COLOMBO: New Zealand will field a full-strength team in Wednesday’s second Test against Sri Lanka after the tourists were plagued by a stomach bug in the first match.
New Zealand had 13 of their 15 players laid low by upset stomachs and viral fever during the first Test in Galle last week, which Sri Lanka won by 202 runs to take the lead in the two-match series.
Skipper Daniel Vettori said the entire squad had trained over the past two days and his players were gearing up for a better show in the final Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club here.
‘We need players with the ability to stand throughout the game,’ Vettori told reporters before Tuesday’s practice session.
‘We will decide on the line-up before the toss. It is important to get big scores. We need to get beyond the 30s and 40s we are scoring now and get those 100s.’
‘We have been selling ourselves a bit short. Hopefully, we will do a much better job here.’
New Zealand will probably make one change from the team that lost in Galle, with fast bowler Daryl Tuffey expected to replace seamer Iain O’Brien.
Vettori himself needs just two more wickets to become only the ninth player in history to achieve the all-rounder’s double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets.
The 93-Test veteran was New Zealand’s star performer in Galle, with five wickets and knocks of 42 and 67 and is again expected to lead from the front.
‘Records definitely motivate me,’ said the 30-year-old, who has scored 3,329 Test runs and taken 298 wickets since his debut in 1997.
‘If you look back five years ago, my Test batting record was pretty embarrassing. I have been working hard on it. It’s a nice feeling now that I can contribute a lot better.’
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said he was wary of a New Zealand backlash, saying he had a lot of respect for their fighting qualities.
‘We are expecting a very tough response from New Zealand,’ he stated. ‘I think they are going to come back very strongly and try to win this Test, so that they have something to take back home.’
All-rounder Angelo Mathews was ruled out of the match with a hamstring strain picked up in Galle and he will be replaced by Chamara Kapugedera.
Teams (likely):
SRI LANKA
Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Prasanna Jayawardene, Rangana Herath.
NEW ZEALAND
Daniel Vettori (captain), Tim McIntosh, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Daniel Flynn, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Daryl Tuffey, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin.
Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Nigel Llong (England).
TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe).—AFP
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