Winning the toss and batting first Perera and Weerakkody provided the ideal beginning to the match for Sri Lanka ‘A’ by batting throughout the first session to take them to a total of 121 for no loss.

West Indies ‘A’ however hit back in the afternoon session to grab four wickets and reduce Sri Lanka A to 184-4 at tea. Perera was dismissed for a hard hit 69 off 85 balls (11 fours) and

Weerakkody made a stylish 79 off 105 balls with 10 fours. Paceman Delorn Johnson took both wickets to give West Indies ‘A’ the breakthrough after which off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall, the most successfulbowler in the series dismissed Lahiru Thirimanne for his fourth single digit figure in five innings for two and leg-spinner Damion Jacobs playing his first match of the series accounted for Aselan Gunaratne for 16. Charith Asalanka and Roshen Silva added 56 for the fifth wicket before West ndies ‘A’ once again broke through again in the final session to grab a further three wickets.

Asalanka, the Sri Lanka under 19 world cup captain scored an assured 46 off 95 balls with five fours and a six.

Silva played solidly to remain unbeaten on 40 scored off 87 balls (2 fours) but lost Dasun Shanaka and Jeffrey Vandersay cheaply as West Indies ‘A’ took control to end the day on a high.

Cornwall was again the pick of the West Indies ‘A’ bowlers ending the day with three for 93 to take his series tally to 19 wickets.

Mathews suffered a strain to his right calf muscle while batting in the fourth one-day international at Dambulla and took no further part in the match which Sri Lanka lost by six wickets to concede a winning 3-1 lead to Australia.

Mathews returned to Colombo for further treatment. “Mathews underwent an MRI scan test today and it has been revealed that he has a Grade 2 calf strain on his right leg,” said Sri Lanka team manager Charith Senanayake.

“Mathews will undergo treatment and he has been ruled out of the rest of the series,” he said.

Australia has three more matches left to play on their two-month long tour of Sri Lanka. The fifth and final ODI takes place at Pallekele Stadium on September 4 and it will be followed by two Twenty20 Internationals on September 6 at Pallekele and on September 9 at the R Premadasa Stadium.

Vice-captain Dinesh Chandimal who substituted for Mathews as captain in the fourth ODI is likely to take over the reins for the remaining matches.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka have included fast bowling all-rounder Dasun Shanaka to replace Thisara Perera in the 16-man squad and also brought in two left-hand batsmen – experienced opener Upul Tharanga and wicket-keeper/batsman Niroshan Dickwella as replacements for Mathews and spinner Lakshan Sandakan.

Throughout the series Sri Lanka had problems with their opening batsmen.

They have tried out three different opening combinations in the first four games without success.

The inclusion of seasoned batter Tharanga and Dickwella who opened the batting for Sri Lanka ‘A’ on their recent tour to England suggests that Sri Lanka will try out their fourth opening combination at Pallekele on Sunday.

Whether Tharanga will be asked to open the batting is questionable. He has not opened in the last 10 ODIs in which he has batted and has 53 not out and 40 as his best knocks in those matches but those runs were scored batting at number seven. To recall Tharanga is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire for he has hardly done himself or the team any justice by his random inclusions in the team. To recall Tharanga is to admit that the country is devoid of specialist openers. The majority of Sri Lanka’s opening problems have been caused by fast

bowler Mitchell Starc who has managed to get early breakthroughs and put the middle order under pressure.

Sri Lanka will be able to heave a sigh of relief as it is learnt that Australia plan to rest Starc and his new ball partner Josh Hazlewood for the fifth ODI.

Business Management School (BMS) from Sri Lanka, University of Sydney, Australia, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), Loughborough University of England, Marathwada Mitra Mandal College of Commerce (MMCC College) Pune from India, University Of Central Punjab, Lahore from Pakistan, Assupol TuksCricket, University of Pretoria from South Africa and Heriot Watt University, Dubai from United Arab Emirates, are the eight teams qualified to play in this year’s world finals after being qualified through national competitions conducted in relevant countries.

Assupol Tuks Cricket (University of Pretoria) of South Africa who won the last two finals in 2014 and 2015 will undoubtedly make every endeavor to win it for the third consecutive year in order to accomplish a hat-trick. While England’s Loughborough University will be looking for a revenge after losing the final last year. Business Management School (BMS) representing Sri Lanka in this grand final will no doubt be a threat to the other teams in the finals as they have the advantage of home conditions.

The eight teams will be divided into two groups at four apiece at the group stage, according to the tournament draw due on September 4th, 2016. The group stage matches will be played in Colombo from September 5th -7th, at the headquarters of Sri Lankan cricket, the Sinhalese Sports Club, and at the adjacent Nondescripts Cricket Club followed by the semi-finals and final which will take place at the Galle International Stadium on September 10th and 11th respectively.

The competition this year will see the trial of a new Energizer Over, where the runs for one over per side, tactically nominated by the batting team at any point after the Power-play overs, will count double. Any wickets taken during that over will cost the batting side 5 penalty runs.

Brendon Kuruppu, tournament director and former Sri Lanka cricketer stated that; it is a unique opportunity for the outstanding cricketers around the world to show their skills and talent. Furthermore, he stated that the tournament had become one of the most important tournaments to the host county Sri Lanka, since the players representing their colleges had shown their talents in the finals in their country, previous week.

Shehan Jayasuriya, Niroshan Dickwella and Dasun Shanaka playing for the BMS, (Colombo), are few of them. He further stated that it’s undoubtedly the same around the world and concluded that 2016 is the hardest battle fought.

Stafford Motors ‘’Champs of MCA Division G’’

Stafford Motors clinched the MCA Div G 25 over championship by 8 wickets as experienced Sanjaya Gangodawila cracked 69 after Pramesh Fernando led Stafford bowling attack restricted the Palliyaguruge group for 137.

Batting first after winning the toss Palliyaguruge group was bowled out in 23.4 overs for a score of 137. Pramesh Fernando and Shanaka Sampath shared 7 wickets between them being the main destroyers for Stafford Motors.

Stafford chased down the target down with ease losing only 2 wickets as Sanjaya Gangodawila top scored with 69. Asantha Singappuli made his contributions with an unbeaten 36 as Stafford for crowned MCA G division champs at the MCA grounds a short while ago.

Australian captain Steve Smith attempts to pull a short ball on the second day of the 3-day practice match against a Sri Lanka Board President’s XI at the P Sara Oval yesterday.

Resuming at their overnight score of 127 for one wicket Australia ended the day on 431-9 to lead the home side by 202 runs. The Board team made 229 in their first innings and face an uphill task of saving the match having to probably bat out the entire third day.

Their chances of doing that have already been handicapped by the injury to opening bat Madawa Warnapura who has been ruled out of the match with a dislocated left shoulder.

Warnapura dived at short mid wicket to try and stop a shot from Australian captain Steve Smith and in that attempt dislocated his shoulder which was later relocated.

However the local team’s manager cum coach Piyal Wijetunge said that Warnapura would be out for at least three weeks and would take no further part in the match.

In Warnapura’s absence, Wijetunge said that either wicket-keeper batsman Manoj Sarathchandra or Shehan Jayasuriya would open the batting with Oshada Fernando in the second innings.

“We’ll have to see whether Manoj is fit enough to open after having kept wickets for 122 overs, otherwise our second option is to open with Shehan,” said Wijetunge.

Sri Lanka cap Jayasuriya distinguished himself yesterday as a useful off-spinner picking up five Australian wickets for 109 off 29 overs. He was the pick of the home team bowlers even though there some impressive spells from quicks like Vimukthi Perera, Tharaka Gamage and Dasun Shanaka.

If at all the Aussies were unhappy about was that none of their batters went onto make a big score. Top scorer for them was opener Joe Burns with 72 while Steve Smith (57), Adam Voges (43) and later in the day Steve O’Keefe (62 n.o.) and Mitchell Starc (45) helped themselves to some useful runs to boost the total beyond the 400-run mark.

