The Sri Lankan team got some bad news after it was revealed that skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan is likely to miss the final Test against England due to a thumb injury.
The third and final Test is to be played at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl ground from Thursday.
Dilshan suffered a broken thumb after being hit twice by England fast bowler Chris Tremlett on his way to 193, the highest Test score by a Sri Lankan at Lord’s, in the drawn second Test.
Talking about the injury, Sri Lanka interim coach Stuart Law said, “There is no change at this stage. His thumb is still in a splint, he is also in some discomfort at this stage and the medical team has said that he is highly likely to miss the Test.”
“So the game against Essex has proved very useful because it’s allowed a couple of our batsmen to get amongst the runs,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.
If Dilshan is ruled out, the uncapped Lahiru Thirimanne, who made a century against Essex, is set to take his place. “Young Lahiru Thirimanne, who is only 21, batted well in our first innings and hit 104 before we retired him out, which was a good indication that he was hitting the ball as good as he could,” Law said.
Kumar Sangakkara is in line to lead the side at the Rose Bowl, where the tourists will be looking to square the series after an innings defeat in the first Test at Cardiff, if the opener is unfit.
 |
                                                                                           |
 |