1998-99 Asian Test Championship
Encyclopedia
The first Asian Test Championship
, organized by the Asian Cricket Council
was held between 14 February and 17 March 1999. India
, Pakistan and Sri Lanka competed in the tournament; Bangladesh could not compete because the ICC
had not granted them Test status. This tournament was considered to be the predecessor to the Test Cricket World Cup
that the ICC was planning for the 9 member nations. The tournament was almost canceled in January 1999 due to tour conflicts, television rights and security concerns.
Three round-robin tournament
matches
were played with each country meeting each other once and the top two sides playing a final. A win was worth 12 points, a tie 6 points and no points were awarded for a draw or loss. In addition to this, bonus points were awarded to teams for bowling
and batting
performances (see Scoring system). The venues of the round robin matches were rotated between the three countries: Calcutta, Colombo
and Lahore
, while the final was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh as a neutral venue.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 175 in the final to become the first Asian Test Champions and received US$ 250,000 in prize money. Sri Lanka, the losing finalists, were awarded US$ 145,000, and India, the losers of the first round, US$ 100,000. 'Man of the Series', Wasim Akram
, won US$ 20,000, while 'Man of the Match' winners received US$ 5,000 in prize money.
of the ICC panel. This was the first time that this had occurred, traditionally one ICC umpire and one home umpire stand in Test matches. However, one home umpire was selected as the Third Umpire in each Test match. The ICC Match referee
for the entire Championship was Cammie Smith
of the West Indies.
Neutral Umpires:
Third/TV Umpires:
(the tournament director), Ashantha De Mel
, Sunil Gavaskar
and Majid Khan. The point system was based on the scoring systems used in the Asian countries' domestic First-class cricket
leagues.
Bonus points were awarded to teams for good bowling
and batting
performances (see table below). A maximum of 20 points could be gained in one match (including the 12 match winning points). The bonus bowling and batting points were confined to the first 100 overs of the first innings. The two teams th the highest number of points qualify for the final. If two teams are tied on points, the team with a better run rate
in the first 100 overs will go through. If the final ends in a draw, the side with the higher bonus points will win.
Asian Test Championship
The ACC Asian Test Championship is a professional Test cricket tournament contested between the Test playing nations of Asia: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is not a regular event in the cricketing calendar and has so far been held only twice; in 1998-99 when Pakistan won and in...
, organized by the Asian Cricket Council
Asian Cricket Council
The Asian Cricket Council is a cricket organization which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of cricket in Asia. It is the regional administrative body and is sub-ordinate to the International Cricket Council. The Conference became the Asian Cricket Council in 1995 and its...
was held between 14 February and 17 March 1999. India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
, Pakistan and Sri Lanka competed in the tournament; Bangladesh could not compete because the ICC
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
had not granted them Test status. This tournament was considered to be the predecessor to the Test Cricket World Cup
ICC Test Championship
The ICC Test Championship is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 teams that play Test cricket...
that the ICC was planning for the 9 member nations. The tournament was almost canceled in January 1999 due to tour conflicts, television rights and security concerns.
Three round-robin tournament
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
were played with each country meeting each other once and the top two sides playing a final. A win was worth 12 points, a tie 6 points and no points were awarded for a draw or loss. In addition to this, bonus points were awarded to teams for bowling
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
and batting
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
performances (see Scoring system). The venues of the round robin matches were rotated between the three countries: Calcutta, Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, while the final was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh as a neutral venue.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 175 in the final to become the first Asian Test Champions and received US$ 250,000 in prize money. Sri Lanka, the losing finalists, were awarded US$ 145,000, and India, the losers of the first round, US$ 100,000. 'Man of the Series', Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
, won US$ 20,000, while 'Man of the Match' winners received US$ 5,000 in prize money.
