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David Hussey’s entertaining innings and some late order fireworks have put Nottinghamshire’s noses in front

David Lloyd at Taunton03-Aug-2013
ScorecardMarcus Trescothick’s run of poor form continued with a 27-ball 2 against Nottinghamshire•Getty Images

These are tough old times for Marcus Trescothick. The batsman who has scored runs for fun throughout most of his career failed again as Somerset once more found themselves up against it in a Championship match.Almost unbelievably, the former England opener is still looking for his first first-class century of the season and his average, after 22 innings, is now down to 27.Trescothick must have come into this contest with high hopes. Not only did he confirm his recovery from an ankle injury, which saw him miss several T20 games, by playing for the seconds against MCC Universities on Wednesday and Thursday but he also indicated that his touch and timing were back in decent order by taking a double-hundred off the students.When it came to facing Nottinghamshire’s new-ball pair of Luke Fletcher and Harry Gurney, however, the now 37-year-old opener simply could not get going. He was watchful, gave himself a good ticking off after playing and missing on at least one occasion, but couldn’t find the one flowing drive that might have set him free.In fairness, Fletcher and Gurney deserved plenty of credit for keeping things so tight that only nine runs came from their first seven overs. And then, midway, through the eighth, left-armer Gurney forced Trescothick to push at one holding its line just outside off stump and the resulting edge was snaffled, low down, by Steven Mullaney at third slip.Off went the home captain to sympathetic applause. But a 27-ball, 29-minute innings of 2 had merely added to Trescothick’s string of low scores – a string that has seen him reach 50 on just four occasions this campaign.There are still five and a half Championship matches left, of course. And an on-song Trescothick could do a lot of damage in 11 innings. At the moment, though, there is no doubt he is struggling, and it doesn’t make pleasant viewing for anyone who has enjoyed seeing him at his commanding best.At least an early wicket did not prompt a Somerset collapse. That would have been a real sickener for home supporters who had already witnessed Notts’ last two wickets adding 108 highly damaging runs.Nick Compton and Chris Jones combined for an unbeaten 61 before the second of two heavy downpours resulted in play being abandoned for the day at 4pm. Jones, who scored a century against the Australians on this ground a few weeks ago, was the more fluent of the two although he was almost caught at short leg, off the face of the bat, for 32 soon after spinner Samit Patel entered the attack.Fletcher and Gurney had set the tone for Notts even before they got to work with the ball. The latter joined Fletcher during the first over of the day after Ajmal Shahzad had lost his off stump to Peter Trego when playing no shot.But if Somerset thought their job was done in the field with the ending of a 57-run stand, the visitors’ tenth-wicket pair made them think again. With Gurney looking anything but a rabbit at No. 11, Fletcher pulled and drove his way to a run-a-ball half-century (his second fifty of the season) and added eight more runs before gloving an attempted hook against Jamie Overton.With more rain forecast for Sunday, Somerset should not lose this game. But a team third from bottom wants to be thinking of winning matches at this stage of the season, not hanging on for draws.

Krishmar Santokie, the Jamaica left-arm seamer, has hopes that his recent performance in the Caribbean Premier League can help him stage a return to the West Indies team

Renaldo Matadeen30-Aug-2013

CPL’s team of the tournament

The West Indies Cricket Board released its Team of the Tournament, picked by a panel comprising former players and television commentators:
Andre Fletcher (St. Lucia Zouks)
Chris Gayle (Jamaica Tallawahs, capt)
Lendl Simmons (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Shoaib Malik (Barbados Tridents)
James Franklin (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Andre Russell (Jamaica Tallawahs)
Marlon Samuels (Antigua Hawksbills)
Shakib Al Hasan (Barbados Tridents)
Rayad Emrit (Barbados Tridents)
Krishmar Santokie (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Muttiah Muralitharan (Jamaica Tallawahs)
Ashley Nurse (Barbados Tridents, 12th man)

