Dilhara Fernando has a chance to impress the selectors and claim a Test berth when he bowls for a Board President's XI in a three-day warm-up match against England starting on Wednesday.
With the wet weather on the island promising a heavier workload for Sri Lanka's fast bowlers than is normally the case at home, the choice of left-armer Chaminda Vaas's new ball partner is dominating the minds of the selectors.
"Dilhara has recovered fully from his spine injury and has been bowling long spells for SSC in the Premier Trophy competition without any discomfort," said Champika Ramanayake, Sri Lanka's fast bowling coach.
"He has been out of international cricket for nearly seven months and needs to get some exposure against an international team to regain his confidence," added Ramanayake.
Fernando, 24, has not played for Sri Lanka since a stress fracture in his back, the second of his career, forced him out of a quadrangular tournament at Sharjah in April.
"He had a technical error in his bowling action, which is called counter rotation, that twisted his spine and resulted in the stress fracture," said Ramanayake.
"We identified the fault and changed his alignment so that he is bowling more upright now."
Fernando, who has captured 33 wickets in 13 Tests, will compete with left-armer Nuwan Zoysa and rookies Dinusha Fernando and Nuwan Kulasekera for a place in the final Test XI.
The first of three Tests against England start on December 2 in Galle.
Photograph: Reuters
