Cricket Australia monitoring situation in Sri Lanka but confident of seven-week tour
India Today
Cricket Australia is monitoring the unrest in Sri Lanka but is confident the national team's seven-week tour of the island will go ahead as scheduled in June and July, the governing body said on Tuesday.
Cricket Australia is monitoring unrest in Sri Lanka but remains confident next month's tour of the country will go ahead as planned in June and July.
Sri Lanka gave emergency powers on Tuesday to its military and police to detain people without warrants, after a day of clashes that killed seven people and injured more than 200, in violence that prompted Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign.
As the Indian Ocean nation battles its worst economic crisis in history, thousands of protesters had defied curfew to attack government figures, setting ablaze homes, shops and businesses belonging to ruling party lawmakers and provincial politicians.
"Any person arrested by a police officer shall be taken to the nearest police station," it said, fixing a 24-hour deadline for the armed forces to do the same.
Australia announced three strong squads last month for the tour, which includes a Twenty20 series, five one-day internationals as well as two tests in Galle. An Australia "A" team will also play four matches.
Two of the T20 matches that kick off the tour early next month are in the capital Colombo, where the worst of Monday's violence took place, as are three of the one-day internationals and two of the "A" matches.
Cricket Australia's security chief visited Sri Lanka last month when a state of emergency was first declared and gave the all-clear for the tour. Last month, Australia completed its first tour of Pakistan since 1998 under "presidential-level" security, winning the three-test series 1-0.
