Weather or not is the question

It8217;s August in Lanka and time for that sinking feeling once again at the Premadasa Stadium. The outfield is soggy and in shambles due to overnight rain and two more spells today, any chance of some cricket tomorrow will depend on how the skies behave. But if the dark clouds till late evening and the Met Office prediction are any indication, the chances of a full game in the day/night opener of the Unitech tri-series between Sri Lanka and South Africa are very, very dim. Anyway, here8217;s how the teams stack up

SRI LANKA

8226; The Bat Men Sanath Jayasuriya: Two 100s against England, raring to fire at home after his 8216;forced8217; retirement and comeback Mahela Jayawardene: Two 100s against England, two against South Africa in Test series, in supreme form as batsman and captain Upul Tharanga: Young dashing left-hand opener, sped to 13-boundary 88 against India at yesterday8217;s practice game

8226; The Strike Force Chaminda Vaas: Lanka8217;s ignition key, pegging down batsmen, stealing wickets, setting the stage for Murali Mutthiah Muralitharan: Key wicket-taker, but role defined this time as the economy man, can tie down the world8217;s best On the edge: Dilhara Fernando, can turn on the pace but a foot injury has put him on the watch list for tomorrow n Skipperspeak: We have been playing really good cricket. We have improved over the last six months gradually as a team but there are areas to improve and am looking forward to the challenge8212; Mahela Jayawardene

SOUTH AFRICA

8226; The Bat Men L Bosman: Debutant, said to be keen to have a go from first ball, can change the game if bats for more than 10 overs Herschelle Gibbs: At No. 3 will be the South African batting mainstay. As always, he will once again dictate the pace of the innings AB deVilliers: Solid influence at No.4, was part of that dream chase of 434, will have to stay on till the end for his team

8226; The Strike Force Robin Petersen: Slow left-arm could prove ideal for the slow Premadasa wicket, is key because the game could turn in his 10 overs Makhaya Ntini: Sharp and accurate, Ntini8217;s battling a 8220;70-308221; hamstring problem, but expects to be fit for play tomorrow On the edge: Pollock8217;s elbow strain has some as a surprise ahead of tomorrow8217;s match, huge blow if he8217;s out tomorrow

8226; Skipperspeak: I have taken the job very much as a stand-in captain. I have done it before, it is not new for me. We8217;ll try and put our best foot forward 8212;Mark Boucher

8226; The Odds With Jacques Kallis and Justin Kemp not in the squad, Ntini still not fully fit and Shaun Pollock doubtful, the ball is clearly rolling Sri Lanka8217;s way at the Premadasa Stadium where the home side has a virtually unbeaten record.

8212; Ajay S Shankar