Krishmar Santokie, the Jamaica left-arm seamer, has hopes that his recent performance in the Caribbean Premier League can help him stage a return to the West Indies team. Santokie, who played for Guyana Amazon Warriors, was the highest wicket-taker in the CPL with 16 wickets in nine games at an average of 13.68 and was named player of the tournament for his performances.The bowler made his T20 debut for West Indies in 2011 against England and played only one match since, against Sri Lanka in March 2012, before losing his place in the squad.”I remember saying that the CPL would be the launching pad for me to [get back into] the West Indies scene and now I’m eager to see what happens (next),” he said. “It’s been nice to reach the T20 summit finally, as I’ve been aiming for this for a long time and now, I hope it forces me back into international cricket.”The player-of-the-tournament award has happened in this historic CPL, which is great for me and my career, and I hope it opens up new doors for me with regards to the West Indies, and worldwide.”Slotted as an allrounder early in his career, Santokie’s failure to score runs hindered his progress. He has found himself a step behind players like Andre Russell in the pecking order of regional players, even as the allrounder slots in the international team have already been taken by Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy. Santokie, however, has had a good year with the ball. He was the third highest wicket-taker in the Caribbean T20 tournament earlier this year and also played for Khulna Royal Bengal in the Bangladesh Premier League, and he now hopes his recent performances can help his selection for the New Zealand tour.Santokie was grateful for the backing he got from Curtly Ambrose, Guyana’s assistant coach, who suggested that the pacer should be recalled to the West Indies side for his consistency and ability to swing the ball.”I’m glad for that kind of backing. It helps my confidence. I think it’s just a matter of time for me and I’ll be running out with the West Indian colors again,” he said.

Chennai Super Kings, recovering from the IPL 2013 scandal, and Titans, after a trying 2012-13 season, will meet in the third match of CLT20

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu21-Sep-2013

Match facts

September 22, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)MS Dhoni will be leading Chennai Super Kings for the first time in his hometown, Ranchi•BCCI

Big Picture

The third match of the Champions League features two teams who’ve been dominant in their respective domestic competitions, but are hoping to slay past demons. While Chennai Super Kings are recovering from the shock of having one of their top officials chargesheeted for illegal betting, South Africa’s Titans are breaking in a new coach in Rob Walter and a green T20 captain in Henry Davids after a trying 2012-13 first-class season, which began with them as defending champions and ended with them going winless in 10 matches.Super Kings will not have the comfort of the Chepauk crowd behind them, but they may well have traded up when they meet their opponents in Dhoni’s hometown of Ranchi. His only top-level appearance at the JSCA ground, in an ODI against England, became a festival of sorts, and Dhoni would hope things haven’t changed much when he leads his adopted team onto the field for their first match in the Champions League 2013.The setting could prove useful for a side with the likes of Michael Hussey, last year’s leading run-getter in the Indian Premier League and Ravindra Jadeja, the No. 1 ranked ODI bowler to reset itself. Jadeja will also find solace from the profitable return – 3 for 19 – he enjoyed on his last assignment in Ranchi. Though Faf du Plessis did not play at all in IPL 6 and Albie Morkel appeared in eight of the 18 matches Super Kings played, both could prove handy spies having played for Titans at domestic level.Titans have their advantages as well, the foremost being the availability of AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel. The former, with his seamless amalgam of conventional and unconventional shot-making, already has experience dismantling Super Kings’ bowling, which is their weaker discipline, while the latter will pose considerable threat to Super Kings’ strategy of keeping wickets in hand and exploding late in the innings. Paired with Marchant de Lange, returning from rib injury, and CJ de Villiers, Titans boast one of the best seam attacks in the tournament.

Players to watch

Vital to Super Kings’ batting strategy of keeping things steady without losing too many wickets early on is M Vijay. A lacklustre IPL season in 2013 continued in the international arena, leading to Rohit Sharma claiming his spot in the Indian limited-overs side. Back in yellow, Vijay will be hungry to re-establish himself in the minds of the national selectors.Marchant de Lange has a history with stress fractures to his back. But on his day, de Lange can regularly clock 150kph and his performance both at the start and death of the innings is expected to be vital for Titans.