Squads
| 1st & 2nd Test | 1st Test | 2nd Test | Final | 1st Test | 2nd Test | Final |
|
Wasim Akram Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches.... * Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... Moin Khan Mohammad Moin Khan , popularly known as Moin Khan , is a former Pakistani cricketer, primarily a wicketkeeper-batsman, who remained a member of the Pakistani national cricket team from 1990 to 2004. He has also captained the Pakistani side. He made his international debut against the West Indies at... Saeed Anwar Saeed Anwar is a former Pakistani opening batsman. A left-hander, Anwar is most notable for scoring 194 runs against India in Chennai in 1997, then the highest, and now the joint second highest individual score in a One Day International.-Personal life:... Naved Ashraf Mohammad Naved Ashraf Qureshi is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler.Ashraf has played in two Test matches and had a minor foray into Twenty20 cricket.... Wajahatullah Wasti Wajahatullah Wasti is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler.... Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi , popularly known as Shahid Afridi , is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2011, Afridi played 27 Tests, 325 One Day Internationals, and 43 Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani national team... Saleem Malik Saleem Malik is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1981/82 and 1999, at one stage captaining the Pakistani cricket team. He was a right-handed wristy middle order batsman who was strong square of the wicket. His legbreak bowling was also quite effective... Azhar Mahmood Azhar Mahmood Sagar is a Pakistani cricketer, . Originally his father objected to his interest in cricket, but later started to appreciate it seeing his accomplishments. As a teenager, Azhar was mentored by Irfan Bhatti who played a One Day International for Pakistan in the early 90’s... Inzamam-ul-Haq Inzamam-ul-Haq , also known as Inzamam, nicknamed Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was national captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era... Waqar Younis Waqar Younis Maitla is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time... Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket, who is regarded as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket. He set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery, when he clocked in at 161.3 km/h in his bowling speed, twice at a cricket match against... Mushtaq Ahmed Mushtaq Ahmed is a retired Pakistani cricketer who specialised as a leg spin bowler. He was known for his hard-to-pick googly. He memorably trapped Graeme Hick in front with one during the 1992 World Cup final. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997... Saqlain Mushtaq Saqlain Mushtaq is a Pakistani cricketer, regarded as one of the finest off spin bowlers of all time.He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", which he employed to great effect during his career... Nadeem Khan Mohammad Nadeem Khan is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 2 Tests and 2 ODIs from 1993 to 1999. Nadeem was an effective spinner who currently plays for Sheffield Collegiate C.C. I XI. He is the older brother of Pakistan's former wicket keeper, Moin Khan.-References:... Arshad Khan Arshad Khan is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off break bowler.... |
Fazl-e-Akbar Fazl-e-Akbar Durrani is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler.... Mohammad Wasim Mohammad Wasim is a Pakistani cricketer who played in 18 Tests and 25 ODIs from 1996 to 2000.-Career:... Shahid Nazir Shahid Nazir is a Pakistani cricketer.He made his Test debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura in 1996, and immediately received much criticism from the spectators whose local favourite Aaqib Javed he was thought to have replaced... Imran Nazir Imran Nazir is a Pakistani right handed batsman in cricket who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket matches.-Career:... |
|
Arjuna Ranatunga Arjuna Ranatunga is a retired Sri Lankan cricketer and politician. He was the captain of Sri Lankan cricket team, and led them to an unbeaten title-winning campaign at the 1996 Cricket World Cup... * Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... Aravinda de Silva Pinnaduwage Aravinda de Silva is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who is considered one of the finest batsmen produced by the country.He is also regarded as one of the most elegant batsman in his generation, and to date is the only player to make a hundred and take 3 or more wickets in a world cup... Marvan Atapattu Marvan Samson Atapattu is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former Sri Lankan captain. Towards the end of his career he joined the Indian Cricket League and captained the Delhi Giants... Hashan Tillakaratne Hashan Prasantha Tillakaratne is a Sri Lankan cricketer and a politician.-Cricket career:As a schoolboy in 1986, he was selected to play against England B at Galle, scoring a century to save the match. He played in his first One Day International in November 1986, and emerged into the Sri Lankan... Romesh Kaluwitharana Romesh Shantha Kaluwitharana is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played in 49 Test and 189 ODIs from 1990 to 2004... Mahela Jayawardene Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s... Russel Arnold Russel Premakumaran "Rusty" Arnold is a former Sri Lankan cricketer of Tamil descent. Arnold made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1997 and his One day international debut against South Africa later in the year. Originally an opening batsmen, Arnold has since moved down the batting order... Avishka Gunawardene Dihan Avishka Gunawardene is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is an explosive left-handed batsman who first came into the public eye during the 1998 Commonwealth Games, when he scored a century and achieved the highest score in the South African defeat.Despite a few centuries, avoidable dismissals... Chaminda Vaas Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'... Ruchira Perera Panagodage Don Ruchira Laksiri Perera is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-arm medium-fast bowler.... Eric Upashantha Kalutarage Eric Amila Upashantha is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He has done his higher education at Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala... Chandika Hathurusingha Upul Chandika Hathurusingha is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler.... Ruwan Kalpage Ruwan Kalpage is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler.... Niroshan Bandaratilleke Mapa Rallalage Chandima Niroshan Bandaratilleke is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a left-arm slow bowler... |
Pramodya Wickramasinghe Gallage Pramodya Wickramasinghe, commonly known as Pramodya Wickramasinghe is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-hand medium-fast bowler.... Suresh Perera Suresh Perera is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler.... Sajeewa de Silva Karunakalage Sajeewa Chanaka de Silva is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He played Test cricket for Sri Lanka in the late 1990s as a left arm fast bowler.... Upul Chandana Umagiliya Durage Upul Chandana is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. He was more specifically a leg spin bowler and was also an outstanding fielder.... |
|
Umpires
The Test matches of the Championship were officiated by two independent umpiresUmpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
of the ICC panel. This was the first time that this had occurred, traditionally one ICC umpire and one home umpire stand in Test matches. However, one home umpire was selected as the Third Umpire in each Test match. The ICC Match referee
Match referee
A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. Match referees for Test matches and One Day Internationals are appointed by the International Cricket Council...
for the entire Championship was Cammie Smith
Cammie Smith
Cameron Wilberforce Smith is a former West Indian cricketer who played in five Tests from 1960 to 1962.Smith also umpired 42 Tests and 118 ODIs....
of the West Indies.
