Caribbean batting superstar Brian Lara and wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs willboth make comebacks from injury on Saturday when West Indies play Sri Lanka`A’ in a three-day practice game
Charlie Austin02-Nov-2001Caribbean batting superstar Brian Lara and wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs willboth make comebacks from injury on Saturday when West Indies play Sri Lanka`A’ in a three-day practice game.Lara pulled out from the West Indies tour to Zimbabwe in July because of ahamstring injury and Saturday’s game will be his first first-class game inover three-months.He did score a hundred for Trinidad in a domestic one-day match but admitsto not having fully recovered from the injury, which he first sustainedduring the West Indies tour of England last year.The team management, though, believed the inclusion the partially fit recordbreaking left-hander was a risk worth taking during a tough tour of SriLanka.The 31-year-old took part a full part in a grueling three-hour trainingsession at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo and afterwards captain CarlHooper confirmed that Lara would play in the tour opener."We have got a couple of niggles in the squad, Sarwan has a sore back andColin Stuart as a side strain, but Brian (Lara), though not fully fit, hasbeen passed fit enough to play tomorrow," said Hooper.Jacobs had been suffering from a partially healed broken finger for the bestpart of three years before being forced to take a break in Zimbabwe. Duringthe recovery process, however, the finger was infected, delaying hisrecovery and preventing him from keeping wicket during the pre-tour trainingcamp."The swelling has now come down after treatment with antibiotics and he isnow ready to start playing first-class cricket again," said team managerRicky Skerrit.The West Indies have picked a full-strength side in the warm-up, as theyquickly try to acclimitise to Sri Lankan conditions before the first Test in10 days time."In an ideal world we would have liked to give everyone a hit before theTest series, but just two weeks until the first Test we need get the keyplayers in nick as quickly as possible," said Hooper.West Indies will open the batting with left-hander Chris Gayle and compactDaren Ganga. Ramnaresh Sarwan will play despite his sore back and bat numberthree, with Lara and Hooper playing in the middle order.Interestingly, there is no place for leg-spinner Dinanath Ranarine, whotherefore looks an unlikely starter in the Test line-up. Left-arm spinnerNeil McGarrell is the frontline slow bowler and he will be supported byHooper’s off-breaks.Fast bowler Marlon Black, who impressed against Australia last year but wasthen sidelined after a horrific attack outside a Australian nightclub, makesa welcome comeback as support for Reon King and Mervyn Dillon.Sri Lanka have selected a young but strong A squad, captained by HashanTillakaratne, which includes six players with Test match experience.West Indies team:Carl Hooper (Capt), Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara,Carl Hooper, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Neil McGarrell, Mervyn Dillon,Reon King, Leon Garrick (12th man)Sri Lanka A squad:Hashan Tillakaratne (Capt), Ian Daniel, Pradeep Hewage, Michael Vandort,T.M. Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Prassana Jayawardene, Upul Chandana,Dinusha Fernando, Gayan Wijekoon, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Dammika Sudharshana,Kaushalya Lokuarachchi