It's chucking it down and hopes of replacements are sinking fast

The bad weather that has disrupted Sri Lanka's preparations for the Second Test have probably made it increasingly likely that Ruchira Perera will be in Thursday's line-up against England at Edgbaston despite being reported for a suspect action in the First Test at Lord's.

Perera is free to continue playing despite the umpires at Lord's, Daryl Harper and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, saying "when he strives for pace there is a question mark" over his action. Last night the Sri Lankan management confirmed his availability for selection, though he has yet to start the six-week programme of remedial work prescribed by the ICC.

With play washed out for the second day running against Glamorgan at Cardiff, Sri Lanka have not been able to test the fitness of the recently injured paceman Dilhara Fernando in the middle. Team manager Chandra Schaffter's admission that it "would be a gamble" to play Fernando seems to raise the likelihood of Perera being asked to carry on, despite the intense scrutiny he will be under.

Sri Lanka consider the perceived imperfections in the left-armer's action to be minor. Video footage from the ICC did not reach the team hotel until yesterday, and bowling coach Daryl Foster, the former Kent and Western Australia coach, will not be able to start serious work with Perera until Tuesday, having flown back to Perth because of a family illness.

But Schaffter said: "We do not see it as a serious problem that will keep Ruchira from playing cricket. I think the reason he has not been reported before is because the problem is marginal and not easy to pick up with the naked eye. We had not had a chance to study the videos before coming to the ground but we will look at them and see where the ICC has found fault. If it is only marginal it will not be difficult to sort out." The Sri Lankan coach, Dav Whatmore, confirmed that Foster had already offered advice on ways to make Perera's action "smoother, more fluent and fluid". "The scrutiny is bound to play on his mind but he is still bouncy and bubbly and it is quite realistic for him to work on his action next week and still play at Edgbaston."

It seems unlikely that he will be competing for a place with Muttiah Murali-tharan, still waiting for the torn ligaments in his left shoulder to heal. The spinner was reported to have come through a gentle bowl in the indoor school here yesterday without obvious pain, but Schaffter remains cautious. "We are just taking it one day at a time," he said. "It will be down to how he feels in the end but it is impossible to say when he will be ready to play. He may even miss the Third Test."

Yesterday's play was abandoned before three o'clock as one downpour after another hampered the groundstaff's attempts to mop up. But the Sri Lankans accepted the disruption with customary smiles. "We have had to kit out the team with thermal underwear," Schaffter said. "When I inquired about buying some in London, the shop assistant asked which country it was for and I had to confess we wanted to wear it here."