Pitch: 31 - Dry and dusty even before a ball has been bowled. This pitch should favour the spinners almost from the start, and there is every prospect that it will provide even more help for them as the match goes on.
Sri Lankan Board XI:
D.Ranatunga
D.P.Samaraweera
S.Ranatunga
A.Ranatunga (c) RM
R.P.Arnold OB
A.G.D.Wickremasinghe (wk)
R.S.Kalpage OB
U.D.U.Chandana LBG
H.D.P.K.Dharmasena OB
W.P.U.J.C.Vaas LFM
K.S.C.de Silva LFM
West Indies XI:
D.L.Haynes
P.V.Simmons RM
R.B.Richardson (c)
A.L.Logie
C.A.Best OB
C.B.Lambert OB
N.R.Murray (wk)
R.A.Harper OB
M.D.Marshall RF
B.P.Patterson RF
C.A.Walsh RF
Bearing in mind the fact the pitch is expected to be highly in favour of the spinners, the Sri Lankan Board XI named an XI containing 3 frontline spinners, backed by the utility offspin off young batsman Russell Arnold.
West Indies named offspinner Roger Harper in their XI, and he was expected to shoulder a heavy workload in the spinning conditions.
Reserve batsmen Logie, Best and Lambert all get a game, along with reserve keeper Murray.
This is expected to make the contest closer, with the toss proving crucial on this occasion, West Indies wanting to avoid batting last at all costs given the pitch and the Sri Lankan lineup.
The P.Saravanamattu Oval in Colombo hosts the 3 day match between the Sri Lankan Board XI and West Indies
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