The Asian Test Championship was a Test cricket tournament contested by the Test-playing nations of Asia : India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka and Bangladesh . It was held only twice, in 1998–99 and in 2001–02 . It was originally planned to be held every two years, alternately with the Asia Cup . The third Championship was delayed for four years due to conflicting tours of the participating members. In 2006, the Asian Cricket Council cancelled the Asian Test Championship, as well as the Asian and African Cup, due to the tightly packed international cricket tour schedule.
18-406: The tournament winners were Pakistan in 1998–99 and Sri Lanka in 2001–02 . Both tournaments contained three teams. The Asian Test Championship is only the second example of a Test cricket tournament involving more than two teams, the first being the 1912 Triangular Tournament , which was held between Australia , England and South Africa . This tournament was considered to be the predecessor to
36-632: A batting collapse. He was hit in the head by Jeff Thomson in a match versus Australia, and when able to speak again, told the Australians "I am going now", retiring hurt on 32. It took seven more years before Mendis got to play a Test match ; on 17 February 1982 he joined forces with the other Sri Lankans against England . In that match, he was sent in to bat at number four, but only made 17 and 27 in Sri Lanka's seven-wicket defeat. More defeats followed, and in his first eight innings he only recorded one fifty, in
54-449: 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
72-456: A respectable batting average of 25.33, Mendis' fortunes were the reverse of the Sri Lankan side. Sri Lanka lost the games in which he made reasonable scores, while Mendis made a duck in Sri Lanka's only win. Mendis recorded a string of poor scores on New Zealand 's tour of the island in 1984, only passing 20 once in six Test innings. By this time, however, he was established as the captain of
90-566: The ICC World Test Championship that the International Cricket Council (ICC) was planning for the 9 member nations. Ranking: Ranking: Bangladesh , Pakistan , Sri Lanka competed in the second Asian Test Championship between August 2001 and March 2002. India pulled out of the tournament due to political tensions with Pakistan . Pakistan and Sri Lanka both played Bangladesh in the two round robin matches. A win
108-568: The Test Cricket World Cup that the ICC was planning for the nine 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 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
126-428: The 1985 Indian tour. Mendis led from the front, scoring three fifties and one series-saving century in the third Test , as India were defeated 1–0 in three Tests. After that tour, which also included a drawn ODI series, Mendis' career declined, and by the end of his career it was probably only his captaincy that kept him in. He made two Test fifties in his last ten Tests, and two ODI fifties in his last 32 ODIs following
144-513: The draw. Again, the openers fell for single-digit scores, and again Mendis made 105 – which helped Sri Lanka bat until tea on the fifth day. Sri Lanka eventually drew the Test, their first drawn Test series in their history. In the 1983 Cricket World Cup , Mendis recorded his third One Day International fifty (the previous two came in the 1979 World Cup and on tour to Pakistan in 1982). However, despite
162-500: 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. The matches were officiated by two independent umpires of the ICC panel. This
180-456: 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. Duleep Mendis Deshamanya Louis Rohan Duleep Mendis (born 25 August 1952), known as Duleep Mendis , is a Sri Lankan former cricketer and former captain of the team. Mendis captained Sri Lanka to their first Test series victory in 1985. He
198-457: The first Test of three against Pakistan . However, on tour of India in the northern autumn of 1982 he showed his real skill. Sri Lanka had lost two early wickets for 11 runs, and Mendis was sent in to bat with Roy Dias . Their partnership was worth 153 runs, then a third-wicket record for Sri Lanka, and Mendis' maiden century helped Sri Lanka bat out the first day. Then, India amassed 566 for 6 before declaring , leaving Sri Lanka to try to save
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#1732852295096216-522: The second Asian Test championship. 1998-99 Asian Test Championship The first Asian Test Championship , organized by the Asian Cricket Council was held between 16 February and 16 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
234-475: The side, and still picked for the Test match in England that English summer. Mendis made his third Test century as Sri Lanka smashed 491 for 7 batting first amid the rain, and the first Test century by a Sri Lankan captain while in office. Sri Lanka drew that Test. A poor World Series Cup in 1984–85 followed, where Sri Lanka only won one out of ten ODIs , and Mendis was out in single figures four times. Then came
252-453: The visiting Tamil Nadu side. Mendis top-scored in the first innings with 52, and also made 34 in the second innings, but could not prevent an innings defeat. This match did not have international status, and indeed Mendis represented Sri Lanka in a number of non-internationals. His first ODI , however, came during the first Cricket World Cup in 1975, when he made 8 against the West Indies in
270-475: Was based on the systems used in the Asian countries' domestic 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 with the highest number of points qualify for
288-636: Was primarily a specialist batsman , whose best performances came from 1982 to 1985. He is currently the coach of the Oman national cricket team . He was awarded the Deshamanya (Sri Lanka's second-highest national honour) in 1996. He spent his college life at St. Sebastian's College , Moratuwa and S. Thomas' College , Mount Lavinia. Mendis also captained the Under 20 1st XI sides of both colleges. Mendis made his debut for Sri Lanka in 1972, batting at number three against
306-710: 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 umpires : 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 . It
324-609: Was worth 16 points, a tie 8 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. Pakistan and Sri Lanka qualified for the final after convincingly beating Bangladesh in Multan Cricket Stadium in Pakistan and Colombo in Sri Lanka. The final was held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore , Pakistan. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets to win
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