Muralitharan returns home

Muttiah Muralitharan is returning home due to a family illness and will miss the rest of the England tour.

Muralitharan will fly to Madras on Friday to be with his son. A team spokesman was not sure of the overall situation and was unable to comment.

Murali was the key component of Sri Lanka’s attack in earning Sri Lanka a 1-1 draw in the Test series, and in the first two one-day internationals he took two wickets at an average of 49.

England and Sri Lanka are currently preparing for the third ODI at Chester-le-Street tomorrow. Sri Lanka lead the five match series 2-0 with three games to play.