The 2-day warm-up match for the visiting Ireland ‘A’ team kick-started today at the Marians Cricket Ground in Katunayake against a home squad led by Hashan Dumindu.
Irish skipper Harry Tector won the toss and opted to bat with the intention of getting used to the Lankan conditions before the 1st 4-Day match against the strong Sri Lanka ‘A’ team scheduled for the 5th of this month at the SSC grounds.
Read More: Priyanjan and Tharanga to lead Sri Lanka ‘A’
After a decent start for the tourists with 41 runs in 11 overs, the Sri Lankan bowlers started to dominate. Left-arm spinner Akash Senaratne dismissed James McCollum for 24 runs as the first wicket, which was followed by 2 more quick wickets by Vice-captain Hashen Ramanayake. All-rounder Ramanayaka, currently representing BRC is the son of former national fast bowler and coach Champaka Ramanayake.
Following the mini-collapse, Irish Captain Tector and Locran Tucker together tried to rebuild the Irish innings. Their slow progress was brought to an end courtesy off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal with 2 quick wickets. Kaushal dismissed Tector for 26 and new batsman Neil Rock for just 1 run.
“Muttiah Muralitharan is my bowling hero” – Tharindu Kaushal
The young Tharindu Kaushal’s bowling resembles more like our very own Muttiah Muralitharan and his spell…
Tharindu Kaushal who last played a Test for Sri Lanka way back in October 2015 is trying to make comeback to the international scene sans his doosra which was banned in 2015.
Tucker then stood firm for the visitors with a 55-run 6th wicket stand together with Aaron Gillespie, taking Ireland from 85/5 to 140. It was then school boy Maheesh Theekshana’s turn to shine as he took 3 wickets in the space of 11 deliveries for no runs.
Read More: 18-year old Mahesh Theekshana stars for Colts CC
Maheesh Theekshana who was not considered for the Sri Lanka U19 squad due to poor fitness has been a sensation for Colts CC in the ongoing First-class Premier League with 8 wickets in 3 matches.
The last 2 wickets were picked by leg-spinner Ashen Bandara and Tharindu Kaushal, restricting Ireland ‘A’ to 159 runs. Locran Tucker top-scored with 47 runs while Tharindu Kaushal and Maheesh Theekshana took 3 wickets apiece for the home side.
Play came to a pre-mature end as the visitors opted not to bowl in the evening session. The match will continue tomorrow for the 2nd day.
Full Scorecard
Ireland A
159/10 & 60/4
(24 overs)
Result
Sri Lanka A
313/7 & 0/0
(0 overs)
Match Drawn
Ireland A’s 1st Innings
| Batting | R | B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S Doheny | lbw by Ramanayake | 10 | 39 | |||
| JA McCollum | lbw by Senarathne | 24 | 38 | |||
| JNK Shannon | b Ramanayake | 3 | 7 | |||
| H Tector | lbw by Kaushal | 26 | 29 | |||
| L Tucker | b Kaushal | 47 | 119 | |||
| N Rock | c Bhanuka b Kaushal | 1 | 7 | |||
| A Gillespie | b Theekshana | 23 | 51 | |||
| BJ McCarthy | c Fernando b Theekshana | 0 | 3 | |||
| JJ Garth | lbw by Theekshana | 0 | 6 | |||
| J Little | c Fernando b Bandara | 0 | 7 | |||
| MR Adair | not out | 13 | 19 | |||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akthab Cader | 4 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Kalana Perera | 5 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 5.20 |
| Hashen Ramanayake | 6 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 1.83 |
| Akash Senarathne | 11 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 2.18 |
| Tharindu Kaushal | 8.3 | 2 | 28 | 3 | 3.37 |
| Kalhara Senarathne | 6 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 2.17 |
| Dushan Vimukthi | 4 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 4.75 |
| Mahesh Theekshana | 6 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 1.50 |
| Ashen Bandara | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 3.67 |
Sri Lanka A’s 1st Innings
| Batting | R | B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandun Weerakkody | b H Tector | 93 | 86 | |||
| Hashan Dumindu | not out | 74 | 121 | |||
| Hasitha Boyagoda | lbw by H Tector | 0 | 2 | |||
| Oshada Fernando | c Tucker b Garth | 34 | 43 | |||
| Nuwanidu Fernando | not out | 35 | 47 | |||
| Dushan Vimukthi | not out | 27 | 55 | |||
| Ashen Bandara | not out | 31 | 34 | |||
| Hashen Ramanayake | c Tucker b Garth | 10 | 26 | |||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Little | 8 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 4.13 |
| Barry McCarthy | 6 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 4.50 |
| James Cameron-Dow | 22 | 3 | 78 | 0 | 3.55 |
| Mark Adair | 6 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Jonathan Garth | 15.1 | 1 | 72 | 2 | 4.77 |
| Harry Tector | 11 | 0 | 58 | 2 | 5.27 |
Ireland A’s 2nd Innings
| Batting | R | B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JA McCollum | b K Senarathne | 31 | 49 | |||
| S Doheny | c M Bhanuka b K Perera | 2 | 6 | |||
| N Rock | b A Cader | 0 | 2 | |||
| H Tector | c H Dumindu b D Vimukthi | 8 | 28 | |||
| A Gillespie | not out | 11 | 25 | |||
| L Tucker | not out | 6 | 35 | |||
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalana Perera | 4 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 4.00 |
| Akthab Cader | 3 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 4.33 |
| Mahesh Theekshana | 5 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1.80 |
| Dushan Vimukthi | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1.80 |
| Kalhara Senarathne | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1.80 |
| Ashen Bandara | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 |
Sri Lanka A’s 2nd Innings
| Batting | R | B |
|---|
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | E |
|---|