De Villiers could give up gloves, Chappell slams Philander, and Sri Lanka send Chandimal to England.
Reports out of Sri Lanka have confirmed that Quinton de Kock will keep the wicketkeeping duties for the second Test, starting in Colombo on Thursday morning.
He took over the gloves from AB de Villiers in the first Test due to the incumbent’s strained hamstring. That injury is still affecting De Villiers, and so De Kock, who scored his maiden Test half-century in Galle, will once again be behind the stumps in the second Test.
But, it may not be the last time he takes the gloves. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo yesterday, De Villiers hinted that he may not take the gloves in future either. ‘In the last game I had that hamstring issue. That’s sort of recovered, but my back has always been an issue,’ he said.
‘I’d still like to think that I’m a wicketkeeping-batsman and whatever the team wants me to do, I’ll do that. But we’d have to manage it really well so that I don’t come into a series having not kept for five or six months. I have to come prepared to a series without any niggles.’
In more reaction to the ball-tampering controversy that engulfed the Proteas on the third evening and fourth morning of the first Test, former Australian captain Ian Chappell has said that Vernon Philander’s punishment was too light.
In a video posted on ESPNCricinfo, Chappell slammed the ICC for only fining Philander.
‘It seems a bit strange that you can try and cheat and alter the direction of a match, and you don’t get suspended’, he said.
‘I’d rather see a deterrent right at the start so that people know that if they get caught they’re in big trouble. The first charge of tampering should carry a mandatory suspension, not just a fine.’
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have announced that batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been dropped from the squad for the second Test, and sent to England to do duty with the A side on tour there.
He will be replaced by wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, who was called back from the same A tour, and arrived in Colombo on Tuesday morning.
Chandimal, who kept wicket in place of the injured Prasanna Jayawardene in the first Test, paid the price for a poor game, in which he contributed just 6 and 1 in each of his two innings.
Dickwella, an attacking 21-year-old top-order batsman, will be making his Test debut if he is picked for the game. His first-class average is modest, with three centuries, five 50s, and an average of 34.55 from 22 matches, but he has been identified as a future prospect by the Sri Lankan selectors.
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