Gibbs ruled out of first Test

Just over a day after arriving in Sri Lanka, South Africa have received a jolt with the news of Herschelle Gibbs being unavailable for the first Test.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, said that Gibbs was surely ruled out of the first Test before adding, "The physio is working hard to get him going for the second Test." Gibbs twisted his right ankle at the training camp at Pretoria five days ago but was brought along with the squad in the hope that he might recover. Smith said that Andrew Puttick, the left-handed batsman from Cape Town, had joined the squad as cover for Gibbs.

Talking about the three-day practice match against a Sri Lanka President's XI starting at the CCC grounds on Friday, Smith said, "We are hoping we can give an opportunity to everyone. They haven't been in the middle for a long time. It's going to be important for the players to get a run out there and see what you can come up with. I think it is an important game and will be highly beneficial for us."

Smith also spoke about the importance of getting acclimatised to conditions in the sub-continent. "It's winter in South Africa and it's not easy to work in similar conditions as we will have to work over here. Our preparations ahead of the first Test is really important. We start our work plan on Friday. We will have to make the most of it."

Smith summed up the threat posed by Muttiah Muralitharan by saying that he would be "a handful even without bowling the doosra". "We've got to get our confidence to match our ability. The confidence and our mental strength - if we can get those two things to match our ability, we will be one hell of a powerful side."

Eric Simons, the coach, said that this was an ideal chance for South Africa to improve their position in the ICC Test rankings. South Africa who were at No. 2 for a long time, were recently displaced by England. "Our main concern is that most sides are behind Australia and we need to close that gap. We don't want to be No. 2, but No. 1."

The last time South Africa toured Sri Lanka, under Shaun Pollock in 1999, they managed to draw the series 1-1.

South African squad
Graeme Smith (capt), Andrew Puttick, Jacques Kallis, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Rudolph, Martin van Jaarsveld, Mark Boucher (wk), Nicky Boje, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener, Robin Peterson, Andre Nel, Nantie Hayward, Makhaya Ntini, Herschelle Gibbs

Jean-Paul Duminy and Alan Dawson will replace Dippenaar and Hayward for the one-day series.