Sri Lanka rest big guns for practice match

Sri Lanka will rest some of their big guns, including their injured wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana, for the three-day practice match against a West Indies Cricket Board President's XI starting at Arnos Vale grounds here on June 14.

Kaluwitharana was hit on the mouth during the West Indian innings of the third and final one-day international played here on Wednesday, and suffered a cut on his upper lip which required five stitches. Along with him, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas are also being rested, so as to give some useful match practice to the three players flown in from Colombo especially for the Test series.

Sri Lanka's Test captain, Hashan Tillakaratne, middle-order batsman Tilan Samaraweera and uncapped 22-year-old fast bowler Thilan Thushara are due to play in what will be Sri Lanka's only game ahead of the two-Test series.

Tillakaratne will take over the captaincy from Marvan Atapattu, who led the team to a 2-1 win over the West Indies in the one-day series. Upul Chandana, who had played a matchwinning innings of 89 in the second one-dayer, and Naveed Nawaz returned to Colombo after the one-day series was over.

Sri Lanka's manager, Ajith Jayasekera, has said that Kaluwitharana's injury was not all that serious and that he would be fit for the Test series, starting at St Lucia on June 20. Tillakaratne Dilshan was expected to take over the gloves for the three-day match.

Darren Ganga was named to captain the Cricket Board President's XI, which comprises six players with Test experience. Apart from Ganga it consists of Carlton Baugh, the wicketkeeper batsman, fast bowlers Tino Best and Daren Powell, left-hand batsman Devon Smith and the allrounder David Bernard.

Jerome Taylor, an 18-year-old fast bowler who made a fine one-day debut against Sri Lanka earlier in the week, is also among the 13 players named for the match.

West Indies Cricket Board President's XI (from) Daren Ganga (capt), Carlton Baugh (wk), Jason Bennett, David Bernard, Tino Best, Dwayne Bravo, Narsingh Deonarine, Ryan Hinds, Aniel Kanhai, Dave Mohammed, Daren Powell, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor.