Ballot forms for the Sri Lanka Test at Lord's next May will be sent to MCC members today despite continuing doubt about the nature of the two-match series. The ECB has told Durham, who host the second match, to wait until being given authorisation by the board to establish when the sale of tickets can begin.

Dates for the tour, including warm-up fixtures and five one-day internationals, have already been announced, but the leading Sri Lanka players, including Mahela Jayawardena, the captain, remain determined to fulfil commitments in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), despite a clash with the visit to England.

Explaining the instruction to Durham, the ECB said that it was awaiting confirmation from the ICC of dates for international events in 2009, namely the Champions Trophy postponed last month because of security worries in Pakistan. But there will be concern about the credibility of playing a Sri Lanka second string.

The situation in Colombo appears to have reached an impasse with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), which is understandably keen to press on with a trip that would earn a fee of about £1 million from the ECB. Players, on the other hand, insist that before the England tour was agreed they were promised the chance to play in the IPL.

Gamini Lokuge, the Sports and Recreation Minister, instructed SLC this week to stop its IPL-contracted players touring England while at the same time saying that he did not want the series to be cancelled. Twelve players have signed for the franchises, the latest being Ajantha Mendis, the ICC Emerging Player of the Year.

A possible compromise is for players to arrive after the trip starts - as happened with New Zealand players this year - with compensation for loss of IPL earnings. However, the ECB realises that dates may have to be tweaked or the balance adjusted between five-day and one-day matches.

The situation was further confused yesterday when the Pakistan Cricket Board announced details of a three-year deal to play triangular limited-overs matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the new Dubai Sports City stadium from next April - another possible clash with the IPL, due to run from April 10 to May 29.

Bombay is to stage the final of the inaugural Champions League, scheduled from December 3 to 10. Middlesex are the sole English county invited to take part alongside the leading Twenty20 teams from Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan.

David Morgan, the ICC president, has agreed to meet representatives of the “rebel” Indian Cricket League (ICL) about their attempt to gain official recognition, despite opposition from the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The ICL may say that a precedent has been set by the ICC accepting the Stanford Twenty20 as “sanctioned unofficial”.