1998–99 Asian Test Championship Explained

1998-99 Asian Test Championship
Administrator:Asian Cricket Council
Cricket Format:Test
Tournament Format:Round-robin and final
Host: India
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Count:1
Participants:3
Matches:4
Player Of The Series: Wasim Akram
Most Runs: M. Jayawardene (297)
Most Wickets: Wasim Akram (15)
Next Year:2001–02
Next Tournament:2001-02 Asian Test Championship

The first Asian Test Championship, organized by the Asian Cricket Council was held between 16 February and 16 March 1999.[1] 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 nine member nations.[1] The tournament was almost canceled in January 1999 due to tour conflicts, television rights and security concerns.[2] [3] [4]

Three round-robin tournament matches were played with each team 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: India (Calcutta), Sri Lanka (Colombo) and Pakistan (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.[5] 'Man of the Series', Wasim Akram, won US$20,000, while 'Man of the Match' winners received US$5,000 in prize money.

Squads

[6] [7] [8]
1st & 2nd Test1st Test2nd TestFinal1st Test2nd TestFinal
  • Wasim Akram *
  • +Moin Khan
  • Saeed Anwar
  • Imran Nazir
  • Wajahatullah Wasti
  • Shahid Afridi
  • Ijaz Ahmed
  • Shahid Nazir
  • Yousuf Youhana
  • Azhar Mahmood
  • Inzamam-ul-Haq
  • Shoaib Akhtar
  • Saqlain Mushtaq
  • Arshad Khan
  • Aravinda de Silva
  • Russel Arnold
  • Marvan Atapattu
  • Avishka Gunawardene
  • Mahela Jayawardene
  • Hashan Tillakaratne
  • +Romesh Kaluwitharana
  • Upul Chandana
  • Chaminda Vaas
  • Pramodya Wickramasinghe
  • Sajeewa de Silva
  • Niroshan Bandaratilake
  • Chandika Hathurusingha
  • Ruwan Kalpage

Umpires

The matches were officiated by two independent umpires 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.[5]

Neutral Umpires:

Third umpires:

Scoring system

A scoring system was devised by the Asian Test Championship Technical Committee consisting of Duleep Mendis (tournament director), Ashantha De Mel, Sunil Gavaskar and Majid Khan.[5] It was based on the systems used in the Asian countries' domestic leagues.[9]

Points
Result Points[10]
Win12
Tie6
Draw/Loss0

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 with 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.[11]

Bonus Points1
Runs ScoredBonus PointsWickets TakenBonus Points
350+49–104
300–34937–83
225–29925–62
150–22413–41
1Assessed on the first 100 overs of the 1st innings

Match results

1st Test: India v Pakistan

Points Table after 1st Test
TeamMatchesWonDrawnLostBonus
Batting
Bonus
Bowling
Total Points
Pakistan11001417
India1001145
Sri Lanka0000000

2nd Test: Sri Lanka v India

Points Table after 2nd Test
TeamMatchesWonDrawnLostBonus
Batting
Bonus
Bowling
Total Points
Pakistan11001417
India20115510
Sri Lanka1010224

3rd Test: Pakistan v Sri Lanka

Points Table after 3rd Test
TeamMatchesWonDrawnLostBonus
Batting
Bonus
Bowling
Total Points
Pakistan21105825
Sri Lanka20206511
India20115510

Final: Pakistan v Sri Lanka

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Christie. Peter. Asian Test Championship from Feb 14 to March 17. ESPNcricinfo. 24 December 1998. 14 June 2017. 11 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121111165424/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/74734.html. live.
  2. News: Asian Test Championship: Pakistan to opt out if tour is cancelled. ESPNcricinfo. 13 January 1999. 14 June 2017. 6 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306084946/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/80425.html. live.
  3. News: Asian Test championships may be called off. ESPNcricinfo. Agence France-Presse. 27 January 1999. 14 June 2017. 6 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306052419/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/80018.html. live.
  4. News: Fate of Asian Test event still hangs in balance. ESPNcricinfo. 29 January 1999. 14 June 2017. 7 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160307053451/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/80017.html. live.
  5. News: Thawfeeq. Sa'adi. Inaugural Asian Test championhips. ESPNcricinfo. 11 February 1999. 14 June 2017. 2 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170402171808/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/79324.html. live.
  6. Web site: Asian Test Cricket Championship, February - March 1999: Indian Squad. ESPNcricinfo. 14 June 2017. 2 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002090141/http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1998-99/ASIA-TEST/ASIA-TEST_FEB-MAR1999_IND-SQUAD.html. live.
  7. Web site: Asian Test Cricket Championship, February - March 1999: Pakistani Squad. ESPNcricinfo. 14 June 2017. 2 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002090146/http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1998-99/ASIA-TEST/ASIA-TEST_FEB-MAR1999_PAK-SQUAD.html. live.
  8. Web site: Asian Test Cricket Championship, February - March 1999: Sri Lankan Squad. ESPNcricinfo. 14 June 2017. 2 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002090156/http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1998-99/ASIA-TEST/ASIA-TEST_FEB-MAR1999_SL-SQUAD.html. live.
  9. News: Asian Test Championships: Committee to suggest playing conditions. ESPNcricinfo. 28 December 1998. 14 June 2017. 4 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160604053447/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/74733.html. live.
  10. Web site: Asian Test Cricket Championship, February - March 1999: Points Table. ESPNcricinfo. 14 June 2017. 2 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002090201/http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1998-99/ASIA-TEST/ASIA-TEST_FEB-MAR1999_TABLE.html. live.
  11. News: Points at stake in the Asian Test Championship. ESPNcricinfo. 11 February 1999. 14 June 2017. 16 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170816014453/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/79323.html. live.