By Srian Obeyesekere

Trailing England Lions by 185 runs, Sri Lanka did make amends scoring 306 in the second innings on half centuries by Nishan Madushka 77, Angelo Mathews and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, but the effort fell short of staving defeat as the Lions, needing 122 for victory, were on 47 for 2, 75 short of victory at stumps on the third day of the four-day warm up match yesterday at the County Ground, New Road, Worcester on Friday.  .

Opener Madushka led a Sri Lankan fightback stroking a workmanlike innings hitting 8 boundaries and 2 sixes in posting 105 for the first wicket together with Dimuth Karunaratne who made 43 off 73 balls inclusive of 5 boundaries. But the Lankans lost four wickets in the space of 69 balls with disaster setting by a hara-kiri fifth ball run out by Dinesh Chandimal for a duck. The innings was revived by a fifth-wicket partnership of 69 between Angelo Mathews who scored 51 off q12 balls filled with 6 boundaries and Dhananjaya de Silva who struck 66 off 147 sending 6 to the ropes and one over as the Lankan skipper went on to add a further 51 with Sadeera Samarawickrama 25 off 42 with 3 boundaries for the sixth-wicket. But that was as far as the Lankans would go with the next four wickets falling for the addition of 40 runs with the skipper their last hope seventh out with the score on 278.

The England Lions 47 came off just 7 overs in the push for victory but suffered two successive blows with the score on 33 when Lankan skipper de Silva, operating the third over of the innings bowled Ben McKinney for 20 and had next man Oliver Price with the next ball caught by Kusal Mendis for a duck. 

Sri Lanka made 139 in the first innings to which England Lions replied with an imposing 324 on No.4 Hamza Shaikh’s top score of 91 and Kasey Aldridge 78.

The Lankans hopes hinged largely on the fifth-wicket pair of veteran Angelo Mathews and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva who had added 54 for the fifth wicket into the 46th over of the Lankan second innings.

Madushka’s innings came to an end when Farhan Ahmed had him caught by Hull. His dismissal was preceded by Dimuth Karunaratne leg before wicket to Lyndon. It triggered the collapse as next in Kusal Mendis departed 8 runs and 6 balls later with the score 113 when he was caught behind by James Rew giving Lyndon James his second wicket. Madushka was joined by Angelo Mathews in reviving the innings briefly adding 28 for the third wicket when Madushka’s brave knock came to an end which followed Dinesh Chandimal’s run out for a duck 3 balls later which was a big blow to the Lankans as they fronted quite a trail to coming unscratched in their feeler ahead of the first test against England starting on August 21 at Old Trafford, Manchester.  

England Lions first innings revolved around Hamza Shaikh’s top score of 91 filled with 7 boundaries and Kasey Aldridge 78 inclusive of 7 boundaries and 2 sixes. 

Prabath Jayasuriya took 5 wickets for the Lankans but taking a heavy toll conceding 102 runs.

CHIEF SCORES:

Sri Lanka 139 (Dimuth Karunaratne 26, Prabath Jayasuriya 20, Zaman Akhter 5/32, Josh Hull 3/30) And 306 (87.1 Overs) (Nishan Madushka 77, Dhananjaya de Silva 66, Angelo Mathews 51, Sadeera Samarawickrama 25, Farhan Ahmed 3/87, Lyndon James 2/34, Josh Hull 2/44, Zaman Akhter 2/59)

England Lions 324 (Hamza Shaikh 91, Kasey Aldridge 78, Ben McKinney 46, Rob Yates 25, Oliver   Priceee 22, James Rew 22, Prabath Jayasuriya 5/102, Kasun Rajitha 2/51, Milan Rathnayake 1/65, Lahiru Kumara 1/92) And 47/2 (7 Overs) (Ben McKinney 20, Rob Yates 17, Hamza Shaikh n.o. 8, Oliver Price n.o. 0, Dhananjaya de Silva 2/13)