England Lions 324 (Shaikh 91, Aldridge 78, Jayasuriya 5-102) lead Sri Lanka 139 by 185 runs
In their only tour match ahead of their three-match Test series in England, Sri Lanka face a fight to save the game after conceding a heavy first-innings deficit to an inexperienced Lions team in Worcester.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 139 in just 43.5 overs on Wednesday, with no batter reaching 30 and Gloucestershire’s Zaman Akhter taking 5 for 32, the second five-wicket haul of his first-class career. Lions took a six-run lead heading into the second day after losing four wickets on the first evening, three of them to Prabath Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin.
But by the time rain brought the second day to an early finish, Lions had secured a first-innings lead of 185. Hamza Shaikh, the 18-year-old Warwickshire batter on first-class debut, made 91 from No. 4, sharing a 104-run stand for the seventh wicket with Kasey Aldridge, the Somerset allrounder, who himself made 78.
Jayasuriya finished with 5 for 102 from his 31.2 overs, with Kasun Rajitha taking 2 for 51 from 19. But Lahiru Kumara, who has not played a competitive match since June, was expensive, leaking 92 runs from his 18 overs and dismissing only tailender Ajeet Singh Dale.
Lions are fielding an under-strength side, with two first-class debutants in Shaikh and Farhan Ahmed, whose elder brother Rehan has played in all three formats for England. The ECB have only pulled one player – Josh Hull, who has made two appearances for Manchester Originals – out of the Hundred, which features most of the country’s best young players.
Sri Lanka have not played a Test since their tour to Bangladesh earlier this year, which ended at the start of April, and most of their squad have not played any first-class cricket since the domestic four-day tournament finished in early May. Vishwa Fernando, who is not playing against Lions, took 12 wickets in two appearances for Yorkshire in June.
Sri Lanka’s 18-man squad will travel from Worcester to Manchester after the tour game ahead of the first of three Tests against England, which starts on Wednesday at Emirates Old Trafford. They will be joined in Manchester by former England batter Ian Bell, who has been recruited as a batting coach for the series to provide local knowledge.
