NEW DELHI, 15 January 2005 — Pakistan will open their first full tour of India for six years with a Test starting on March 4, according to the match schedule released yesterday.
India’s cricket board announced dates for the series comprising three Tests and five one-dayers but said the venues would be decided next week.
Pakistan have not played a Test series in India since 1999 because of political tension between the two neighbours but India embarked on their first Test tour of Pakistan for over 14 years last March and April as relations improved. The tourists will arrive in India on Feb. 25.
Match dates:
Warm-up game: Feb. 27-March 1.
First Test: March 4-8; Second Test: March 12-16; Third Test: March 20-24; Warm-up game: March 26; First ODI: March 28; Second ODI: March 31; Third ODI: April 3; Fourth ODI: April 6; Fifth ODI: April 9.
Kenya Government Dissolves Cricket Body Over Mismanagement Charges
In Nairobi, the Kenyan government yesterday dissolved the country’s governing cricket body and set up an interim committee to run the sport, pending fresh elections in April.
Sports Minister Ochilo Ayacko accused the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) of financial mismanagement, failing to resolve a long-standing feud with national team players and being too slow in drawing up a new constitution.
“The KCA purports to officially promote the sport of cricket in Kenya and receives a lot of financial support for this purpose,” Ayacko said in a statement.
“It has been doing so without an elected office since 1997 and today cannot account for the huge sums of monies received,” he said. Ayacko did not provide details of the amounts involved.
The interim committee is led by a member of the Kenya National Sports Council, Isaac Kalua, who has been heading an Independent Review Commission of the KCA constitution that was launched last October.
Other members include Samir Inamdar and Salim Dhanji, two officials of the Coast Cricket Association, who have been at loggerheads with the national body over the establishment of new cricket branches in the country.
