Champions Trophy: Sri Lanka sweat on Angelo Mathews' fitness; SA's Imran Tahir c

Angelo Mathews

London: Sri Lanka face a nervous wait to discover if captain Angelo Mathews will be fit for their Champions Trophy one-day international opener against South Africa today.

Mathews has been struggling with a calf problem and was due to have a fitness test yesterday. But Sri Lanka are set to delay any final decision on Mathews until the start of the match today at the Oval. "We're going to look at him tomorrow morning as well, so the final decision will be then," said Lanka vice-captain Upul Tharanga.

By contrast, South Africa begin their quest to win the ‘mini World Cup' bolstered by the knowing both leg-spinner Imran Tahir and batsman David Miller are fully fit for the Group B fixture. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj proved an effective deputy when called upon by the Proteas during their recent 2-1 ODI series defeat by England, but skipper AB de Villiers was glad to have Tahir available following a hamstring tweak. "He's our number one spin bowler. Keshav understands his role when it comes to that. There might be a time in the tournament where we might use a different strategy, if we play against a certain opposition or on a certain field," said de Villiers.