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Saturday November 24, 2007
COLOMBO - Tillekeratne Dilshan was once again ignored by Sri Lanka's selectors when they named a 14-man squad on Friday for the first cricket Test against England.

Dilshan, a seasoned middle-order batsman, was left out of the recent tour of Australia, but was expected to take the spot left vacant by the retiring former captain Marvan Atapattu.

The selectors instead picked left-handed Upul Tharanga and Jehan Mubarak as the batting options for the first of three Tests against Michael Vaughan's men starting in Kandy on December 1.

Atapattu and the injured Farveez Maharoof are the only two names missing from the eleven that played in the second Test against Australia in Hobart last week.

Added to that team are Tharanga, Mubarak, left-arm seamers Chaminda Vaas and Sujeewa de Silva and leg-spinner Malinga Bandara.

Dilshan, 31, has scored 2,152 runs in 42 Tests and is leading the Sri Lanka Cricket XI in two practice matches against the tourists this week.

He made 111 and 78 while captaining Sri Lanka 'A' on the recent tour of Zimbabwe and returned home to smash 188 off 135 balls for Bloomfield in a domestic one-day match earlier this month.

Fast bowler Dilhara Fernando retained his place in the squad despite suffering from a recurring ankle injury.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene said Fernando, who is due for surgery next April, took injections in Australia to make himself fit for the England series.

"Dilhara has had that ankle problem for quite some time," the captain said soon after the team returned from Australia, where it lost both Test matches.

"He saw a specialist in Australia who has recommended an operation for him, probably for early April when we get a decent break.

"He had an injection just before we left Australia, so he should be fine for this series," Jayawardene said of his fast bowler who has taken 80 wickets in 28 Tests.

The squad for the remaining two Tests in Colombo and Galle will be announced later.

Sri Lanka squad: