Matthew Coles, the Kent seam bowler, has been called up for the rest of the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka after Surrey's Stuart Meaker pulled out because of a lower back injury. Meaker is returning to the UK for further assessment in the hope that he will regain fitness in time for the start of the English season.
Meaker's 44 first-class wickets at 22.56 played a central role in Surrey's late rush to promotion last year and they will be unsettled about his potential absence as they try to re-establish themselves in Division One.
The Lions have two more ODI fixtures against Sri Lanka, in Colombo on Friday and Tuesday, followed by a match against an England XI in Dubai on February 10. Coles only has to make the short flight from Chennai where he has been with England's Performance Programme.
Coles, 21, has 61 first-class wickets at an average of 36, and was afflicted by injury during much of Kent's lacklustre 2011 Division Two season but his return to the side in August led to a belated upturn in fortunes for the county.
