| Sports |
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| Sanath
determined to play despite injury
Gritty Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya is determined to take the field on Monday against India in the second super six match, despite his double injury. Sri Lanka team manager Mr. Ajith Jayasekara confirmed yesterday that his captain might lead the side on Monday at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. "He is very determined to play" said the manager. The tour selection
committee is in deep trouble here in South Africa since experienced
middle order Hashan Tillakaratne is also suffering from a hamstring
injury while Mahela Jayawardane is dreadfully out of form. Jayawardane
had scored only 16 runs in his five World Cup innings. The tour
selection committee was seriously considering yesterday about Jayawardane's
place for tomorrow's game. "Jayawar-dane himself is disappointed
most, but we have given him so many opportunities. “This is the World Cup. We cannot wait till something to happen and must take a decision" said manager Ajith Jayasekara. Given the situation, 21 year old Jehan Mubarak will wear his maiden World Cup cap. Mubarak has played only five One-Day Matches and scored 48 runs. Two Brett Lee
deliveries hit the Sri Lankan skipper in the second over of the
first super six match played against Australia, at Centurion, last
Friday. Jayasuriya left the crease and did not return until Australia
completed a modest victory to book their birth in the semi-finals
of the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup. Early in the second over, a real
bullet from the Brett Lee armoury hit Jayasuriya's thumb. The southpaw
could cope with the pain and face the challenge but couple of balls
later he was hit by yet another wood seeking missile and his left
arm was badly bruised within minutes. In fact Jayasuriya
had received a nasty blow during the match against West Indies but
the courageous captain braved to play against South Africa and Australia
without much concern. It was the same finger, which was hit on Friday.
The X-Rays taken at the hospital on Friday revealed that there is
a hairline fracture in the captain's left thumb. Although his bruised
arm is almost back to its normal by yesterday, it's the fractured
finger that could pose problems for him in the next few matches.
Possibly he may bat. The question is whether Sri Lanka is going
to miss the much-needed variation in bowling as there is no other
left arm spinner in the squad. The left thumb does a great deal of work in spinning the ball for any left arm bowler. If Tillakaratne is going to sit and watch his colleagues play tomorrow, Jayasuriya may push himself into the team, simply because Sri Lanka cannot afford to lose at this stage of the World Cup. Tillakaratne has played in 195 matches and Sanath Jayasuriya played his 294th game last Friday while Mahela Jayawardane appeared in his 138th ODI. |
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