Jayawardene not consulted over Jayasuriya selection

Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from England

CRICKET: The controversy surrounding the selection of veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya took a new twist when it was revealed at the end of the Lord's Test against England that Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene was not even consulted by the chairman of selectors Ashantha de Mel before taking the decision.

It seems that De Mel who took over as chairman from Lalith Kaluperuma at the beginning of the month has thrust Jayasuriya down the Lankan team's throat using political influence, which has in fact not gone down well with the rest of the side.

"The decision to pick Sanath was a decision taken in Colombo. As captain I wasn't involved in the discussions. The only discussions I was involved with the chairman of selectors was the combination of the team for the first Test," said Jayawardene.

Jayawardene however welcomed the presence of Jayasuriya in the team and said: "It is always good to have experience in the team. Sanath's coming gives us more options in our batting and bowling. It is good news for us."

Jayawardene said that he would have the chance to sit with the management and possibly with the new chairman of selectors (who is due to arrive here) and discuss the issues that had cropped up in the past few days.

"We have ten days before the next test match, to sort everything out," said Jayawardene.

Team manager Michael Tissera when contacted said that he had no knowledge of De Mel coming to England and that he had not been informed of such a move.