COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will host South Africa for two Tests, five One-day internationals and a one-off Twenty20 game from July, the island nation’s cricket board said on Wednesday.

The Proteas, who thrashed Australia 3-1 in their recent home Test series, will arrive in Sri Lanka in early July for their sixth tour of the island.

The first Test in Galle starts on July 12 followed by the second at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo starting July 20.

The limited-overs action begins with an ODI on July 29 in Dambulla. The series will wrap up with a T20 showdown at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Aug 14.

South Africa claimed series wins in Sri Lanka during the 1993 and 2014 tours.

The original tour schedule had involved three Tests, according to reports, but Sri Lanka Cricket asked for one of these to be replaced by an extended limited overs series that is more commercially viable.

“This will be a very important tour for us,” CSA acting Chief Executive Thabang Moroe said in a statement. “We have a lot of exciting, young players coming into our side in all three formats and, with so much of our international cricket being played on the sub-continent these days it is important they get used to those conditions as soon as possible.

“The ODI series forms an important part of our team preparation for next year’s World Cup in England.”

South Africa are ranked second in Test cricket and have been a dominant side at home, with recent wins over Bangladesh, India and Australia.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2018