by Revata S. Silva
The December coolness in the upcountry capital, Kandy will be hit by cricket fever, when the last round of the LG Abans triangular cricket series takes place at the Asgiriya Stadium over the weekend. The match scheduled for today between Sri Lanka, who have already qualified for Wednesday’s final of the tournament, and the up-and-coming West Indies will be followed by the match between the West Indies and Zimbabwe, which is the series’ last league match.

It was only last Monday that Roger Harper, the Caribbean coach, told the media that his team will "come out in true colours" during the rest of the tournament, after their pathetic display against Zimbabwe in their first match. Harper proved it right on the following day by thrashing the hosts by 45 runs in the most unexpected manner.

A win for the West Indies in today’s game will make Zimbabwe’s life difficult, as they will the have to win Sunday’s game, comprehensively, to secure the second slot in the points table. If the West Indies go into Sunday’s game as the losing side, that game will be a virtual semi-final, with the winner taking on Sri Lanka under lights at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

The Kandy cricket lovers, who experienced the winds of change in the country’s present political scenario, will be expecting keenly contested cricket as they come to watch the colourfully dressed Lankan team after five-and- a-half years. The last time they saw Sri Lanka play an ODI at Asigiriya was the `96 Wills World Cup match where the locals took on Kenya.

Sri Lanka, then led by Arjuna Ranatunga won the record-breaking match with a margin of 144 runs after scoring 398 for 5 wickets, still the world record total in an ODI inning.

Today, the two teams will probably field unchanged sides following their consecutive wins in the previous matches. But the allrounder’s place in the local team still remains uncertain, as there are three strong contenders, Upul Chandana, Kumar Dharmasena and Suresh Perera, all eyeing the spot with equal eagerness.

Sri Lanka (from) : Sanath Jayasuriya (Capt.), Marvan Atapattu, Avishka Gunawardena, Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Kumar Dharmasena, Suresh Perera, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chamara Silva, Charitha Buddhika, Prabath Nissanka.

West Indies (from) : Carl Hooper (Capt), Chris Gayle, Darren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Pedro Collins, Colin Stuart, Neil McGarell, Leon Garrick, Ricardo Powell, Darril Brown, Marlon Black, Corey Collymore.

Umpires : L.V. Jayasundara, Gamini Silva. Third Umpire : Peter Manuel, D.N. Pathirana (Extra)