Sri Lanka name second-string side

Sri Lanka have decided to rest five of their key players, including their captain Marvan Atapattu, for the fourth one-day international against Zimbabwe in Harare tomorrow. In Atapattu's absence, Mahela Jayawardene will captain his country for the first time, but even with a second-string team at his disposal, defeat is inconceivable against a side that was bundled out for 35 in the third match on Sunday.

Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan and Nuwan Zoysa have all been rested to give opportunities to the lesser names in the squad. The uncapped left-hander Thilina Kandamby, the fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara and the legspinner Upul Chandana will all play.

Vaas has been the star of the series so far. He has picked up successive Man-of-the-Match awards on the way to becoming only the sixth bowler in one-day international history to take 300 wickets. "There is probably a lack of experience in the side," admitted Jayawardene, as he looked forward to his captaincy debut. "But the guys who are playing tomorrow have enough experience going on A tours and I hope they use it and do well."

Meanwhile, the onus falls on his opposite number Tatenda Taibu to provide the runs, if Zimbabwe are to be remotely competitive - his first-ball duck on Sunday sounded the death knell for his team's hopes. "The batting in the first 15 overs has been a concern," he admitted. "It is the main area we are concentrating on. We haven't given the bowlers enough runs to play around with. It is up to the individuals really to find out how they can play their best cricket.

"Before this series we said to ourselves we are young, we are inexperienced. Let's not hide from the fact that we will face some tough times and we will have some interesting and good times as well," said Taibu. "But the main thing was to stay together throughout every stage. It is good to see that the boys have listened and are giving their 100 percent."