Fast bowler Fidel Edwards will be given a chance to prove his fitness ahead of West Indies' ICC World T20 semi-final.

Edwards is a major doubt for the semifinal match against Sri Lanka at the Oval on Friday night after he pulled out of Monday night's win over England at the same ground seconds before the toss.

His back injury kept him out of practice on Thursday but optimism remained he might shake it off sufficiently to feature.

"Edwards absence will be a big blow"

"He has been good for us throughout the tournament," said West Indies captain Chris Gayle. "Fidel is the sort of bowler who can win you games by picking up wickets at crucial times, so he would be missed.

"He was missed in the game against England even though we won. He is a key factor for us and if he is not fit we are not sure who it would be if someone else comes in."

Gayle sat out West Indies' previous defeat to Sri Lanka in this tournament, a match which emphasised the vast scoring potential of an experienced top order.

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Sanath Jayasuriya blazed 81 and Tillekeratne Dilshan - the tournament's leading run-scorer after the Super Eights stage - 74 in a score of 192 for five.

"They are a very good attacking team," said Gayle. "Whenever one of them doesn't click someone else steps up, which is good in a team.

"They have some quality players at the top of the order and any one of them can be dangerous."

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However, Sri Lanka's tactics have been based around their miserly Ms - Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga - and they will no doubt seek to defend a total once more.

West Indies will head into the contest feeling at home as they have already played at The Oval three times, but Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is not perturbed that his side are making their bow in south London.

"It's always nice to have some prior experience at a ground playing an important game," said Sangakkara. "But it's not to be, so I don't think we are going to worry too much about that, just try to make sure we play to our strengths.

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"We will pick the best side possible to go out there and do a job for the country.

"On a wicket like this, which seems a pretty even track, there should be good bounce and I think it will stay consistent right throughout.

"Especially when it comes to our spinners, I think if they can get a bit more bounce out of the track, they will be more effective. I think batsmen will find it harder to get under them and really hit it long."

South Africa have grabbed all the attention for their 100% record but Sri Lanka's five out of five has been mightily impressive and two of the sides they have defeated - West Indies and Pakistan - also made it to the final four.