high commission, and ACB officials, are in the interim re-examining security measures, and a security adviser will be added to the team contingent, sources indicate. An ACB task force had already visited Sri Lanka last month to check security arrangements, and pronounced a favourable verdict.

ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed indicated that the board would extensively brief the players ahead of the tour, on the dos and dont's from the security angle.

Australian Cricketers Association president Tim May, who was a member of the ACB scouting party last month, said news of the latest suicide bombing hadn't changed the Australian perception in any significant way. "The players will be listening to what the security experts say, and for now they are saying the tour can go ahead," May said.

If the schedule holds, Australia will leave on August 16 for the triangular tournament followed by three Tests against Sri Lanka.