Hampshire are unlikely to face Muttiah Muralitharan when Lancashire visit the Rose Bowl in the LV County Championship this week.
Muralitharan, whose World Cup dream ended in heartache when Sri Lanka were thrashed by Australia in the final on April 28, is due to fly in for the county season on Thursday - a day after the Rose Bowl showdown gets under way.
With Brad Hodge, Andrew Flintoff, Sajid Mahmood and James Anderson all expected to be in the Lancashire line-up, and Shane Warne and Stuart Clark to be joined by Kevin Pietersen in the Hampshire team, Muralitharan's presence would be a fitting addition to an all-star cast.
But a senior official from Sri Lanka's governing body today confirmed: "Muttiah Muralitharan (Lancashire), Chaminda Vaas (Middlesex) and Kumar Sangakkara (Warwickshire) will leave for England to play county cricket on May 10."
The statement came as the three players were excused from playing in Sri Lanka's three-match one-day series with Pakistan in Abu Dhabi from May 18-22.
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