“The one disappointment to come out of the day was all our batters spent some time at the crease but no one went on to get a big score,” said Burns at the end of the day.

‘We talked about as a batting group that we try and be patient for long periods on the subcontinent. If they bowl good areas it’s just tough work, tough to score and slow going and you have to be committed to bat all day.

“I thought the opposition bowlers bowled quite well especially because it was a long day and some hot periods. As a batting group we are prepared to bat long hours in the middle. Hopefully we can bat for extended periods during the Test series,” he said.

Burns who scored 72 off 131 balls said that he ready for the Test series. “I felt really good the last few weeks went to Chennai before the tour had plenty of batting under my belt and I am ready to go for the Test series. It’s always nice to get some match experience, transfer what you are doing in the nets to a competitive environment in a first-class game and get as much confidence as possible for the three test matches.”

Burns was confident that Australia can push for a win today especially with the bowling line-up they have.

“Obviously we want to come out tomorrow and try and get a win. The skills our bowlers have – quick and spin bowlers can pose a threat,” said Burns.

“We have a bowling attack that can pose a threat in these conditions with reverse swing or spin. That’s a chance for our group to keep posing to the opposition batters.”

England, its host for a majority of the tour, has comprehensively outplayed it in both Tests and ODIs so far, and in doing so, has claimed an unassailable lead in the new multi-format points system. So it is that when the two sides clash one final time in a Twenty20 International at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday (July 5), Sri Lanka will be fighting to avoid a clean sweep across formats.

After a 0-2 loss in the Tests and a 0-3 reversal in the ODIs, Sri Lanka will find it a struggle to boost morale. After the final ODI – a comprehensive 122-run loss in Cardiff – Angelo Mathews, the captain, found himself fending off questions about his captaincy, saying: “This is a tough time for me as a captain and for the whole unit. But you can’t run away from it.”

The hope was that the ODIs would help Sri Lanka emerge strong from its troubles in Tests, the hope stemming from the possibility of the shorter format narrowing the gap between the teams. However, England – a markedly different side in limited-overs internationals since Sri Lanka defeated it in the ICC World Cup 2015 – proved too strong once again, and apart from the first ODI which ended in a tie, was comprehensive winner in the remaining three completed matches.

The problem for Sri Lanka has been that its departments have struggled to work in tandem. The batsmen posted 305 for 5 in the fourth ODI, but the bowlers struggled to restrict England to below that score. Then, when England set it 325 to win in the fifth, its batsmen were contained to 202.

“I’m pretty sure if we keep improving day by day, we can come out of this hole,” said Mathews after the final ODI. “For the past two months, we’ve been having the same problems, either batting, bowling or fielding has let us down in every single game.”

Ahead of the final clash of what has been a tiresome series, Sri Lanka will hope to depart with its heads held high. A late cameo or a couple of miscues usually prove decisive in T20s, and Sri Lanka knows it has its best chance yet to put one over England. Recent form doesn’t favour Sri Lanka in that respect either – England reached the final of the ICC World T20 2016, while the Sri Lankans failed to get out of their group.

England, meanwhile, is expected to blood a few youngsters in the one-off clash, including Tymal Mills, the paceman. He comes with a reputation for searing pace, something that gained momentum after he roughed up Chris Gayle during the NatWest T20 blast last month. “I’d love to see him play. I won’t be the sole selector, but from my point of view, it would be great to see someone like that charge and give it everything,” said Trevor Bayliss, the England coach.

“It’s good to see some batsmen ducking and weaving.”

Eoin Morgan, the England captain, spoke before the ODIs of how much of a confidence booster it was for the side to reach the ICC World T20 2016 final, and warned of coping with bigger expectations. Those expectations would only have increased after its performances in the series so far.

Teams (from):

England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Sam Billings, Johnny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, David Malan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Farveez Maharoof, Suraj Randiv, Seekkuge Prasanna.

