Seamer to miss Sri Lanka's second warm-up after suffering a shoulder injury during drawn warm-up against Essex
Prasad injury a blow to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s preparations for next week’s first Test against England have been dealt a blow with seamer Dhammika Prasad set to have a second scan on a shoulder injury suffered in his country’s drawn tour match against Essex.
Prasad was unable to complete his 18th over on day two of the three-day match at Chelmsford, where wet weather saw the contest end in a washout on Tuesday.
He is now in doubt to face England in the first Test at Headingley from May 19, in what would be a blow to Sri Lanka’s hopes as they prepare to take on fourth-ranked Test team England.
At the same venue two years ago, Prasad’s five-wicket haul set up his team’s series-sealing win over England.
Sri Lanka Cricket said the initial scan on the 32-year-old’s shoulder had proved inconclusive, with Prasad now set to miss a second warm-up match against Leicestershire starting on Friday.
Update: @imDhammika scan inconclusive, further assessment in Leics. Will not play 2nd practice game. #Lka #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/H2HZ6U4BLh
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) May 10, 2016
Sri Lanka were 2-42 in their second innings against Essex, trailing by 116 runs, before the bad weather brought an early end to the match.
It capped off a disappointing start for the tourists, who began their summer by being bowled out for 254 as teenager Aaron Beard bagged four wickets on his first-class debut on day one of the warm-up.
On day two, Sri Lanka had no answers to Essex pair Tom Westley and Jaik Mickleburgh, who scored twin centuries.
Essex reached 4-412 declared on Monday, after half-centuries too from Ravi Bopara (87 not out) and Dan Lawrence (57 not out).
Sri Lanka then closed day two of three on 2-42, after Kaushal Silva fell lbw, a Beard victim for the second time in the match, and then Kusal Mendis went to a late slip catch off Matt Dixon.
While Sri Lanka claimed a 1-0 victory in their two-Test tour of England in 2014, the island nation are without retired legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena this time around and have slipped to seventh in the Test rankings, three spots below England.
England are set to name their squad for the first Test on Thursday.