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Asia Cup - 2004
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Asia Cup - 2004
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News
Eighth Asia Cup cricket
launched in SL
COLOMBO: The six-nation Asia Cup cricket tournament was officially
launched in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, on Wednesday.
Representatives of the teams and officials of the Asian Cricket
Council took part in the ceremony, which included a parade by Sri
Lankan models holding flags of the six countries.
The captains and coaches of most participating nations were at the
ceremony, except for host Sri Lanka, whose team has not returned
from a tour of Australia, and India’s captain.
Indian captain Sourav Ganguly left Colombo with his team for the
central Sri Lankan town of Dambulla, where India is to play its
first match against United Arab Emirates, a new entrant in the
tournament.
Indian coach John Wright said Ganguly could not be present because
of the delayed start of the opening ceremony and had left Colombo
before the event began.
"We would obviously want to be competitive. I think it’s going to be
a tough tournament," Wright said about India’s plans for the
tournament.
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said his team has resolved all
internal disputes and was fully prepared to defend the title they
won in Bangladesh four year ago.
There have been reports of friction among senior players after
Pakistan’s home Test series defeat against India in April. "We have
no disputes in the team, everything is fine," Haq said.
The total prize money for the tournament will be US$180,000, the
highest amount in the history of the biennial tournament.
Asia Cup groupings/schedule:
Group A: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong.
Group B: Sri Lanka, India, United Arab Emirates
Preliminary league:
July 16: Bangladesh v Hong Kong at Colombo; India v UAE at Dambulla
(D/N)
July 17: Pakistan v Bangladesh at Colombo; Sri Lanka v UAE at
Dambulla (D/N)
July 18: Pakistan v Hong Kong at Colombo; Sri Lanka v India at
Dambulla (D/N)
Super League:
July 21: A2 v B2 at Colombo; A1 v B1 at Colombo (D/N)
July 23: A2 v B1 at Colombo (D/N)
July 25: A1 v B2 at Colombo (D/N)
July 27: B1 v B2 at Colombo (D/N)
July 29: A1 v A2 at Colombo (D/N)
Aug 1: Final at Colombo (D/N)
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