SL captain Mathews won’t bowl against South Africa
DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka’s injuryprone skipper Angelo Mathews has ruled himself out of bowling during the one-day internationals against South Africa which start on Sunday.
Mathews has been troubled by recurring injuries since being brought back as one-day captain in January and had to sit out some matches before the current series against South Africa.the 31-year-old allrounder said he still expected the team to show new signs of recovery after a disastrous 2017. They convincingly beat South Africa in a two-match Test series as the Proteas struggled with the bat. “We would like to play better cricket than what we have been doing in limited overs,” Mathews said ahead of the first ODI at Dambulla.
“We started very well in the Test series and hope we can continue with the momentum in the ODIS.”
Mathews, who has taken 114 wickets in 196 ODIS, said he will not risk himself against South Africa. “I won’t be bowling in this series. Hope to start bowling in the nets and see how I feel,” he said.
Asked if the six-match ban against opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka was a setback, Mathews said it was disappointing, but the team put the priority on discipline. Gunathilaka, 27, was slapped with the ban for breaching player rules during the 2nd Test as police investigated the alleged rape of a Norwegian woman in his hotel room. The batsman has not been accused of rape but a friend has been charged.
“It is disappointing to rule out a player when the team is doing well. They can be the best player, but they have to deal with consequences,” Mathews said.
‘OPPORTUNITY FOR US’
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said the series will be an opportunity to learn. “We will try and give everyone a game if possible,” Du Plessis said.
“Once again it comes down to the combinations of our team and trying to find the best balance. It was nice for me to see a few guys put their hands up in the warm-up game.
“For me the opportunity to learn is the most exciting thing,” he added.
COUNTY UPSET
Rashid’s home county Yorkshire, an epitome of tradition, was already upset that he demanded an exclusive whiteball contract this season instead of boosting the team’s fortunes in the four-day game.
The county is now fuming the leg-spinner, whose stocks zoomed after a leg-break got through Virat Kohli’s defences in the final ODI, will miss the T20 campaign due to the national duty.
Healthy crowds on each day of the warm-up game, many in Essex shirt, showed the value