Kiwis caught up in Lanka for third time

A visit by the New Zealand cricket team to Sri Lanka coincided with a terrorist attack for the third time in 15 years when a suicide assault by Tamil Tiger rebels closed Colombo's international airport on Tuesday.

A New Zealand team were in Colombo in 1987 when a car bomb killed more than 100 people and their three-Test tour was eventually cut to just one.

On their next trip to the island in late 1992, a bomb blast outside the team hotel severely disrupted the tour.

Five of the New Zealand players flew home to be replaced by four others -- including John Wright, the current coach of India, the other team in the triangular series.

At least 14 people were killed and 12 more wounded in the pre-dawn attack on Tuesday, the military said. Five civilian airliners and eight military aircraft were destroyed or damaged.

The Sri Lanka cricket board has promised to increase security for the rest of the tournament, which ends on August 5.

"You are a little bit wary if you watch the news on television," New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said. "The reports coming in are alarming but we feel pretty safe."

The Asian Netball Championship, involving eight countries, also started on Monday in Sri Lanka and officials said the tournament would go ahead as planned.

In 1996, shortly after a massive blast levelled Sri Lanka's central bank, Australia and the West Indies pulled out of preliminary World Cup round matches to be played on the island.

Sri Lanka's subsequent win over Australia in the final of the tournament was also taken as a personal victory by Sri Lankans.

Mail Cricket Editor