Sri Lanka v England, 2011-12
Wisden's review of the second tour match, Sri Lanka v England, 2011-12
Dean Wilson
15-Apr-2012
At Colombo (SSC), March 20-22, 2012. England XI won by four wickets. Toss: Sri Lanka Cricket
Development XI.
England's second warm-up game was a closer affair, but they still managed another morale-boosting
victory, with just 20 balls to spare. Chamara Silva made a case for a Test recall, passing 10,000 first-class runs during his 163, and sharing stands of 151 with Thilina Kandamby and 93 with Angelo Perera. In reply, Strauss and Trott put on 197 for the first wicket; both retired out on reaching three figures. Perera batted well again in the second innings, biffing six sixes before being stranded ten short of his hundred by a declaration which left England 359 to win from 64 overs. They paced the chase well: after a circumspect start, things hotted up as Prior hit 84 from 60 balls, while Patel -
with Eoin Morgan left at home following a traumatic time in the UAE - prepared for a Test debut with 72 from 78.
Close of play: First day, Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI 376-5 (A. K. Perera 61, Lokuarachchi
22); Second day, Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI 44-1 (Munaweera 26, M. D. K. J. Perera 7).