Date-stamped : 17 Aug94 - 18:28
Sri Lanka axe five after Test defeat
 
Sri Lanka on Monday axed five leading  internationals  after  the
humiliating  301-run  defeat  in the first Test against Pakistan.
Out went batsmen Asanka Gurusinha, Sanath Jayasuriya and  bowlers
Pramodya    Wickramasinghe,  Muttiah  Muralitharan and  Jayananda
Warnaweera for the second Test starting here Friday.

"I think it is time to  infuse  young  blood.  The  seniors  have
failed  to  deliver  the  goods.  Our batting let us down and the
bowlers gave away too many runs," said  Sri  Lanka manager   T.B.
Kehelgamuwa.

The selectors recalled all-rounder Ruwan Kalpage and opener Dulip
Samaraweera    to  the  side  and  Sanjeeva  Ranatunga, Ravindara
Pushpakumara and Chaminda Vaas will make their debuts.

Sanjeeva Ranatunga will become the third member of his family  to
play  Test cricket Sri Lanka after brothers Arjuna, team skipper,
and former opener Dhammika.  It will  be  the  first time   three
members  of  the  same  family  have played for Sri Lanka at Test
level.

Left-handers Gurusinha and Jayasuriya  failed  miserably  in  the
opening   Test,   which  ended  inside  four  days  on  Saturday.
Muttiah Muralitharan, an off-spinner,  and  off-cutter  Jayananda
Warnaweera also  fared  poorly  on  a slow wicket. Jayasuriya has
been named 12th man.

The   biggest   disappointment   was    fast     bowler  Pramodya
Wickramasinghe,  who  finished wicketless while Pakistan pace duo
Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis shared eleven wickets between them.

"The youngsters have been knocking at the door for selection  for
a  long time. They have done well against Pakistan in the earlier
matches. So they cannot be ignored,"  said Kehelgamuwa,  also   a
selector.

The inclusion of pace bowlers Pushpakumara and Vaas, a  promising
left-armer,  means Sri Lanka will no longer depend merely on spin
to tackle the powerful Pakistani batting line-up.

Pakistan are expected  to  make  no  changes  when  the  team  is
announced Friday.

A.Ranatunga  (capt),  P.A.deSilva,  R.S.Mahanama,  D.Samaraweera,
S.Ranatunga,    H.P.Tillakaratne, P.B.Dasaanayake,  K.Dharmasena,
R.S.Kalpage, C.Vaas, R.Pushpakumara.  12thman: S.T.Jayasuriya.

(Summarized from an AFP report)

<END> Contributed by Vicky (vigneswa@sisko.ecs.umass.edu)