Sri Lanka were 89 without loss when rain ended play early yesterday on the fourth day of the first test after being made to bat again by the West Indies having fallen three runs short of the follow-on total of 381.
Tharanga Paranavitana and Tillakaratne Dilshan were both on 44 as Sri Lanka, who were dismissed for a first innings total of 378, still trailed West Indies by 113 runs.
Off-spinner Shane Shillingford, playing in his fourth test, returned career best figures of four for 123 and proved to be the main -stumbling block for the hosts.
He picked up the wicket of Dammika Prasad (47) who added 72 runs with Prasanna Jayawardene for the eighth wicket.
It was the only time West Indies felt they were challenged and once the stand was broken the last two wickets fell in no time.
Prasanna Jayawardene came close to saving the follow-on, but top-edged a sweep off Shillingford and was last man out for 58.
Shillingford added the wicket of Randiv for 12, bowled through the gap between bat and pad.
Sri Lanka resumed on 165 for three in response to the tourists’ 580-9 declared and West Indies continued to apply pressure, capturing three wickets in the morning session.
They broke through in the sixth over when paceman Kemar Roach had Mahela Jayawardene caught behind by wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh for 59, ending a 61-run fourth-wicket partnership with Thilan Samaraweera.
In the previous over, Jayawardene had been dropped by Dwayne Bravo at leg slip off Shillingford.
Samaraweera completed his -half-century, but was unfortunate to be run out when backing up at the non-striker’s end. Bravo stuck out his boot to block an Angelo Mathews drive and the ball went straight on to hit the stumps with Samaraweera (52) slightly out of the crease.
Mathews and Prasanna Jayawardene appeared to be taking Sri Lanka to lunch without any further loss, but West Indies captain Darren Sammy brought Shillingford back on in the last over before the break and the spinner duly obliged by dismissing Mathews for 27 when he edged a catch to Sammy at first slip.
? England vs AusTRALIA A
Bloomberg and AFP, HOBART, Australia
England were 335 for five in their first innings at the close on the rain-affected second day of the four-day tour match against Australia A at Bellerive Oval yesterday.
Ian Bell struck an unbeaten century and Paul Collingwood made 74 not out to lift England against Australia’s second string for its final tune-up for the Ashes cricket series.
Bell hit 121 at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval, smashing 16 fours and one six in his 158-ball innings. He shared an unbroken 198-run stand for the sixth wicket with Collingwood after the touring team had fallen to 137-5. England leads by 105 runs after bowling out Australia for 230.
The four-day game in Tasmania is England’s last warm-up before the best-of-five Ashes contest against Australia begins on Nov. 25 in Brisbane. England beat Western Australia and drew with South Australia in its other two tour matches.
England, which holds the Ashes after last year’s 2-1 home victory, hasn’t won a series in Australia since 1986-1987.
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