26-Mar-2009 100
Orissa cricket Association (OCA) has been given an offer to send the state Ranji team on a 21-day tour to Austalia to play a series of friendly matches in August this year.
‘‘It is an exchange programme under which a 15-member Orissa senior team has been invited to play five two-day (90 overs) and three one-day (50 overs) matches in Australia,’’ OCA secretary Asirbad Behera said today.
‘‘Similarly, a team from Down Under would undertake a three-week-long tour to Orissa to play equal number of matches in October,’’ he added.
But Behera is not sure whether the offer has been made by Cricket Australia or a private academy. ‘‘The offer has come through an e-mail, the details of which would be disclosed tomorrow,’’ he maintained.
The OCA secretary, however, made it clear that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was monitoring the exchange programme. ‘‘Details of the programme would be worked out after obtaining OCA finance committee’s approval,’’ he explained.
OCA would spend around Rs 25 lakh towards travel expenses of the state team and another Rs 25 lakh to provide hospitality to the vising Aussie side.
Before making the exchange offer, a two-member deligation from Australia visited Orissa to inspect the infrastructure and other facilities available in Cuttack.
According to the OCA secretary, the tour to Australia would provide much needed practice and playing opportunities to the state team during off season. ‘‘It is better to play in Australia than sit idle at home during rainy season,’’ Behera pointed out.