Bruce Edgar has stood down from his role as New Zealand’s chief selector after failing to come to terms with New Zealand Cricket on a new contract

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2015Bruce Edgar has stood down from his role as New Zealand’s chief selector after failing to come to terms with New Zealand Cricket on a new contract. NZC said in a statement that the talent identification portion of Edgar’s role was set to be expanded from part-time to a full-time position, and Edgar did not accept the revised role and terms.Edgar had been chief selector since 2013 and had worked with coach Mike Hesson to bring a number of young players into the national side with success. His contract finished at the end of April, a month after New Zealand reached the World Cup final for the first time.”It’s been one of the most successful periods for New Zealand Cricket, and it’s been a privilege to be a part of that,” Edgar said. “In particular, it’s been great to see the progress of the New Zealand Test team, and the development of so many new players coming through. We just couldn’t come to terms.”Lindsay Crocker, the head of cricket with NZC, said Edgar could deservedly feel a sense of accomplishment in the performance of teams he helped select.”Bruce has been an excellent sounding board for Mike; a trusted colleague and a good, independent thinker,” Crocker said. “We’re certainly disappointed to see him leave … Bruce felt he was unable to accept the revised role and terms and, while it’s a decision we regret, it’s also one we respect. He departs with our gratitude for a selection job well done, and with our best wishes in future endeavours.”NZC said that changes to Edgar’s role were fuelled by the need to expand the national talent identification component of his job, which NZC “deemed a priority if recent successes on the international stage were to be sustained”. The search for a part-time selector and full-time talent ID position will commence shortly.

The West Indies selectors decided their team were a greater chance of beating Australia without Shiv Chanderpaul than with him

Daniel Brettig25-May-20153:27

Chanderpaul didn’t fit into the best team – Simmons

In the end it was as simple as this. The West Indies selectors decided their team were a greater chance of beating Australia without Shiv Chanderpaul than with him.That realisation arrived in discussions following the drawn series against England, but also as a result of broader examinations of Chanderpaul’s record, which had recently begun to trend drastically down from his illustrious record.For Clive Lloyd, a fellow Guyanese, the decision to jettison a player as respected as Chanderpaul was a difficult one, but ultimately a matter of cricketing logic. In the loose collective of islands that make up the Caribbean it was bound to have created plenty of debate in circles both sporting and political, but Lloyd and the coach Phil Simmons were able to present a united and uncompromising front when explaining their choice of players to face Australia.”Over a period of time we’ve noticed a decline in form … over the last 11 innings he’s averaging 16, so we thought the time has come to look towards younger players,” Lloyd said in Barbados.”I don’t think there’s any bitterness. I think he realised that at 40 years old he’s not going to be in the same shape he was at 20. We just thought that here it is, we must make a decision. We have a lot of good young cricketers and we think it’s time we inject the youth into our cricket.”Simmons said that while they had considered the possibility of allowing Chanderpaul one final curtain call against Australia, it would not have been for reasons of sentiment. Once the selectors decided to move on, there was no thought of a farewell tour.”He’s had a long and illustrious career, and we know he’s done a lot for West Indies cricket, but at the same time we sit down to select a team against Australia,” Simmons said. “When you go through that process he didn’t fit in.”It’s not about giving someone two Tests to finish their career, it’s about picking the right team to play the next game.”There are plans in the works for an appropriate acknowledgement of Chanderpaul’s career, a journey so long that it commenced in 1994, when Simmons was still part of the Test team and West Indies were still proudly in possession of an unbeaten streak that had begun in 1980. While Chanderpaul did not play in the 1995 series that saw Australia finally end that run, he was for most of the intervening years the most stubborn defender of a team in decline.”I don’t think there’s anybody here who can have admired Shivnarine Chanderpaul more than I have,” Lloyd said. “You’re in awe of the man, he’s given yeoman service. But there comes a time.”It will be some time before Chanderpaul comes to terms with the decision. The aforementioned stubbornness was evident in his refusal to concede that his career was on the wane, leaving Lloyd and Simmons with the difficult task of talking him through their judgment.”He still thinks he’s good enough to compete,” Lloyd said. “We had a discussion, but the point is that we made up our mind about what we wanted to do.”We do have a lot of exciting young cricketers and it is an exciting time for our cricket. We are hoping that these guys come through, and show their mettle.”The training squad of 12 assembled in Barbados will be swelled to 14 following the conclusion of the tour match between the Australians and a WICB President’s XI in Antigua, in which numerous young hopefuls will attempt to prove themselves worthy of a Test berth.It also appears likely that Chanderpaul will be joined in his newfound state of spectatorship for this Test series by the West Indies’ IPL collective, as Lloyd and Simmons made it clear the Test team would be composed entirely of those players either training in Barbados or playing the Australians in Antigua.

