Sri Lankan spin wizard doubtful for
second Test
Cardiff, May 24: Sri Lanka's hopes of having spin genius
Muttiah Muralitharan fit in time for the second Test against
England next week look doomed after he failed to impress in a
brief practice session here Thursday.
The
30-year-old, who has taken 412 test wickets in 73 matches and was
sorely missed in the drawn first Test at Lord's, briefly turned
his right arm on the outfield before Sri Lanka's match with
Glamorgan, but his action is still restricted by the injury to his
left shoulder.
Team
manager Chandra Schaafter does not expect Muralitharan to be ready
for the second Test at Edgbaston which starts on May 30, but is
still holding out hope he might be fit for the third Test at Old
Trafford.
"It seems
very unlikely he will play in the second Test and we are only
hoping he can play in the third," he said.
"There is
nothing yet to indicate he will and nothing to indicate he won't.
It is just a matter of how quickly he gets back into shape."
Meanwhile,
Sri Lanka are waiting to see video evidence from the International
Cricket Council (ICC) before confronting the problem of the
suspect bowling action of the 25-year-old left-arm paceman Ruchira
Perera, who was reported by the umpires after the drawn first Test
at Lord's.
Perera was
one of six members of the Lord's Test team not on duty against
Glamorgan.
"We are
waiting for the video tapes to arrive," Schaafter said.
"I have
been promised them Friday or the day after by the ICC and after we
get them we will start to work on what we see."
He said
the Sri Lanka coaches will initially endeavour to solve any
problems and there are no plans, as yet, to involve any other
bowling experts.
"This
problem never came up before. He has played seven Test matches and
there has never been a hint of anything like this. It came as a
big surprise to everyone," he added.
On the
pitch the Sri Lankans continued to impress with the bat as
wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara led the way with 113 in a total of
337-7.
"We seem
to score more runs when the sun is out, as we did at Lord's. I
hope it keeps shining all summer," Schaafter said.
