Lankans lose Kumara in fresh injury blow

Sri Lanka have been dealt another blow on a tour of Australia that is lurching from disastrous to dire, with tearaway quick Lahiru Kumara ruled out of the second Domain Test due to a hamstring injury.

As the Sri Lankans stared down the barrel of an innings defeat barely halfway through the series opener in Brisbane, news emerged that Kumara would not be available for the next match in Canberra, beginning February 1.

The right-arm quick, who had hit speeds above 147kph after the dinner break on day one, had initially reported back soreness which had prevented him from bowling in the late stages of Australia's first innings, but Saturday's diagnosis was a torn right hamstring.

The 21-year-old becomes Sri Lanka's second fast bowler to go down on this tour of Australia, after back-up quick Nuwan Pradeep was also forced to head home early with a hamstring strain.

Should Sri Lanka opt for a like-for-like replacement for next week's second Test at Manuka Oval, right-armer Kasun Rajitha appears the man most likely to be called up

Rajitha has played three Tests, including last month's clash with New Zealand in Wellington, and took three wickets against a Cricket Australia XI in a warm-up match in Hobart last week.

Domain Test Series v Sri Lanka

Australia: Tim Paine (c/wk), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kusal Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha

Jan 24-28: First Test, Gabba (D/N)

Feb 1-5: Second Test, Canberra