England accounted for two important run outs both involving Jason Roy who got rid of the dangerous looking Kusal Perera for 37 with a direct hit and top scorer Dinesh Chandimal for 52.

Sri Lanka’s innings was built around an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Chandimal and his captain Angelo Mathews who contributed a valuable 44 batting with a dodgy hamstring injury.

Although Mathews declared himself fit it was quite evident the way he batted that he was clearly uncomfortable in his movements. But credit to him for putting up a brave front.

England never allowed the Lankan top order batsmen to forge any noteworthy partnerships other than the one involving Mathews and Chandimal as they kept chipping away at the batting.

Seekkuge Prasanna on this occasion failed to produce his usual cameo innings when he was dismissed for two when David Willey pulled off a stunning catch behind the bowler as the batsman took the aerial route but failed to get the distance.

Upul Tharanga and Suraj Randiv gave an extra impetus towards the end of the innings with a partnership of 63 off 56 balls that got them over the 250-mark.

Tharanga playing with all his experience of 184 ODIs scored his first half century for three years remaining unbeaten on 53 scored off 49 balls with one six and five fours, while Randiv who gave him good support was 26 not out off 27 balls.

Sri Lanka went for an additional spinner when they opted for the off spin of Randiv for the medium-pace of Dasun Shanaka.

With the wicket dry and offering a little spin and bounce playing an extra spinner could become handy for Sri Lanka when England begin their run chase.

The first ODI played at Trent Bridge ended in a tie.

Shanaka scored 42 off 19 balls on Thursday and then took five for 43 to bowl the tourists to a convincing 76-run win, their first since their arrival in England last month for a tour of Britain and Ireland.

“Dasun had a dream debut and we are all happy for him and hopefully he will continue in the next few matches,” Mathews said of the 24-year-old Shanaka, whose lively medium-pace bowling saw him take an encouraging three for 46 on his Test debut against England at Headingley last month.

“It’s nice to get the momentum on your side,” Mathews, himself a seam-bowling all-rounder, added.

“We have not done well in England and we have lost the Test series, but we have now won in similar conditions and can look forward to the one-day series (against England) coming up.”

Mathews was just as delighted with the batting performance of his side as they posted 303 for seven in their 50 overs despite losing the toss on an overcast morning, with conditions ideal for bowling on a green pitch.

“It was a challenge for the batsmen but they put up a good effort,” he said of an innings that featured an unbeaten hundred from Dinesh Chandimal.

“In these conditions you have to rotate the strike and build partnerships so you can set it up for the middle-order batters.

“I thought we got a brilliant start and the debutant, Kusal Mendis, batted brilliantly to score 51 and Chandimal has been batting brilliantly throughout.

“Shanaka then scored 42 off just 19 balls and finished the job for us,” added Mathews who modestly failed to mention his own innings of 49 from 53 balls with four fours and two sixes.

It was Chandimal who provided the backbone to the innings. Coming to the middle at the start of the 10th over, with Sri Lanka on 47 for two, the experienced wicket-keeper — who made a hundred in the second Test against England at Chester-le-Street — batted through the rest of the innings, finishing exactly 100 not out from 107 balls with just seven boundaries.

Mathews surprisingly opted to open the bowling himself and although he and Shaminda Eranga failed to take a wicket they restricted Ireland to just 22 in seven overs.

When Shanaka was introduced he made the breakthrough with only his second delivery and added the big wicket of Ed Joyce, Ireland’s best batsman, in his third over to put the home side on the back foot.

Ireland captain William Porterfield (73) and Kevin O’Brien (64) added 69 for the fourth wicket at exactly a run-a-ball, to get the home side back on track but the skipper’s dismissal and an interruption for rain 11 balls later cut off their momentum.

“I got out just before the rain which set us back and that proved crucial to our hopes of winning,” said Porterfield. “We couldn’t get put together any partnerships at the end and Shanaka bowled very well.”

The teams meet back at Malahide on Saturday for the second and final match of the series before Sri Lanka ‘go back over the water’ for a five-match ODI campaign against England.

