Sri Lanka’s bowling spearhead, Dhammika Prasad will sit out the second warm-up match against Leicestershire which starts on Friday.
The third and final day’s play between Essex and Sri Lanka was washed-out on Tuesday due to persistent rain in Chelmsford and the game ended in a tame draw despite Essex dominating the proceedings on both days.
The 32-year-old left the field on Monday as he was unable to complete his 18th over due to a shoulder injury and later went on to have a scan on Tuesday which proved inconclusive. Prasad is an integral part of the Sri Lankan chances of beating the in-form England outfit led by Alastair Cook. He was monumental during the second Test in 2014 taking a five-wicket haul which eventually gave the first Test series win for Sri Lanka on English soil.
The management and the medical staff will closely monitor Prasad’s injury in the next couple of days in Leicester before taking a final decision on his availability to play the first Test against England which starts on 19th May at Headingley, Leeds.
Sri Lankan bowlers were taken to the cleaners by the young Essex batting lineup as they accumulated 412 for 4 in 100 overs in reply to the Tourists’ first innings score of 254. Sri Lanka were 42-2 in their second innings ,116 runs behind before the weather had the final say.
“Yesterday was a long day for the bowlers, and I’m sure they will have benefited from that; time in the legs, having to bowl long spells and hit good areas for sustained periods. We batted on quite a lively wicket on day one, which was a test and some players showed some form on that, then the wicket did get a bit flatter and we had to work quite hard with the ball. That’s a pretty reasonable exercise, I’d say.” – Sri Lankan head coach Graham Ford told the media after the game against Essex.
According to the reliable sources, Rangana Herath, Dushmantha Chameera, Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Thirimanne are set to make appearances for Sri Lanka in the second warm-up game after missing out the first tour game.
Meanwhile, England are set to name their squad on Thursday morning.
