da pinnacle： Pakistan has invited the Indian junior cricket team to play matches inan under-19 tournament in preparation for next year’s Youth World Cupto be held in New Zealand
Staff and Agencies15-Aug-2001* Pakistan invites Indian junior teamPakistan has invited the Indian junior cricket team to play matches inan under-19 tournament in preparation for next year’s Youth World Cupto be held in New Zealand. “So far we have not received anyconfirmation regarding our invitation from India but we had also askedthe Sri Lankan Board to send their junior team and they have sent intheir confirmation,” Pakistan Cricket Board’s director BrigadierMunnawar Rana was quoted as saying in The News on Tuesday.Rana said the Sri Lankans would visit Pakistan sometime in November.He added he had extended the invitations to Sri Lanka and India duringthe International Cricket Council meeting in London in June. “We arehoping the Indians will also confirm, let us see what happens. But wehave to ensure our junior team goes well prepared to New Zealand,” hesaid.India did not send their team to Karachi for the Asia Under-17Championship last year. Rana said Pakistan will prepare for the YouthWorld Cup very seriously this time as they had never managed to winthis particular title. Pakistan juniors lost in the semi-finals of thelast Youth World Cup held in Sri Lanka.* ACU team to visit SharjahTwo members of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) will visit Sharjahthis week, to discuss the implementation of security measures withofficials from the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series, which organises theSharjah tournament.Specifically, these will be preliminary discussions concerningrecommendation 9 in the Anti-Corruption Unit interim report of Aprilthis year. Recommendation 9 covers the need for ‘extra vigilance andsecurity’ at neutral venues hosting international matches.”This visit will be followed by another, timed to coincide with thenext Sharjah tournament in October and November. This will provide theopportunity for my team to assess the implementation of the additionalsecurity measures that need to be put in place to deter improperapproaches,” commented Lord Condon, director of the ACU on Tuesday.* Eight zonal under-19 academies proposed in TNWith the first of its proposed eight zonal cricket academies for theunder-19 category being launched at Chennai on Wednesday, the TamilNadu Cricket Association (TNCA) will take a decision on the locationof the other seven at a meeting during the end of the month.VR Sivakumar, chairman of TNCA’s District Development Committee, toldreporters in Coimbatore that the TNCA would provide each zone,comprising a maximum of five districts, infrastructural facilities,like building with gymnasium facilities, roller and sprinkler and aprominent coach. The selected district association would have toprovide grounds with a turf wicket, Sivakumar, who is also the jointsecretary of the Coimbatore District Cricket Association, said. Hesaid boys in the age group of 13 to 18 would be given training in twocamps – summer and winter. Based on their performance, the TNCA woulddecide on opening district-wise academies to promote cricket in theseareas.CDCA president D Lakshmi Narayanaswamy said the association would hostthe three-day final of the ‘Hercules-TNCA inter district under-19cricket tournament between Coimbatore and Vellore from August 16. Theselectors would monitor the players’ performance for selecting thecombined districts and state teams, he said. The two combined districtteams would play round-robin matches with four city teams at Chennai,before the final under-19 State team was selected, Narayanaswamy said.