Ireland, chasing a revised target of 293 in 47 overs, were dismissed for 216, with Sri Lanka ODI debutant Dasun Shanaka taking five wickets.

Sri Lanka, after losing the toss, made 303 for seven with Dinesh Chandimnal scoring exactly 100 not out before rain interrupted Ireland’s chase.

Sri Lanka have a well-earned reputation for being merciless against Associate nations. After an uncertain start, they added to that at Malahide, reaching 302 for 7 and exposing the lack of variety in Ireland’s attack. The upshot was that Ireland were left needing to chase more than 300 for victory, something they have managed against Full Members in the last two World Cups but never in a bilateral match.

For Sri Lanka, it was particularly heartening that two contrasting innings from ODI debutants helped lift them to their score. First Kusal Mendis, doughty as a novice No. 3 in the Test series in England, scored a half-century that exhibited finesse and some resplendent straight driving. Then Dasun Shanaka eschewed such subtlety in harrumphing 42 from 19 balls, including 24 in five deliveries from Max Sorensen.

Both forged substantial partnerships with Dinesh Chandimal, who reached his first ODI century for five years, and just his third overall.

That tally does scant justice to his talent, and Chandimal’s roar when he reached three figures hinted at his frustration that centuries have not been more forthcoming.

His innings contained some pristine drives, but mostly it was marked by impeccable placement, particularly on the legside. In a sense this innings was a throwback to the age before power hitting came to dominate ODI cricket: in making 102 not out from 109 balls, Chandimal scored only six boundaries by ten twos and 50 singles.

For Ireland, the day brought joy for a debutant of their own. Barry McCarthy owes much to Malahide. A testing spell to Ben Stokes in the net three years ago earned him a recommendation to Durham, and a professional contract. Last year, he became the first Irishman since the 19th Century to play in county cricket before making his international debut.

Many felt it overdue, and McCarthy took only two balls to vindicate them, when Danushka Gunathilaka edged to slip. “It’s a beautiful day,” belted out the tannoy system. Doubtless it would have felt that way for McCarthy, but it was not: the start had been delayed by a wet outfield, and several more rain showers threatened to curtail play. Many of an underwhelming crowd – Ireland are unfortunate that both these ODIs coincide with European Championship matches for Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland – were grateful that they had brought in their umbrellas, which should be compulsory for any Irish cricket fans.

McCarthy’s day became less wonderful later on, as he felt the wrath of Shanaka’s violent assault.

With Sri Lanka threatening to approach a near-impregnable score, Boyd Rankin reined them in, as the last four overs of the innings brought just 24 runs.

It was Rankin’s first ever ODI for Ireland here, though he played for England against Ireland here three years ago, and his extra pace and bounce was essential in an attack that otherwise lacked variety: the other four frontline bowlers were right-armers operating at around 80mph.

But Ireland have packed their batting, which, on a true pitch, will give them some hope of beginning a new era with a first ever win against a Full Member in Dublin.

Of the six wickets Sri Lanka took during the day four were due to outstanding catches.

Skipper Angelo Mathews’ blinder of a catch at slip to send back Alex Hales for 83 was the top of the lot. The England opener offered a full blooded cut off left-arm spinner Milinda Siriwardana and as the ball flew off the edge Mathews dived to his right and held the ball one-handed.

Sri Lanka’s brilliant catching compensated for the Lankan bowling which was too friendly on the slow pitch where the odd ball kept low.

Dimuth Karunaratne picked up a fine catch at slip to send back Alastair Cook for 15, denying the England captain his milestone of becoming the first Englishman to reach 10,000 Test runs. Cook started the day requiring 20 to reach the landmark but fell short by five when he was dismissed for 15.

Unless Sri Lanka put up a good first innings total, and make England to bat again in the second innings Cook may well have to wait until the start of the third and final Test at Lord’s on June 9 to get to the milestone. At Leeds, England batted only once and won the Test by an innings to go one-up in the three match series. Suranga Lakmal who replaced the injured Dushmantha Chameera pulled off a stunning catch at deep square leg when Nick Compton offered a full blooded pull with his score on nine.

