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Galle Test from today

Lee battling to be fit

AFP, Galle
Top Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is in a desperate race against time to regain fitness for the opening cricket Test against Sri Lanka starting here on Monday.
Lee, who sustained an ankle injury during a warm-up match at Colombo on Thursday, has only one training session left to prove his fitness for the Test on a spinfriendly pitch.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said Sunday he hoped the paceman regained fitness in time, as he was a key member in the squad.
"The final decision on Lee will be taken tomorrow morning, " Ponting said before his team's final practice session.
Lee felt a sharp pain in his left ankle while bowling in the second innings of the practice game. His chances of playing the Test looked slim after he was forced to skip the team's training session here on Saturday.
He has so far grabbed 139 wickets in 37 Tests.
Sri Lankan captain Hashan Tillakaratne said he did not think his team would gain a big advantage if Lee was ruled out of the match.
"Australia are a formidable side even without Lee," he said.
Sri Lanka packed their team with spinners to counter their opponents' strong batting line-up on a bald and dry wicket, expected to favour slow bowlers from the first day itself.
Tillakaratne said his team would go into the match with just one fast bowler and as many as four or five spinners. "We can go with just one paceman," said Tillakaratne.
"The track is known to help spinners. The visiting sides usually struggle against spin here and it will be interesting to see how the Australian batsmen play on turning pitches."
Tillakaratne did not believe his plan could backfire as Australia also had two excellent leg-spinners in Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill.
"No doubt, Warne is a worldclass spinner, but our batsmen play spin day in, day out, " said Tillakaratne.
The Australian skipper said there could be places for both Warne and MacGill in the playing eleven if Lee failed to recover from the injury.
"There could be two legspinners in the side," said Ponting.
Warne and MacGill have played six Tests together, the last being against South Africa at Sydney in 2002.
"We expected a turning pitch," said Ponting. "It's really dry and can help spinners from the first morning itself. I think we have adjusted well to these conditions. We also have spinners to make it difficult for their batsmen."
All-rounder Andrew Symonds, looking set to make his Test debut, will have a big role to play with his off-spin bowling.
Ponting said the big partnerships would hold the key on such a pitch.
"It will be nice to bat first and bat long," he said.
"It's important to have big partnerships, which have been Australia's key in each Test. Batting is a game of patience in these conditions and I think we have the skill to succeed on such tracks."
Ponting said he was under no pressure in his first Test as Australia's captain.
"I have been leading the team in one-dayers for a few years and I won't be putting pressure on myself in the first Test."
TEAMS
AUSTRALIA (from): Ricky Ponting (capt), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Stuart MacGill, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Brad Williams, Wade Seccombe.
SRI LANKA (from): Hashan Tillakaratne (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Kumar Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Avishka Gunawardene, Nuwan Zoysa, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Nuwan Kulasekara.