Graham Halbish, chief executive of the Australian Cricket Board, indicated in Sydney on Monday that Taylor had sustained a back injury in course of pre-season training. It is likely that the Aus- sie skipper will undergo corrective surgery sometime next week, Halbish said.

Taylor himself told the media that he has suffered back problems for a number of years. Indicating that he would be going in for surgery, Taylor said that he has been advised that the recovery time for the operation was three weeks.

While an official announcement is still awaited, indications are that wicket-keeper Ian Healy will, in Taylor's absence, lead Aus- tralia in the quadrangular tournament in Sri Lanka that includes World Cup champions Sri Lanka, India and Zimbabwe.

The team members will assembly in Brisbane Thursday, for a three-day camp in preparation for the upcoming Singer Cup.

Australia will come to Lanka hell bent on avenging the defeat it sustained at the hands of Sri Lanka in the final of the Wills World Cup. Lanka, for its part, will be keen to pay the Aussies back for the humiliation of not having played scheduled World Cup games in Colombo, and also for opting out of a scheduled two-Test commitment this month citing security reasons.