Neutral Umpires:
- David ShepherdDavid Shepherd (umpire)David Robert Shepherd MBE was one of the cricket world's best-known umpires. He stood in 92 Test matches, the last of them in June 2005, and officiated in three World Cup finals.- Playing career :...
(EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) - Russell TiffinRussell TiffinRussell Blair Tiffin is a current international cricket umpire, and a former Test cricket umpire. He has been a member of the ICC International umpire panel since 1995. He became a member of the ICC Elite Panel in April 2001, but was demoted in February 2004 along with Asoka de Silva and Dave...
(ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
) - Doug CowieDoug Cowie (umpire)Douglas Bruce Cowie , was a New Zealander who umpired in international cricket. He officiated at New Zealand first-class level for over two decades, before a 10 years spell in international cricket which saw him officiate in 22 Tests and 71 ODIs. He umpired in the 1999 World Cup in...
(New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
) - Rudi KoertzenRudi KoertzenRudolf Eric Koertzen otherwise known as Rudi Koertzen is a former international cricket umpire. His name is pronounced in English....
(South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) - David OrchardDavid OrchardDavid Orchard is a Canadian political figure, member of the Liberal Party of Canada, who was the Liberal Party candidate for the Saskatchewan riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River in the 2008 federal election.Previously, Orchard was a member of the now defunct Progressive Conservative...
(South Africa) - Steve BucknorSteve BucknorThe Honourable Stephen Anthony Bucknor OJ, also known as Steve Bucknor, is a former international cricket umpire. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 31 May 1946. He became a high school mathematics teacher and sports coach, before becoming an international football referee and a cricket umpire...
(West Indies)
Third/TV Umpires:
- K. T. FrancisK. T. FrancisK. T. Francis, full name Kandiah Thirugnansampandapillai Francis , is a former cricket umpire. Francis officiated in 25 Tests and 56 One Day Internationals between 1982 and 1999, mostly in his own country...
(Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) - Srinivasaraghavan VenkataraghavanSrinivasaraghavan VenkataraghavanSrinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan ; is a former Indian cricketer. He played for Derbyshire in English county cricket from 1973 to 1975. He played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team, and later became an umpire on the elite International Cricket Council Test panel...
(IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) - Saleem Badar (PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
)
Scoring system
A scoring system was devised by the Asian Test Championship Technical Committee consisting of Duleep MendisDuleep Mendis
Louis Rohan Duleep Mendis is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who captained Sri Lanka to their first Test series victory in 1985. He was primarily a specialist batsman, whose best period as a player came from 1982 to 1985. His first years of school were spent at St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa...
(the tournament director), Ashantha De Mel
Ashantha De Mel
Ashantha Lakdasa Francis De Mel is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and selector for the national team. He was one of few Sri Lanka bowlers in the 1980s who could get the ball to anything above medium pace, and he was also said to have the ability to get the ball to swing out.- Cricketing career :He...
, Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
and Majid Khan. The point system was based on the scoring systems used in the Asian countries' domestic First-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
leagues.
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Win | 12 |
| Tie | 6 |
| Draw/Loss | 0 |
Bonus points were awarded to teams for good bowling
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
and batting
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
performances (see table below). A maximum of 20 points could be gained in one match (including the 12 match winning points). The bonus bowling and batting points were confined to the first 100 overs of the first innings. The two teams th the highest number of points qualify for the final. If two teams are tied on points, the team with a better run rate
Run rate
In cricket, the run rate , or runs per over is the number of runs a batsman scores in an over of 6 balls. It includes all runs, even the so-called extras awarded due to errors by the bowler. Without extras and overthrows, the maximum run rate is 36 – if every ball were struck for six and, as...
in the first 100 overs will go through. If the final ends in a draw, the side with the higher bonus points will win.
| Runs Scored | Bonus Points | Wickets Taken | Bonus Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 350+ | 4 | 9-10 | 4 |
| 300-349 | 3 | 7-8 | 3 |
| 225-299 | 2 | 5-6 | 2 |
| 150-224 | 1 | 3-4 | 1 |
| 1Assessed on the first 100 overs of the 1st innings | |||
1st Test: v 6 - 10 February 1999
| Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Bonus Batting |
Bonus Bowling |
Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| India | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2nd Test: v 24 - 28 February 1999
| Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Bonus Batting |
Bonus Bowling |
Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| India | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
3rd Test: v 4 - 8 March 1999
| Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Bonus Batting |
Bonus Bowling |
Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 25 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| India | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 10 |