A gritty 98 from Laurie Evans, coupled with a spirited lower-order onslaught from Jeetan Patel and Keith Barker, enabled Warwickshire to enjoy the better of another gloomy day at Lord’s

Andrew Miller at Lord's01-Jun-2015
ScorecardLaurie Evans fell two short of a century•PA Photos

A gritty 98 from Laurie Evans, coupled with a spirited lower-order onslaught from Jeetan Patel and Keith Barker, enabled Warwickshire to enjoy the better of another gloomy day at Lord’s. They converted their overnight 148 for 3 to a competitive 342 – not bad at all after being asked to bat first – before Chris Wright nipped in with the early wicket of Joe Burns as Middlesex weathered the new ball to reach 39 for 1 in reply.In what has so far been a stop-start contest, the true value of the runs that Warwickshire have put on the board will only be known when Middlesex’s own innings has developed further. However, the hostile reception that Wright and Barker doled out with the new ball suggests that life isn’t about to get too much easier for batting.”There’s a bit of variable bounce in places,” Evans said. “You don’t mind left to right [movement] so much but when it starts to go up and down, it’s a bit tricky and can get in your head. We realised it was tricky to score so we decided to be positive. I can’t see it getting any better to bat on, but we were looking at around 220 to 250 after being put in, so it’s a great effort by everyone on a scrap-hard wicket.”Both of Middlesex’s not-out batsmen, Sam Robson and Nick Compton, were rapped on the gloves by lifters from a good length in a final session that was twice interrupted by bad light before the weather closed in for good shortly after 5pm.Warwickshire had resumed in the morning with Evans and Jonathan Trott unbeaten in a 92-run stand for the fourth wicket. However, Trott managed to add just a single to his overnight 44, as he nibbled outside off to Toby Roland-Jones and feathered a thin edge to John Simpson behind the stumps.Tim Ambrose, the new batsman, had two moments of good fortune when he spliced a lifter from Roland-Jones over the slip cordon on 2 before edging inches short of Ollie Rayner at second slip on 10. But his luck ran out on 20 as Neil Dexter entered the attack for Rayner to hold on to an attempted uppercut over the cordon.However, Evans ground on undaunted, inching ever closer to what would have been his fifth first-class century with an innings that was never fluent but didn’t want for composure. He rode his luck outside off stump (or was it good judgement?) and seemed to have shrugged off his role in the run-out of Rikki Clarke for 15 when Steven Finn, returning from the Pavilion End, beat him with a nip-backer that flicked his pad and crashed into the stumps to leave him stranded two short of his hundred.”It was nice to spend a bit of time at a great ground. It was a shame not to get a couple of runs but I could have been out at any stage, it was that sort of wicket. I was just glad to get a score.”At 253 for 7, Middlesex sensed their chance to steal the ascendancy, but they reckoned without the obduracy of Barker and Patel, who saw off the seamers then took on the spin of Rayner, who was dumped over the leg side for four sixes in his first 13 balls before striking with his 15th to have Patel lbw for 37 and end a momentum-seizing eighth-wicket stand of 72.The end of Warwickshire’s innings came in a relative rush. Barker was trapped on the crease by Roland-Jones and bowled for 37 before Boyd Rankin departed in the same fashion five overs later, aiming a massive mow at Rayner.Robson, in reply, eased Barker through the covers for a second-ball four before Burns went one better with a spanking pull from Wright’s opening delivery. But Wright struck back in the same over, trapping Burns lbw for 4 to set up a testing evening session. Robson and Compton prevailed in the gloom, however, with Robson, in particular, finding some fluency to pick off five fours in his unbeaten 26 by the close.”There’s definitely enough still in the wicket,” Evans said. “We’ll be looking to pitch the ball up and get the slips in play.”

