State women``s tourney falls prey to rains

After repeated postponement of the Kalahandi Cup men``s inter-district tournament, the women``s inter-district competition has fallen prey to weather hazards. Scheduled to commence at Cuttack from September 20, the women`` tournament was finally cancelled by Orissa Cricket Association today following heavy rains triggered by a deep depression. In the absence of the inter-district event, the only domestic competition for the eves, the formation of the state team for the East Zone under-19 one-day tournament would now be done through a one-day selection trial to be held at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack on September 27. According to OCA secretary Asirbad Behera, all the affiliated district units have been informed to send their best two under-19 woman cricketers for the trial. Instruction to join the trial has also been given to last year``s under-19 team members, who still come within the stipulated age limit. The East zone under-19 women``s one-day tournament, featuring seven states, is scheduled to be held at Jamshedpur from third week of October. Orissa are set to play their first match against host Jharkhand on October 20. Their next five league ties come up against Manipur (Oct 21), Assam (Oct 23), Tripura (Oct 26), Sikkim (Oct 27) and Bengal (Oct 28).