Sri Lanka to protest

Cricket

Sri Lanka's tour management are sending a letter of complaint about umpire Darrell Hair to Australia's cricket authorities.

"We are still waiting for the go-ahead from Colombo. Then we will do the necessary," said the team manager, Duleep Mendis, after his side kept alive their hopes of reaching the World Series Cup finals with a 16-run win over the West Indies in Perth.

Sri Lanka have become increasingly frustrated with what they consider unfair treatment by Hair, the first umpire to call their off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing in the second Test in Melbourne last month. In Sri Lanka's match against Australia on Friday, Hair was unhappy at their frequent substitution of fielders.

Yesterday, after struggling to 202 all out, Sri Lanka restricted the West Indies to 186 for 9, thanks to disciplined bowling and brilliant fielding. A middle-order collapse sunk the West Indies.

Tomorrow's game between Australia and Sri Lanka in Melbourne decides who meets Australia in the finals. Rain or a win will put Sri Lanka through.

WORLD SERIES: Sri Lanka 202 (R S Kaluwitharana 50, R S Mahanama 50; Gibson 5-40 50 overs); West Indies 186 for 9 (50 overs).

n Test opener Michael Slater has suffered a blow in his bid for World Cup selection by being overlooked for Australia's next two limited-overs internationals.

nKapil Dev is unlikely to be in the squad for the World Cup. "There is only a 0.001 percent chance of Kapil Dev playing," said Jagmohan Dalmiya, secretary of the Board of Control for in India.