Sri Lanka Battling to Save Test Series against England

In the solitary tour match before their three-match Test series set in England, Sri Lanka faces a tough challenge to save the match after yielding a hefty first-innings deficit to a rookie Lions team in Worcester.

Sri Lanka was sent out for mere 139 in around 43.5 overs this Wednesday, with no batter reaching past 30 and Gloucestershire's Zaman Akhter securing 5 for 32, marking his second five-wicket epic in his professional career. Nevertheless, Lions secured a six-run lead into the second day even after losing four wickets on the first evening, three of them due to Prabath Jayasuriya's left-arm spin.

Rain ended the second day prematurely, but not before Lions assured a first-innings lead of 185. Hamza Shaikh, the 18-year-old Warwickshire debutant batter, scored an impressive 91 from No. 4, comparting a 104-run stand for the seventh wicket with Kasey Aldridge, the Somerset allrounder who notched 78.

Despite having two debutants on their team, Lions are making their mark on the field against Sri Lanka, who have not played a Test since their Bangladesh tour earlier in 2021. Most of the Sri Lankan squad have not participated in any first-class cricket since the four-day domestic tournament ended in early May.

Sri Lanka's 18-man squad will move forward from Worcester to Manchester right after the tour match, in preparation for the first of three Tests against England. They will be joined by the seasoned ex-England batter, Ian Bell, who has been onboarded as a batting coach for the series to add his local expertise.