Richard Oliver’s half-century was the difference as Worcestershire strengthened their grip on second spot in the NatWest T20 Blast North Group by beating Durham by five wickets at New Road

ECB/PA05-Jul-2015
ScorecardRichard Oliver’s unbeaten 70 guided Worcestershire to victory•Getty Images

Richard Oliver’s half-century was the difference as Worcestershire strengthened their grip on second spot in the NatWest T20 Blast North Group by beating Durham by five wickets at New Road.After losing his place for three games, the former Shropshire captain has bounced back to form with 31 in a win against Nottinghamshire and an unbeaten 70 from 57 balls in seeing off Durham with an over to spare ahead of Friday’s meeting with group leaders Birmingham.Oliver’s first T20 fifty for more than a year was just what Worcestershire needed after Daryl Mitchell’s early dismissal gave Durham some hope of defending a vulnerable 127 for 9. Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Colin Munro, the latter going for the reverse sweep, followed in quick succession before Brett D’Oliveira made his third significant contribution.After brilliant work to run out Calum MacLeod and a tight bowling spell, he supported Oliver in a stand of 51 from 6.1 overs. Although his share was a modest 13, it was the match-turning phase before he was bowled by Chris Rushworth.Oliver made his first move with four fours in an over from John Hastings and in all he found the boundary 11 times, an impressive ratio on a pitch which shackled most of the batsmen. However, he happily took a back seat as Ben Cox finished it off with consecutive fours off Hastings.In their innings, Durham probably felt they were being picked on by Saeed Ajmal. Having taken 3 for 16 before Worcestershire squeezed home at Chester-le-Street, the Pakistan spinner did a fraction better in ripping the heart out of the Durham batting in five balls.His intervention came when they were looking to pick up from a reasonable start in which Mark Stoneman, caught at short midwicket for 12, and Macleod fell to tight bowling and smart work in the field.Paul Collingwood drove one six in an otherwise immaculate stint by D’Oliveira but then picked put Oliver at long-on after a change of ends for Ajmal. With the former England allrounder out for 16, the last thing Durham needed was to lose top-scorer Phil Mustard, but two balls later the left-hander top edged a sweep to short fine leg after clouting successive sixes off Mitchell in making 35 from 37 deliveries.In his next over, Ajmal choked off the big-hitting threat posed by Hastings. In a repeat of Collingwood’s dismissal, the Australian also failed to clear Oliver, although the overhead catch was marginally more difficult.On a slow surface, the spin pair of Ajmal and D’Oliveira bowled 26 dot balls between them and left-arm paceman Jack Shantry was equally frugal with 14 deliveries without scoring.His one wicket came when he beat a desperate swing by Usman Arshad as Durham lost four wickets in the last two overs. Gordon Muchall and Ryan Pringle were run out on either side of Arshad’s dismissal and Keaton Jennings was bowled by Joe Leach.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has advertised for the franchise ownership rights of the Bangladesh Premier League for a period of four years from 2015 to 2018

Mohammad Isam30-Jul-2015The Bangladesh Cricket Board has advertised for the franchise ownership rights of the Bangladesh Premier League for a period of four years from 2015 to 2018. The board’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said it had opted for fresh tender because the contracts with the previous franchise owners had been terminated.The BCB will invite new franchises for the regional teams of Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet. Interested parties will have to submit their Expression of Interest (EOI) by August 17. The advertisement is on the BCB’s official website and also appeared in on Thursday.Chowdhury said they had floated the tender to bring in new owners for each of the franchises. Old owners, whose contracts were terminated by the BCB, can bid but they have to meet the compliances of the board.”At this point of time, the contracts with the previous franchises stand terminated,” Chowdhury said. “In terms of the unpaid amount that they are supposed to pay, we are in an arbitration process. If that doesn’t work, we will take the next step. The previous franchise owners can apply for the ownership. They will have to meet our compliances like everyone else.”Chowdhury said there were some parties that were interested but it was too early to name them. The BPL franchise owners in the first two seasons were SQ Sports (Chittagong Kings), Shihab Trading House (Dhaka Gladiators), Orion Sports (Khulna Royal Bengals), Mohan & Associates (Duranto Rajshahi) and Isports Limited (Rangpur Riders).In May this year, the BCB said the Dhaka Gladiators franchise were unlikely to participate in the third edition of the BPL, slated for November, because of the corruption charges against them. Their owners, Shihab Jishan Chowdhury and Salim Chowdhury, were banned for 10 years. “It is almost confirmed that Dhaka Gladiators will not be participating in the next BPL because the ICC has given a decision about them and they cannot legally stay in the tournament,” BPL’s member-secretary Ismail Haider Mallick had said.

