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SA to play Tests at Bombay, Bangalore

Bombay and Bangalore will be the venues for the two Test matches that South Africa will play on their tour of India in February-March next year. This was decided by the Board of Control for Cricket in India at its working committee meeting in Madras yesterday.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, BCCI secretary J Y Lele said the first Test will be at Bombay from February 24 to 28 while the second Test will be at Bangalore from March 1 to 5.

The South Africans will also play five one-day internationals on March 9, 11, 14, 17 and 20. Baroda, Nagpur, Jamshedpur, Ahmedabad and Goa or Kochi will stage the matches.

Lele said the Fatorda stadium in Goa, which is mainly used for football, has been provisionally selected for one of the matches. "If the BCCI's pitch and ground committee finds the venue and pitch suitable for an international match, then Goa will host the match. Otherwise, Kochi will stage the game." he said.

He said that while the dates are fixed, the venues which will host the matches will be decided after taking into account the logistics of air travel and convenience of the players.

The South Africans will begin their tour with a three-day match against the Board President's XI at the CCI, Bombay, on February 19.

Lele also announced that the BCCI's cricket academy at Bangalore will start functioning from May 1. He said the committee formed by the board to go into details of the academy had submitted its preliminary report which was approved by the working committee. A detailed report will be given to the Board by February 1. Lele said plans were afoot for five zonal academies, the total budget for which is around Rs four crore.

He also announced that the BCCI will celebrate the ICC's 'Cricket Week' from April 2 to 9. The programme, which is the brainchild of the ICC chairman Jagmohan Dalmiya, will see all ICC members celebrate 'Cricket Week' at different times throughout the year.

On the possibility of asking Nayan Mongia to return from Australia, Lele said the board is still awaiting the medical report on M S K Prasad's injury. "The matter will be sorted out over the next three or four days," he said.

He also said that the Indian team for the Carlton and United one-day series, involving Pakistan and Australia, will be selected at the end of the second Test between India and Australia, at Melbourne, which concludes on December 30.