England in Sri Lanka 2012

Injured Welegedara out of second England Test

Sri Lanka left-arm fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara has been ruled out of the second Test against England, which starts at the P Sara Oval on Tuesday, with a groin injury. Welegedara's place in the squad will be taken by 25-year-old right-arm fast bowler Shaminda Eranga.

The Sri Lanka selectors made one other change to the 14-man squad, including allrounder Angelo Mathews in place of batsman Chamara Silva. Silva had come into the squad as replacement for Mathews in the first place, after the allrounder failed a fitness test on his calf muscle ahead of the Galle Test.

"Welegedera bowled with some discomfort during the Galle Test and an MRI scan revealed that he had a groin strain," Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka's chief selector, said. "Mathews has been declared fit and we have brought him in, but he will only bat."

Mathews last played for Sri Lanka in the league phase of the Commonwealth Bank Series in early March, missing the tri-series finals and the Asia Cup that followed due to the calf injury. He was initially picked in the squad for the Tests against England, before failing to recover in time for the first Test. At that point, De Melhad said that the concerns over Mathews' injured leg put his future as a bowler in doubt. He will contest the No. 6 spot in the Sri Lanka line-up with Dinesh Chandimal, who scored 27 and 31 in the first match in Galle that Sri Lanka won by 75 runs to go 1-0 up in the two-Test series.

Eranga has played the one Test for Sri Lanka, against Australia at the Sinhalese Sports Club last September, taking a four-for in his debut innings, including the wicket of Shane Watson with his first ball in Test cricket. In Sri Lanka's domestic first-class competition, the Premier League Tournament Tier A, he took 11 wickets in six games for Chilaw Marians Cricket Club at an average of 35.45 this season. Despite the call-up, he is not expected to play against England - De Mel said that Dhammika Prasad is the most likely candidate to share the new ball with Suranga Lakmal.