Umpires asked a (brass) band at the P Sara Oval to stop playing during overs, for the second Colombo Test match in a row

Andrew Fidel Fernando at the P Sara Oval24-Aug-2015Umpires asked a (brass) band at the P Sara Oval to stop playing during overs, for the second Colombo Test match in a row. The band set up in the “Sanga Fan Zone” were also asked to lower their volume, but continued to play during the match.On Sunday, the fourth umpire was seen directing a band in the stand near the tennis court to first lower their volume, then stop playing altogether. The band then took to playing only during the gaps between overs, and in the drinks breaks.Umpires had also directed the band to stop playing on the fourth day during Pakistan’s Test at the P Sara in June. On that occasion, Misbah-ul-Haq was seen complaining to the umpire about the music coming from the same stand. The on-field umpire immediately gestured to the band to ‘kill the noise’.None of the India players seem to have had any issue with the music during this series, however, and the team management confirmed that they had made no complaint. The ICC has not officially stated why the band was asked to stop on Sunday. The most likely explanation is that the umpires have requested a quieter atmosphere, in order to better hear the action, and discern nicks and edges. At least four wrong caught-behind or bat-pad decisions had been given in Galle, when no music had been playing. bands have been a distinctive feature of Sri Lankan cricket grounds for decades. Ahead of his final home match last year, Mahela Jayawardene had said: “The best memories of playing at home for me will be the fans – the music, the rhythm and all that. I grew up playing with that for my school. We’ve always had it when we played the big matches. To finish it off with that same rhythm – you can’t ask for anything else. That’s the uniqueness about Sri Lankan cricket. That is the flair that we grew up playing with.”

Batting allrounder Milinda Siriwardana and 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Mendis have been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the two-Test series against West Indies

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Oct-20152:59

Fernando: Kusal Mendis inclusion surprising

Batting allrounder Milinda Siriwardana and 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Mendis have been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the two-Test series against West Indies.Siriwardana had been expected to make an appearance in the squad, having made an encouraging start to his international career in the limited-overs formats, in addition to top-scoring in the most recent first-class season. Mendis’ selection is something of a surprise, however. He had led Sri Lanka’s Under-19 team in last year’s Youth World Cup, but has only hit one hundred and one fifty in 16 first-class innings so far. Both Mendis and Siriwardana are playing in the ongoing three-day practice match against the West Indians.Mendis’ recent performances in the Moin-ud-Dowlah tournament in India, where he captained the Sri Lanka Development XI, had helped push him into Test contention, chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardana said. Mendis hit 156, 52 and 47 in his three innings in the tournament.”Kusal Mendis has been on our radar for a while,” Wijegunawardana said. “We felt that he earned a spot in the Test squad with the way he has been batting, and the way he batted on the recent tour to India. All the selectors have assessed his skill levels to be quite good and are backing him.”Mendis and Siriwardana displace two more experienced batsmen from the squad. Upul Tharanga has been dropped despite a decent home record in the past two years. Jehan Mubarak has also been replaced, after making the squad for the two recent series against Pakistan and India.The remainder of the squad holds few surprises. Tharindu Kaushal retains his position after having had his doosra banned recently – but he was always expected to remain in the side on the strength of this offbreaks. Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera are the other frontline spin options.Sri Lanka’s top order looks unlikely to undergo drastic change, though each of the top six is likely to be under 30 years of age. Lahiru Thirimanne retains his position in the squad and remains vice-captain although he has only averaged 21.09 in the home Test season. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva look set to rejoin each other at the top of the order after a brief break from opening together in the last Test against India. Kusal Perera’s impressive Test debut, in which he hit two valuable fifties, will likely see him claim a place in the XI as well.Seamer Suranga Lakmal has regained fitness after missing the series against India due to a side strain, and joins Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep and Dushmantha Chameera in the squad. Shaminda Eranga remains unavailable after picking up his third major injury this year, in his groin. There is no place for left-armer Vishwa Fernando, who was in the squad for the India series.Sri Lanka will have to decide whether Kusal takes the gloves or whether Dinesh Chandimal keeps. In the most recent Test, Chandimal had been sent up the order and relieved of the gloves, while Kusal put in an underwhelming performance behind the stumps.The first Test begins in Galle on October 14, before the teams move to the P Sara Oval for the second encounter.Sri Lanka Test squad Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Tharindu Kaushal, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera