The presence of Muttiah Muralitharan will provide a huge lift to the Sri Lankan team after the off-spinner was declared fit for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final showdown with England. Twenty million Sri Lankan fans were worried they might have seen the last of the world's most prolific bowler on the international stage when he revealed he had "strained a hamstring" and could have suffered a "small tear" after injuring himself in their last group match against New Zealand.
Luckily the 38-year-old, who will retire after the World Cup, had a whole week to recover and is now raring to roll his arm against England. "Murali is a guy who rises to the occasion and does really well in the big games," said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. "He is fine to play and one hundred percent okay which is great for us.