Sri Lanka 'A' team manager Roy Dias said that Hewage will be replaced by all-rounder Hemantha Boteju.
Dias said that he did not want to aggravate the injury to Hewage, which prevented the all-rounder from bowling during the under-19 World Cup competition in South Africa. Hewage instead, shone with the bat making several match-winning contributions.
However, Dias' problem is that he needs a new ball partner for Ruchira Perera. Hence, the preference for Boteju.
Although Hewage misses out on an opportunity, another member of the Sri Lanka under-19 team, Arshad Junaid is expected to make his first class debut in this game. The 17-year-old off-spinner from D. S. Senanayake MV bowled impressively in South Africa, and this is going to be a true Test of his capabilities in the big league.
Sri Lanka are using this tour by England 'A' to expose as many potential cricketers with the view to building up a second string side to take over gradually when the senior players start retiring. Many of them have targeted the 1999 World Cup in England as their swansong.
With South Africa 'A' also due to tour Sri Lanka later this year, this is perhaps the best opportunity for these youngsters to perform and stake a claim in the senior side by getting into the shortlist of the national selectors.
``The opposition provided by England 'A' has been very good. They play very straight and they have the patience to wait for the loose deliveries. They are very committed and professional in their approach, said Dias.
A totally different outlook to picking sides adopted from last year has led to a turn of fortunes for England. Their policy of picking different sides for the one-day game and the established one has so far paid off handsomely with a win in Sharjah. Whether similar success will follow with the Test team in the Caribbean, remains to be seen. However, England's victory in the under-19 World Cup in South Africa is a sure sign that things are working out very well for them.
Two members of that champion team arrived on Wednesday to join the rest of the squad in Sri Lanka. One of them, Jonathan Powell, the Essex off-spinner is expected to play today. The other is the captain and all-rounder Owais Shah of Middlesex.
England 'A' coach Mike Gatting is quite happy the way things have turned out for his team so far on the tour, despite the drastic changes the itinerary has undergone since they arrived.
``We hope to end the tour unbeaten, hopefully win a Test,'' said Gatting assessing his team's chances. ``Kurunegala was too good a wicket to produce a winning result,'' he said. The first 'Test' played there ended in a high scoring draw.
Apart from skipper Nick Knight, vice-captain Steve James and Mark Ealham, who are the three senior men, the present team is the youngest to leave the shores of England with an average age of around 21.
None has made full use of the Sri Lankan tour than Leicestershire's 23-year-old right-hand one-drop batsman Darren Maddy. Ever since beginning the tour with a double century (202) against Kenya in the three-day match at Nairobi, Maddy has not looked back since. He has continued that brilliant form in Sri Lanka, and has yet to be dismissed under fifty in five innings on the tour.
Apart from Shah and Powell, the England 'A' team comprises six other players who represented the under-19 side last year, including the former captain Andrew Flintoff, Dean Cosker, Paul Hutchison, Chris Read, David Nash and David Sales.
Sri Lanka 'A' (from): Russel Arnold (captain), Avishka Gunewardena, Sanjeeva Ranatunga, Indika de Saram, Manoj Mendis, Naveed Nawaz, Pubudu Dasanayake, Hemantha Boteju, Arshad Junaid, Ruchira Perera, Niroshan Bandaratilleke, Tilan Samaraweera, Dinuka Hettiarachchi, Pradeep Hewage.
England 'A' (from): Nick Knight (captain), Steve James, Darren Maddy, Mark Ealham, Ben Hollioake, David Sales, David Nash, Ashley Giles, James Ormond, Dean Cosker, Andrew Flintoff, Chris Read, Paul Hutchison, Jonathan Powell, Owais Shah.
Umpires: R. M. S. Sirisoma and T. H. Wijewardene.