Dilshan out as Anderson eyes Test recall

Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan was ruled out of the third Test with a broken thumb on Tuesday as England's James Anderson said he would be fit for the series finale. Dilshan had been expected to miss the match after twice being hit on the thumb by fast bowler Chris Tremlett while making 193 - the highest Test score by a Sri Lankan at Lord's - in the drawn second Test.
He then sat out the drawn three-day tour match against Essex at Chelmsford and the tourists bowed to the inevitable by ruling out the opening batsman on Tuesday. Sri Lanka, who are 1-0 down in the three-match series, will instead be led by former captain Kumar Sangakkara - who stepped down after the World Cup final defeat by India in Mumbai in April - at the Rose Bowl when the third Test starts on Thursday. "He definitely won't be playing," Sri Lanka tour manager Anura Tennekoon said of Dilshan.
"The main reason we've kept him out of this Test match is that, had he played and got another blow while fielding on that thumb, he might have been out for the rest of the tour. "So as a precautionary measure, we have kept him out." Now the uncapped Lahiru Thirimanne, who made a century against Essex, is set to take Dilshan's place in the team.
Anderson, hopeful of a return on Thursday after missing the second Test with a side strain, said of Dilshan's absence: "It's going to be a huge blow for them because he is a key player, their captain, but whoever comes in is going to be a quality player and we've got to prepare for that."
As for his own fitness, swing bowler Anderson was in buoyant mood as England prepared to press home the 1-0 advantage gained from an innings win in the series opener in Cardiff, in what will be the first Test ever staged at the Rose Bowl, the home of southern county Hampshire. England had wanted Anderson to prove his fitness by playing for Lancashire in a county Twenty20 match on Sunday, but rain meant the match was washed out without a ball bowled. Anderson, though, was confident his fitness would hold up.