Sri Lanka A 29 for 4 (Weerakkody 15*) trail England Lions 316 (Westley 97, Roland-Jones 82, Livingstone 59, Pushpakumara 4-97) by 287 runs
Scorecard
File photo – Toby Roland-Jones claimed two wickets after cracking 82 © Getty Images
Toby Roland-Jones struck 82 from No. 9 and then claimed two wickets in his first over as Sri Lanka A slipped to 29 for 4 in reply to England Lions’ first-innings 316 on the first day in Pallekele. The Lions had recovered from 61 for 3 and 210 for 8 to post a substantial score before ripping into the hosts’ top order.
Having chosen to bat, the Lions lost Haseeb Hameed and Nick Gubbins in the opening four overs, Asitha Fernando striking twice. Keaton Jennings, captaining the tourists, then fell to Sri Lanka Test offspinner Dilruwan Perera for 23 before lunch, bowled attempting to reverse-sweep.
Tom Westley, who made 95 in a warm-up game earlier in the week, helped fashion a recovery in partnership with Liam Livingstone, as the fourth-wicket pair put on 126 in 27 overs. Westley struck 14 fours and a six but fell short of a century when hooking Kasun Rajitha to a deep leg slip; Livingstone also departed three overs later, the first of four wickets for Malinda Pushpakumara.
Pushpakumara struck either side of tea, removing Sam Curran, Tom Curran and Ben Foakes cheaply, as the Lions lost 5 for 21 to squander some of their advantage. Sri Lanka A were unable to wrap up the innings quickly, though, as Ollie Rayner – selected ahead of Jack Leach – helped add 38 for the ninth wicket and then No. 11 Tom Helm held up an end in a stand of 68 as Roland-Jones thumped eight fours and three sixes before being last out.
Sri Lanka A fielded several players with Test match experience, including the openers, Udara Jayasundera and Dimuth Karunaratne. Both had been dismissed inside eight deliveries, however, and Roland-Jones quickly picked up his second wicket – both dismissals lbw – to leave Sri Lanka A 12 for 3.
Sandun Weerakkody, who made his international debut on the recent tour of South Africa, briefly steadied the innings but, with the close looming, saw Roshen Silva edge Helm behind – another first-over wicket – to leave the Lions well on top.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo