By John Mehaffey
ST GEORGE'S, Grenada, April 18 - Sri Lanka strike
bowler Lasith Malinga is expected to be fit for next Tuesday's
World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Jamaica after
missing three games because of an ankle injury.
"He's probably 90 percent okay, we probably should have
played him today but we didn't want to take the risk," captain
Mahela Jayawardene said after Wednesday's eight-wicket
second-stage Super Eights win over Ireland.
With Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan restored to the
side after missing Monday's match against Australia, Sri Lanka
dismissed Ireland for 77, the lowest score of the tournament so
far.
Jayawardene told a news conference Malinga had bowled 10
overs in the nets on Wednesday morning.
"We don't want to take too many risks. He should be ready to
go in the semi-finals, definitely," he said.
Malinga, who took an unprecedented four wickets in four
balls in the Super Eights match against South Africa, injured a
ligament in his left ankle during training.
ANKLE INJURY
Jayawardene said opening bowler Dilhara Fernando had missed
Wednesday's match because he had also sustained an ankle injury.
"Dilhara played against Australia with an ankle problem. He
had two injections in it and he needs to prove his fitness
before the semi-finals," he said.
Jayawardene said he was not concerned about the probability
of a bouncy pitch at Sabina Park after the low, slow tracks his
team had experienced so far in the tournament.
"We like bouncy wickets. Like any other cricketers in the
world, our batsmen love to play on bouncy tracks when the ball
is coming on to the track," he said.
"We're not worried about those conditions. We just need to
go to Jamaica and have a look at it and adjust to it. That's
what we did all through the World Cup. Every venue offered us
different conditions.
"We're looking forward to it. We've come a long way and
there's no looking back for us now."
Ireland captain Trent Johnston, whose team exceeded all
expectations by defeating Pakistan in the first round and
Bangladesh in the second, said Sri Lanka were "a quality outfit
who showed us up".
"You are never going to recover from losing three wickets in
an over," he said. "Then you bring on the best spin bowler in
the world who we have never seen. It's a recipe for disaster."
The seven-week World Cup, the first in the Caribbean,
culminates in the final on April 28 in Bridgetown, Barbados.