May 26, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 09, 1428

COLOMBO, May 25: Sri Lankan pace spearhead Chaminda Vaas has opted out of next month's Afro-Asia One-day International cricket series. Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan said on Friday that Vaas, who is playing county cricket in England for Middlesex, informed the SLC that he will be unavailable.

The three-match ODI series between the combined Asian and African continent teams, organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), is to be played in Bangalore on June 6 and in Chennai from June 9-10.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene is billed to captain the combined Asian team picked by the ACC selection committee and made up of nominees from all four Asian Test-playing nations – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Vaas joined Middlesex to play for the Lord's-based county in the early part of the English season.

He is due to return to Sri Lanka mid-June to play in the home series against Bangladesh.—AFP