The fourth catch of the day was held by Lahiru Thirimanne at short cover when James Vince drove at Siriwardana and the fielder diving to his right pulled off a ripper.

Sri Lankan bowling in these conditions looked harmless but their persistency paid rich dividends as they managed to prize out six England wickets.

Joe Root was the other England batsman to miss out on a hundred when he popped up a simple catch to Kaushal Silva at cover with his score on 80.

Hales and Root added 96 and Root also shared another half century stand with Vince. But each time England looked like running away with the game Sri Lanka managed to pull back and pluck a wicket.

Nuwan Pradeep was the pick of the Lankan bowlers finishing with three wickets for 69 including that of Jonny Bairstow the man of the match at Leeds with a career best 140. Bairstow fell to the second new ball attempting to slash at Pradeep and giving Dinesh Chandimal a straight forward catch after scoring 48 off 57 balls.

With Moeen Ali who was unbeaten on 28 at the close, Bairstow added 70 for the sixth wicket. Chris Woakes who replaced the injured Ben Stokes was not out eight.

Like Cook, left-arm spinner Rangana Herath was also left seeking his 300th Test wicket. Herath created some problems for the batsmen with his guile and flight but England managed to overcame it and deprive him of the milestone. Herath is shy of one wicket from becoming the third Sri Lankan bowler to get to the mark.

Siriwardana considered to be the man with the golden arm justified his selection ahead of Dasun Shanaka with two wickets – both to excellent catches by Mathews and Thirimanne.

In the gloomy morning it looked as if Sri Lanka had got it all wrong when they left out Shanaka for the left-arm spin of Siriwardana, but later as the day progressed and the wicket started to get slow and keep low it seemed a good choice.

It seems the Lankans whose fielding had dropped drastically in recent times have worked hard in this area and the results are showing on the field.

The overcast skies gave away to bright sunshine during the final session of play. The forecast for the next two days is for good weather.

The full list of players short-listed for the auctions has been released. It includes 130 capped players, 219 uncapped players and two from Associate Nations.

Out of these, 230 are Indians and 121 foreigners. The list was trimmed down from the original list of 714 cricketers who had given their names for the IPL auctions.

29 Australian capped cricketers have been short-listed for the auction. They are followed by players from India (26), West Indies (20), South Africa (18), Sri Lanka (16), New Zealand, (9), England (7) and Bangladesh (5).

Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen, Ashish Nehra, Shane Watson, Ishant Sharma, Sanju Samson, Dinesh Karthik, Stuart Binny and Dhawal Kulkarni are among the cricketers who have been listed with a base price of Rs 2 Crore (the highest base price bracket).

Yuvraj, who was left out of Delhi Daredevils, had fetched the highest price in the last two IPL auctions. Having returned to the national fold ahead of the ICC World T20, he is likely to attract a high bid in the upcoming auction.

Delhi Daredevils, who have released some of their biggest buys from the previous season – Yuvraj Singh and Angelo Mathews have the heaviest purse going into the auction – Rs 37.15 crore. They are followed by Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have Rs 30.15 crore going into the auction. The two new franchises – Rising Pune Super Giants and Rajkot are joint-third on the list with Rs 27 crore each in their kitty.

Kings XI Punjab (Rs 23 crore), Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs 21.625 crore) and Kolkata Knight Riders (Rs 17.95 crore) follow them on the list. Defending champions Mumbai Indians, seem settled with the unit that played last year. They released 10 players from the contract list and have Rs 14.405 crore going into the auction.

T20 captain Lasith Malinga is the only Sri Lankan retained by a franchise (Mumbai Indians) in the IPL.

Sri Lanka players –

Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Nuwan Kulasekera, Ajantha Mendis, Sachitra Senanayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardana, Isuru Udana, Dilshan Munaweera, Seekkuge Prasanna