Lankan 'Lions' remain stranded in London

London, May 2 (UNI) It turned out to be long haul for the Sri Lankan fans waiting to welcome the return of their cricketing heroes as the entire World Cup squad have been left stranded in London after their connecting flight back to Colombo was cancelled due to an air attack by the Tamil Tigers on Sunday.

The 15-man squad including the management team is now slated to return home tomorrow after Emirates Airline, in which they were earlier booked, had suspended all flight operations to the Lankan capital after Sunday's attack.

''We knew there was a danger our flight home on Emirates would be delayed because of security concerns following the weekend attack,'' team Manager Michael Tissera told the BBC.

''But we also knew that we would have to come to London to see if it could be sorted out.'' ''We have arranged to take a Qatar Airways flight instead, which arrives in Colombo on May 3 at seven in the morning,'' he added.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board has announced that it had no plans to change the schedule of the celebrations to mark the team's appearance in the World Cup final.

''The parade and reception at Independence Square will go ahead as planned,'' Sri Lanka Cricket's media spokesman, Samantha Algama said.

The Tigers attack took place as fans in Colombo were watching the World Cup final in Barbados in which the Lankans were outclassed by Australia to clinch the World Champions tag for the third consecutive time.

However, the Sri Lanka Tourist Board has issued a statement saying that Sunday's attack had caused little damage and that the country still remained a safe place for tourists.

UNI