|
Chanaka Welegedara
will not bowl again in the Boxing Day Test and is unlikely to recover
in time for the third Test, after initial scans revealed a tear in his
right hamstring. Wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene
is unable to keep wickets for the remainder of the Test, having
fractured his right thumb while batting the previous day, but the Sri
Lanka management are hopeful he will bat in the second innings. Kumar
Sangakkara has taken the gloves in his stead.
In addition, scans on Thursday revealed Nuwan Kulasekara was suffering
from a hairline fracture to a rib, which was originally thought to be
nothing more than bruising. He suffered the injury when he took a blow
to the ribs on the final day in Hobart, and was left out of the second
Test when he was unable to bowl comfortably in the nets, in the lead-up
to the match. Sri Lanka are hopeful that both Kulasekara and Jayawardene
will be available for the Sydney Test which begins on January 3rd, but
their condition will be reassessed closer to the start of that Test.
Having opened the bowling for Sri Lanka on the second morning,
Welegedara was halfway through his fourth over, when he pulled up during
his approach to the crease. He bent down to stretch his right
hamstring, and appeared to be in discomfort as he left the field.
Shaminda Eranga completed his over. Welegedara will undergo another scan
on Friday to confirm the extent of the damage, but the situation does
not look promising, batting coach Marvan Atapattu said after play on day
two.
Welegedara has had an injury-plagued year, having missed eight months of
Test cricket with two separate injuries. He strained his groin in March
during the home series against England and though he had recovered from
that by June, he tore a shoulder muscle as Sri Lanka prepared to play
Pakistan later in the month. The Hobart Test against Australia was his
first taste of competitive cricket since March, as his recovery period
did not coincide with Sri Lanka's domestic season.
He is regarded as the leader of Sri Lanka's pace attack, and his
presence was missed on day two, when Australia amassed a lead nearing
300, with two wickets still intact. Welegedara had been the leading
wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in the first Test in Hobart.
The loss of Jayawardene may have also hurt Sri Lanka, with two clear-cut
chances having been missed by Sangakkara behind the stumps. Shane
Watson was spilled late on day one as Sangakkara dived to his right, and
a difficult stumping chance off Michael Clarke also went begging in the
first session on day two. Clarke and Watson made 106 and 83
respectively, and were involved in a 196-run partnership that took
Australia to a commanding position from 117 for 3.
Andrew Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent
Feeds: Andrew Fernando
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
No comments:
Post a Comment