by Sri Lanka `A' vs West Indies `A' : Harper, Lewis spin out SL `A'
By SA'ADI THAWFEEQ
For the second day running, spinners took the honours in the second
unofficial cricket Test between Sri Lanka `A' and West Indies `A' at
the SSC grounds.
On a pitch assisting spin, West Indies `A' skipper Roger Harper
(off-breaks) and Rawl Lewis (leg-breaks) bowled unchanged since lunch
to take eight wickets between them to dismiss Sri Lanka `A' for 287.
This was in reply to West Indies `A's first innings of 220.
By the close yesterday, West Indies `A' had wiped out the first
innings deficit of 67 runs by scoring the exact amount for no loss,
through their openers Stuart Williams (29) and Philo Wallace (29).
The game now stands at a very interesting stage with two days
remaining.
So far, spinners have dictated the course of the match capturing 15 of
the 20 wickets to fall.
Harper followed the performance of one of his kind, Ruwan Kalpage (who
took 6 for 51 on the first day) by claiming 5 for 61 off 31.3 overs.
Lewis proved an ideal foil to him to finish with 3 for 87 off 23
overs. The two bowled in harness since lunch to capture the last six
wickets for 67 runs and make certain Sri Lanka did not gain a
substantial first innings lead.
Considering the amount of turn the spinners extracted out of the SSC
surface any kind of lead on the first innings could be considered a
bonus.
Having dismissed West Indies `A' for 220, Sri Lanka `A' needed to
consolidate the position given them by their bowlers on the first day.
unfortunately, only Duleep Samaraweera displayed the concentration and
application to play a big innings. The rest of the top order batsmen
with the exception of Mahela Jayawardena, who was out to a poor shot,
all got into the twenties and thirties, but none showed the patience
to convert those figures into a big score.
The majority of Sri Lanka `A's runs were made while Samaraweera was at
the wicket. In fact 182 runs came while he was batting for 253
minutes. Samaraweera's contribution in that time was a well
constructed innings of 73 off 166 balls with nine fours.
Having put on 63 for the first wicket with Chaminda Mendis on the
first day, Samaraweera was further involved in stands of 49 with
`nigh***chman' Wendell Labrooy (23) and left-hander Naveed Nawaz
(36), before Lewis had him edging a catch to Harper in the slips.
Harper and Lewis tied the rest of the Sri Lanka `A' batsmen down so
much that only 79 runs were scored in the afternoon session off 28
overs during which period Sri Lanka `A' lost four wickets.
Kalpage went on the offensive hitting an unbeaten 34 off 44 balls with
two sixes and an equal number of fours, but ran out of partners in the
end. He could only watch helplessly, as Harper finished off the Sri
Lanka`A' innings poised for a hat-trick.
The West Indies `A' captain took the wickets of Wickremasinghe and
Jayantha Silva off successive balls and needs to take a wicket with
his first ball in the Sri Lanka second innings to complete the
hat-trick.
WEST INDIES `A' 1ST INNINGS 220
SRI LANKA `A' 1ST INNINGS (67 for one overnight contd.)
D. P. Samaraweera c Harper b Lewis 73, M. C. Mendis c Ford b Cuffy 20, W. C.
Labrooy c Joseph b Francis 23, M. N. Nawaz c and b Harper 36, S. Jayantha c Re
ifer b Harper 20, S. Ranatunga c Francis b Harper 39, D. P. M. Jayawardene c W
illiams b Lewis 4, R. S. Kalpage not out 34, C. I. Dunusinghe c Ford b Lewis 9
, G. P. Wickremasinghe b Harper 0, K. J. Silva c Powell b Harper 0. Extras (b-
1, lb-5, nb-23) 29.
TOTAL (all out, 86.3 overs, 403 mins) 287.
Fall of wickets: 63, 112, 174, 182, 220, 227, 267, 286, 287, 287.
Bowling: Gibson 11-3-38-0 (1nb), Cuffy 13-1-64-1 (14 nb), Francis 8-1-31-1 (4n
b), Harper 31.3-9-61-5, Lewis 23-3-87-3 (4nb).
WEST INDIES `A' 2ND INNINGS
S. C. Williams not out 29, P. A. Wallace not out 29. Extras (b-4, lb-1, nb-4)
9.
TOTAL (for no loss at close, 18 overs, 80 mins) 67.
Bowling (to-date): Wickremasinghe 4-0-9-0, Labrooy 2-0-17-0, Silva 5-2-13-0, Ka
lpage 5-1-12-0, Jayawardena 2-0-11-0.