Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga said that Jayasuriya felt some pain in his right hand where he was rapped on the knuckles on more than one occasion on a sub-standard pitch against Kent at Canterbury on Wednesday.
Jayasuriya also chipped his left index finger in that match, but that is not the main problem for Sri Lanka. They are more concerned about the swelling in his right hand.
Ranatunga said that Jayasuriya playing tomorrow was doubtful and that Russel Arnold has been put on standby.
If Jayasuriya fails to come through, Sri Lanka will be going into the match without two of their leading players. Fast bowler Chaminda Vaas, was ruled out of the tour with an ankle injury.
Sri Lanka have pruned their current squad of 18, by four, the exceptions being Ravindra Pushpakumara, who is recovering from a knee injury, Upul Chandana, Niroshan Bandaratilake and reserve wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene.
In Pushpakumara's absence, Sri Lanka are likely to opt for Suresh Perera ahead of Mario Villavarayen to partner Pramodya Wickremasinghe with the new ball.
Sri Lanka will have to decide whom to bat at number six. The place is being contested by Mahela Jayawardene and Hashan Tillekeratne. Jayewardene after a poor beginning has blossomed out, while the left-hander, is one of five centurions on the tour, and batting like the Tillekeratne of old. Chandika Hathurusingha is expected to take the number seven spot.
Sri Lanka's mediocre one-day record in England is not likely to upset their plans of winning the tournament.
Since playing in the inaugural World Cup held in 1975, Sri Lanka has won only two out of 12 one-day matches played in English conditions, and lost ten, which is not an encouraging record.
However, the comfort Sri Lanka can derive from it is, this woeful record was before they won the World Cup in 1996. The last time Sri Lanka played a one-day match in England was at the Oval ten years ago.
Since then, they have become a totally different outfit who have revolutionised the one-day game with their pinch-hitting tactics in the first 15 overs. With most other countries studying this tactic through the modern technology available today, Sri Lanka have not enjoyed the same success they had when it first came into play.
South Africa with their impressive line-up of fast bowlers spearheaded by Allan Donald, did not allow Sri Lanka to get off to the flying starts which has been the hall-mark of their successes, in the triangular competition held in South Africa early this year. South Africa are certain to adopt the same strategies here to keep Sri Lanka's powerful batting line-up within reasonable limits.
``South Africa's bowling and fielding is their strength, and I expect a good competition,'' said Ranatunga assessing his team's chances.
``England has become a virtual unknown quantity to us because we have not played them often. What they have in their favour is the home conditions and support and their recent Test wins over South Africa. But that kind of success could also work against them, because they will be under more pressure than us, because the expectations from home supporters will be high,'' said Ranatunga.
Sri Lanka meet England, the third country in the competition at Lord's on Sunday in what would be a dress rehearsal for next year's World Cup curtain-raiser. The two countries last met in a one-day international during the 1996 World Cup at Faisalabad when Sri Lanka won by five wickets.
The one-day record of the three countries after the 1996 World Cup point out to a Sri Lanka-South Africa final. South Africa have been the most successful side winning 44 out of 57 matches played (12 losses, one no result) for a success percentage of 78. Sri Lanka's success rate is 66.3% with 36 wins from 58 matches (18 losses, 3 no results, 1 tie) and England's 55.3% with 15 wins from 29 matches (12 losses, 1 no result, 1 tie).
South Africa are currently the number one ranked one-day side according to the international ratings, followed by West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia, India, England, Pakistan, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. So beating them will be no easy task.
In head-to-head confrontation between the two countries, Sri Lanka have won five and South Africa six in 13 outings with one no-result. In their last five meetings, South Africa have beaten Sri Lanka on four occasions and lost only once. Thus, on figures the odds seem heavily stacked against Sri Lanka, but you never know.
As has been proved on their current tour of England, South Africa derives most of their batting strength from their lower order, which have always propped them up. They have already proved how good they are in the overs-limit game by going on to beat England 2-1 in the Texaco trophy tournament and will be looking to add the triangular title played for the Emirates trophy to their ever-increasing collection.
That Sri Lanka have failed to win a single one-day tournament involving South Africa will also be foremost in Ranatunga's mind. ``We have beaten them in their own conditions and it is a case of performing well on the day. I am quite satisfied with the way we have played so far on the tour. We started off badly, but I think we are peaking at the right time,'' said Ranatunga.
Sri Lanka had an impressive build-up towards the tournament, winning all five warm-up one-day games against the county sides and an ECB XI.
The teams:
Sri Lanka (from): Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Russel Arnold, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Marvan Atapattu, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene, Hashan Tillekeratne, Chandika Hathurusingha, Kumara Dharmasena, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, Muthiah Muralitharan, Suresh Perera.
South Africa: Hansie Cronje (captain), Gary Kirsten, Mike Rindell, Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock, Pat Symcox, Mark Boucher, Allan Donald, Steve Elworthy.
Umpires: Peter Willey and Barry Duddleston
Third umpire: Barry Leadbeater
Match Referee: Justice Ahmed Ebrahim (Zimbabwe)