Image courtesy of: Zimbio

South Africa won their last encounter with Sri Lanka 3-2

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have finally confirmed the itinerary for the national team’s limited overs tour of Sri Lanka, which will be Russell Domigo’s first assignment as the country’s head coach.

The tour is set to consist of five ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals and is scheduled to take place between July 20 and August 6.

Initially, the tour also included three Test matches, but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) requested CSA to postpone it till 2015 in order to have adequate time to prepare for the second edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL).

With no Test matches included in this tour, Domingo can breath a sigh of relief as South Africa’s next Test series will be against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October this year.

Many cricket pundits and former players will be interested to see how Domingo goes about this limited overs series since he is likely to try experimenting with different players in order to find the right combination ahead of the 2014 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 in Bangladesh and the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

South Africa Test captain, Graeme Smith, is expected to miss the series after having undergone a surgical procedure to repair his troublesome ankle.

It is reported that Smith will be out of action for at least four months and his wife, Morgan, is expecting the couple’s second child at some point during the Sri Lanka series.

With veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis also not in the side due to the fact that he does not play bilateral ODI series, South Africa will need to find a new ODI vice-captain to help assist captain AB de Villiers.

The series will be Sri Lanka’s third limited overs assignment in just two months as they will participate in the Champions Trophy and the ODI tri-series against India and the West Indies after the tournament.

South Africa and Sri Lanka last clashed against each other in an ODI series in January 2012, where the Proteas emerged on top with a 3-2 victory.