Break may lead to Stewart recall

THE veteran England wicketkeeper Alec Stewart could be recalled after Jamie Foster, the man who displaced him, broke his arm yesterday while batting in the nets.

Foster is expected to miss at least the first two games of the three-Test series against Sri Lanka after breaking his left forearm while practising with his Essex teammates at Chelmsford.

Foster won his first cap against India in December after Stewart, 17 years his senior, opted not to tour. Stewart last played for England against Australia in August 2001 at The Oval. His decision to stay at home over the English winter led to speculation that his 115- Test career was over.

But question marks arose over Foster's credentials in India and New Zealand. Despite that, he won the backing of the selectors and was awarded a central contract for the series against Sri Lanka and India.

The first Test of this summer's series against Sri Lanka begins at Lord's on May 16, with the second Test at Edgbaston starting on May 30.

Yesterday, the tourists' warm-up against the British Universities at Northampton ended in a draw. Ishara Amerasinghe, pushing his claims for a starting place on May 16, posted figures of three for 46. The pace bowler, yet to make his international debut, was rewarded for consistently hitting a good line and length as the home side lost their last five wickets for just 46 runs.

Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya looked in especially good touch, smashing a quickfire 52 off 55 balls.

o India, needing 291 to avoid an innings defeat, were 169 for four after Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had slammed centuries to put the West Indies in perfect position for a series-levelling third Test win.

Opener Wasim Jaffer scored 51 in an 80-run opening stand with Shiv Sundar Das (35), but India lost quick wickets after that on a lively third-day pitch at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

India had been bundled out for 102 in their first innings and then allowed the West Indies to amass 394. Hooper struck 115, with 18 fours, for his 12th Test century and shared in a 215-run stand with Chanderpaul, who added an unbeaten 101.

Copyright 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.