Bridgetown (Barbados), June 14: Persistent back pain from an injury will keep the West Indies' fastest bowler, Jermaine Lawson, from playing in two upcoming tests against Sri Lanka, cricket officials said yesterday. The West Indies Cricket Board said the fiery 21-year-old was still having trouble with "bulging discs in his lower back." The injury has kept him from playing since May 13, when he took seven wickets in the fourth of seven tests against Australia.
Lawson's bowling is also under review by the International Cricket Council, after test umpires reported him for irregular bowling methods in the series against Australia. In cricket, the ball must be bowled, not thrown, for a fair delivery.
The back injury has held up the review and prevented Lawson from working on his method, the cricket board said in a statement.
"We cannot make much progress once the injury to the back remains a concern," said Michael Seepersaud, the board's development officer. The review includes watching videos of Lawson bowl as well as doing a "biomechanical analysis of his action," he said.
Lawson has been doing daily exercises with doctors to strengthen his back, and could begin remedial work on his bowling next week, he said.
But he will not be in shape for the team's first test against Sri Lanka on June 20-24 in St. Lucia or the second on June 27-July 1 in Jamaica, Seepersaud said.
Since making his test debut against India in Chennai in November, Lawson has taken 29 wickets in seven tests.

Bureau Report