|| Sport

dailynews
ONLINE

Nuwan, Prasanna recalled for England tour

Sa'adi THAWFEEQ

CRICKET: Left-arm fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa and wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene were recalled to the Sri Lanka squad for the tour of England later this month.

The national cricket selectors picked a team of 16 players for the three Test series which will precede the five-match one-day internationals for which they will name a separate squad later. The first Test is scheduled to start at Lord's on June 11.

Zoysa makes a comeback to the national team after two years. He played the last of his 30 Tests for his country against Australia at Cairns in July 2004.

Zoysa in fact takes the place of Dilhara Fernando who has been left out to sort out his problem of bowling no-balls.

Zoysa was overlooked because of his lack of commitment. But in the recently concluded domestic season he took 26 wickets (avg. 19.30) from nine matches to help SSC clinch the Premier trophy league title.

Selection committee sources said that Jayawardene has been included in the team as reserve wicket-keeper to Kumar Sangakkara. As it is a long tour with so many side games against county sides the consensus of opinion amongst the selectors is that Sangakkara should not be burdened too much.

Since making his Test debut in 2000, Jayawardene has appeared in only five Tests and is not expected to make it to the Test team unless he runs into good form with the bat.

The inability to put enough runs on the board against his name has seen Jayawardene sidelined and his place taken by an all-rounder in the side.

With a question mark hanging over the fitness of skipper Marvan Atapattu, the selectors have named Jehan Mubarak as standby. Atapattu has been struggling to overcome a recurring back injury and he is expected to make a final decision on his fitness this week.

Apart from Atapattu, the other two openers named in the squad are Upul Tharanga and Michael van Dort.

In Atapattu's absence for the recently concluded home Test and one-day series against Pakistan, vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene led the team. He may be expected to do so again if Atapattu does not pull through.

Batsman Chamara Kapugedera at 19 is not only the youngest member of the team but is also the only uncapped player in the side.

Selection committee sources said that fast bowler Ruchira Perera was not considered for selection because he had not recovered sufficiently from a hamstring injury. They were hopeful that he will be fit for the one-day series which starts in June.

SRI LANKA TEST SQUAD FOR ENGLAND

Age Tests

Batsmen

M.S. Atapattu, c (SSC) 35 88

D.P.M.D. Jayawardene, vc (SSC)28 78

K.C. Sangakkara (NCC) 28 57

W.U. Tharanga (NCC) 21 5

D.M. van Dort (CCC) 26 4

T.M. Dilshan (Bloomfield) 29 34

T.T. Samaraweera (SSC) 29 37

C.K. Kapugedera (CCC) 19 -

Fast Bowlers