Gibbs a doubt for Sri Lanka trip

Herschelle Gibbs has emerged as a doubt for South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka in August, after injuring his ankle in a training session on Thursday. "There is enough doubt for us to make preparations to call up a substitute," said Eric Simons, South Africa's coach, after Gibbs sustained the injury at the High Performance Centre at Tuks University in Pretoria.

"We have spoken to the selection committee, and if necessary will call in a replacement. However, we are reasonably confident that he will be able to come with us on Monday."

South Africa are scheduled to play two Tests and five one-day internationals on their trip, which kickstarts another arduous season of cricket, which also includes the Champions Trophy in England, a two-Test tour of India in November, and the visit of England over Christmas and New Year.

"We have a very big season, with many challenges, coming up," said Simons. "Last season was very up and down. The team and some individual players enjoyed some great successes, but there were also a number of disappointments. We spent this week looking back and looking ahead, and I believe that in two or three seasons, we will look back on this week and see it as a major step ahead."

"Conditions in the sub-continent are unique," said Graeme Smith, South Africa's captain. "When we travel to England or New Zealand, the conditions are similar to what we have grown up with here. But we have to do a lot of preparation for Sri Lanka. I have been doing a lot of reading about the conditions there, and I guess we have to be prepared to mix and match. We may even have some strange field settings."