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Rain forces delayed start in Galle

  • Story Highlights
  • Test cricket returns to Galle three years after the devastating tsunami
  • Tuesday's start is put back two hours after more rain
  • England recall paceman Matthew Hoggard for the series decider
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GALLE, Sri Lanka -- Test cricket returns to Galle on Tuesday, nearly three years after the stadium was destroyed during the tsunami that killed around 300,000 people in a dozen countries. But the start has been put back two hours because of more rain.

Hoggard missed the second test after injuring his back in the series opener.

Although the sun was shining for the first time in three days when Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse inaugurated the new facility on Monday, monsoon rain fell in the afternoon and the first session will effectively be wiped out with the start put back to 0630 GMT.

Both teams will want to have a good look at the conditions and the untested pitch before naming their starting line-ups.

Sri Lanka, who have won six of the 11 Tests played in Galle, may include leg-spinner Malinda Bandara for the first-time in the series to partner world record wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sri Lankan vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara was unsure how the re-laid wicket would behave, but expected batsmen to struggle.

"A few practice games produced low scores but it is difficult to predict how it will behave through the test," he said.

Middle-order batsman Tillekeratne Dilshan, making a comeback after being dropped for last month's tour of Australia, gives Sri Lanka a third spin option with his off-break bowling.

England will welcome back fast bowler Matthew Hoggard, who missed the second test in Colombo after injuring his back in the first match in Kandy.

Hoggard, who took six wickets in Kandy when England lost by 88 runs, will replace Stuart Broad, who took only one wicket in a high-scoring drawn second test in Colombo.

Uncapped off-spinner Graeme Swann was also included in a short-list of 12 announced on Monday, giving the tourists the option of a second slow bowler alongside Monty Panesar.

Should England lose the match, and with it the series they will drop three places -- from number two behind champions Australia to five -- in the official rankings.

A 2-0 series win for Sri Lanka would send Mahela Jayawardene's men three places past England, South Africa and India, to number two. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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