da bet7k： For the first time in Sri Lanka’s cricket history international umpireAsoka de Silva has been assigned by the International Cricket Council (ICC)to officiate in two Tests of a three-Test series between Pakistan and NewZealand commencing next month
Sa'adi Thawfeeq06-Sep-2001For the first time in Sri Lanka’s cricket history international umpireAsoka de Silva has been assigned by the International Cricket Council (ICC)to officiate in two Tests of a three-Test series between Pakistan and NewZealand commencing next month in Pakistan.De Silva (45) who represented his country in ten Tests as a right-armleg-spinner, will officiate the first two Tests of the series at Peshawar(October 2-6) and at Faisalabad (October 13-17).He is the fourth Sri Lankan umpire to figure in the ICC’s internationalpanel of umpires after K.T. Francis and B.C. Cooray – both retired, andPeter Manuel.De Silva officiated in two Tests of the recently concluded home seriesagainst India. Having first come into the Test scene against Pakistan atGalle in June 2000, De Silva has so far officiated in five Test matches.The new assignment will be his second as an ICC umpire. He did one Test inZimbabwe against India early this year.Presently, Sri Lanka has only one umpire (De Silva) in the ICC panel. Theywill nominate their second choice very shortly.