Sri Lanka’s Lakmal out of England finale

Sri Lanka's Suranga Lakmal will miss the fifth and final one-day international against England at Old Trafford here today

Sri Lanka's Lakmal out of England finale

Sri Lanka's Suranga Lakmal will miss the fifth and final one-day international against England at Old Trafford here today.

Sri Lanka's Suranga Lakmal in action during the fourth ODI against
England at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. Pic/AFP

The seamer suffered a side strain bowling his first over in Sri Lanka's 10-wicket defeat by England at Trent Bridge on Wednesday, a result that left the series all square at 2-2 heading into this weekend's decider.
"He is out for three or four weeks," Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan told reporters at Old Trafford yesterday. "The doctors advised him after his scan today."

Lakmal's injury means he will also miss the final matches of Sri Lanka's tour, the tri-series one-day internationals against Ireland and Scotland, in Edinburgh next week.

Fellow seamer Dhammika Prasad is expected to take Lakmal's place, especially as all-rounder Angelo Mathews has yet to regain full bowling fitness following a hamstring problem.

"It will be a seamer," Dilshan said of Mathews's replacement. "Angelo is still not 100 percent fit to bowl. We have three spinners already."

A see-saw series has yet to witness a close match, something Dilshan explained by saying: "We've had two flat wickets -- we won easily; then two seaming wickets -- they won easily."

Dilshan, returning to the side after a broken thumb suffered making a superb 193 in the drawn second Test at Lord's, has managed just 13 runs in four innings this series.

And at Trent Bridge the opener was out for a duck, one of a trio of top-order wickets for swing bowler James Anderson whose return of three for 24 in eight overs laid the platform for England's crushing victory.