Sri Lanka star may miss start of Northants' T20 title defence

Seekkuge Prasanna could miss the start of the Steelbacks' T20 campaign (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

The spinner has worked his way back into the Sri Lanka one-day squad in recent months and looks likely to represent his country against Zimbabwe.

The series between the two nations begins on June 30, with a total of five one-day internationals to be played.

The final fixture takes place on July 10, three days after Northants begin the defence of their T20 title against Derbyshire at the County Ground.

And Steelbacks head coach David Ripley said: “It looks like Seekkuge is going to miss the start of the tournament, but we’re waiting for confirmation on that.

“It’s not guaranteed that he’ll be here for the start because Sri Lanka have got one-day international cricket and Seekkuge has got himself back in the squad for that.

“We’ll wait for official confirmation of when he will arrive.”

But better news for Northants comes in the form of South African star Richard Levi.

The big-hitting batsman sustained concussion in a Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash with Worcestershire last month.

He has not featured for Northants since, but Ripley is hopeful that he may return in the four-day fixture against Leicestershire, which starts at the County Ground on Monday.

“We hope Richard will get the all clear to play against Leicestershire next week,” Ripley said.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Rossington is set to miss the Leicestershire game due to a fractured finger.

But he could return to face Kent in another Championship clash the following week, which would relieve Ben Duckett of wicketkeeping duties.

“We’re keeping that ball in the air,” said Ripley, when asked whether he still wanted to bring in another wicketkeeper to cover for Rossington.

“Adam Rossington had a little break because he couldn’t do anything, but he’s back and his finger seems to be going in the right direction.

“We’re hoping for T20 cricket for him and maybe even the Kent game.

“If that goes well, we’re looking at just one more match for Ben to help us with and I thought he kept wicket very well in the last game.

“It was a difficult wicket to keep on because it was a little two-paced, but I thought Ben did very well.”