West Indies caught in Galle's sweaty embrace

It's the humidity that gets opposition sides in Sri Lanka. The airport doors open and it hits visitors like a tidal wave. They cannot be free from it, day or night. For those who call Sri Lanka home, it is the motherland's glorious, unceasing, sweaty embrace. You know you're home when the pores in your skin swell to the size of grapefruits and weep profusely for joy.

For others, of course, it can seem like nationwide oppression -a human rights abuse carried out by nature itself. West Indies hail from islands roughly on Sri Lanka's latitude. Temperatures don't vary much from Colombo, to Bridgetown; from Galle to Port-of-Spain. Yet the weather is a challenge, the Caribbean men report. They speak of heat, but it's probably the humidity they mean.

On day two, as forecast rains failed to arrive, West Indies floundered through two early, oily sessions. They ambled, slouched and meandered. Sometimes, their fielders were like balloons strewn around the backyard after a children's birthday party; blown by the wind from place to place, deflating incrementally in the sun. Other times, men chased balls in slow motion like they were wearing latex fat-suits.

In that period, West Indies reprieved Dinesh Chandimal twice: once on 82 when a cut burst through Jermaine Blackwood's hands at point, and once more on 107, when Jerome Taylor did a nervous jig around the spot he was standing instead of moving forward to attempt the catch at mid off. The same man had already dropped him on 11 the previous day. A run-out chance to dismiss Dimuth Karunaratne was also missed.

The worst reprieve came in the afternoon. Angelo Mathews was so excited to have come in, for once, at 3 for 339 instead of 3 for 3 that he sent an edge to slip early in his innings. Jason Holder bent low and grassed a simple chance. The opposition's best batsman is not the man to drop, particularly if you are the captain. It must be especially embarrassing when your own name happens to be Holder.

While chances were being grassed, Sri Lanka's batsmen whisked the game away. They made intelligent raids for quick runs when support bowlers came on. They awaited mistakes. The bowlers themselves had held their lines well for most of the innings, but lethargy is infectious. Shannon Gabriel, who had persistently threatened the previous day, slung successive balls to the fine leg boundary in the afternoon. Devendra Bishoo's long hops increased in frequency. Even Kemar Roach and Jerome Taylor turned in flat, insipid spells.

Sri Lanka made 94 runs for 1 wicket in the first session, then 104 for 2 in the second. By tea they had 448 for 5, which is generally enough to declare on, on this pitch, which often descends into a foul mood on days four and five.

In mitigation, it has to be said that Galle is a particularly sadistic venue. The sea is both seen and heard from deep midwicket or fine leg, but tempted though fielders might be by thoughts of a refreshing dip, they can only endure the conditions.

More pertinently, this is a side that has had its approach to the series upset by the suspension of Phil Simmons, its head coach, days before the team was due to land in Sri Lanka. Their preparation was further hampered by rain in Colombo. And they are led by a 23-year-old rookie in the ninth Test of his career. None of this lends itself to the sort of team unity that is known to breed excellent fielding, though perhaps Holder's team will get there yet.

And it is not as if the opposition are much good at catching, stopping and throwing either. Lately, Sri Lanka's fielders have been known to wander aimlessly around the ground like a herd of livestock the farmer has forgotten to bring in. But the hosts have stronger batsmen and bowlers on paper, and if the West Indies eclipse them in one discipline, it has to be fielding. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo, in particular, is in a fragile state, still finding his feet in a team that had not needed him since 2010. He finished with 4 for 143, but could have had a five-wicket haul had his teammates been sharper.

"It is disappointing, but it happens," Bishoo said after the day's play. "I would have liked to get five or six wickets but we have to work on that part of the game. It's hard to digest when a catch goes down. It's frustrating for any bowler. But at the end of it you have to keep your head up and keep going."

West Indies await a trial by spin on Friday. Rangana Herath has begun a mini-charge. They will need greater powers of concentration than they displayed on the field today to emerge from that challenge with credit.