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Sri Lanka Cricket Board negotiating with ECB

Colombo: The Sri Lankan Cricketers’ Association (SLCA) said on Wednesday that the Sri Lankan Board was holding discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to reschedule the proposed England tour next year to accommodate its players for the lucrative Indian Premier League.

SLCA Secretary Graeme Labrooy said SLC officials were exploring the possibility of rescheduling the matches of the England tour next year.

“Discussions have been going on for the last two or three days and we are waiting to hear from the ECB,” he told PTI.

Top stars Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan have lucrative three-year contracts with different IPL franchisees and they do not want to miss the Twenty20 tournament due to a clash of dates with the proposed England tour, scheduled for next April and May.

On July 8, the ECB announced dates for the Sri Lanka tour which starts with a warm-up game against Leicestershire on April 21 and ends with the third one-dayer on May 30.

President Mahinda Rajapakse had to intervene in favour of the players and asked the SLC to allow them to play in the IPL which the Board had to heed to.

Other Lankan cricketers who have IPL contracts include Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis, Chamara Silva and T.M. Dilshan. — PTI

English Premier League

London: There will be an English Premier League Twenty20 competition starting in 2010.

Having rejected a leaked proposal that would have left out half the country’s 18 counties, the England and Wales Cricket Board agreed on Wednesday to start a two-division tournament containing all the sides plus two overseas teams.

The ECB also plans to scrap its largely unloved Pro40 tournament in 2009, allowing for a total overhaul of club cricket in England. — AP

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