Sri Lanka Daily News round up (10 June 1997)

Tuesday 10, June 1997

SRI LANKA SPORTS NEWS AT-A-GLANCE

Compiled by Dinesh Weerawansa.

CRICKET (Home):

* Hatton National Bank beat Associated Motorways by three wickets in their Mercantile `A' division league cricket match played at the MCA grounds.

AMW, batting first made 1165 all out in 47 overs with T.M.Dilshan making a top score of 56. Pramodya Wickremasinghe (2 for 26) and Saman Jayantha (2 for 31) shared the bowling honours for the bankers. In reply, HNB made 167 for 7 in 29 overs with two good innings from Nilantha Bopage (41) and Suranga Wijenayake (61 n.o). Priyankara Silva had 3 for 43 for the AMW.

(Abroad): *

Franklyn Rose and Mervyn Dillon are expected to be taken out of the current 13-member squad when the West Indies name their final X1 for the first Test against Sri Lanka which starts at Antigua recreation ground on Friday.

sources said Rose and Dillon will be dropped from the final team which will enable uncapped middle order bat Floyd Reifer to make his Test debut for the West Indies. But team sources said it is too early to decide who will go out of the 13-member squad named only on Sunday.

Meanwhile, wicket keeper Courtney Browne, opener Sherwin Campbell and pacemen Ian Bishop and Mervyn Dillon are certain to return to the side having missed the one-off one-day international in Trinidad.

* Sri Lanka is still undecided on its opening pair of batsmen for the first Test against the West Indies. The two places will be decided among the experienced Roshan Mahanama, Marvan Atapattu, newboy Rusell Arnold and their explosive one day openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana.

Arnold who had a reasonable Test debut against Pakistan in April, is unlikely to find a place unless he plays a big inning in the second innings of their tour match against the Leeward Islands now in progress.

Sanath Jayasuriya is expected to open batting probably with Roshan Mahanama moving Atapattu to the No.3 position. Kaluwitharana will then be sent low down in the order.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)