The ‘A’ team of every cricketing nation falls under the watchful eyes of its selectors. It is the first place to go to when there is a vacancy in the National team. So the ‘A’ team is something which carries a high importance.
With the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team set to tour Bangladesh for three Unofficial Tests and three 50-Over matches, we thought it fitting to rustle up some numbers of the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team’s performances during the past 5 years, in Let’s Talk Numbers.
In June 2013, the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team led by Dimuth Karunaratne toured the Carribean for 2 Unofficial Tests. From that tour onwards Sri Lanka ‘A’ has played 26 Unofficial Tests against 5 opponents. Here’s a breakdown of the matches Sri Lanka ‘A’ has played since 1st June 2013.
| Opponent | Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn |
| West Indies ‘A’ | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Pakistan ‘A’ | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| England Lions | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| New Zealand ‘A’ | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Durham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 |
Interestingly, all the previous 10 matches have produced results with Sri Lanka ‘A’ winning 6 of them.
Leadership
7 Captains have led the side during these 26 4-day matches. Ashan Priyanjan has led the most number of matches out of the 7. Dhananjaya De Silva is the captain with the most number of wins and also the most number of losses.
| Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn |
| Ashan Priyanjan | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Upul Tharanga | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Dhananjaya De Silva | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Dimuth Karunarathne | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Team Performance
Highest Team Totals
Looking at the highest totals scored by Sri Lanka ‘A’ the two 500+ scores they’ve scored against New Zealand ‘A’ and England Lions stands out. Incidentally, both these totals were scored at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. The highlight of the score of 555/6 against New Zealand ‘A’ was Kaushal Silva’s superb knock of 193. The mammoth 315-run partnership for the 4th wicket between Dimuth Karunaratne (212) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (185) in the match against England Lions helped Sri Lanka ‘A’ compile their second largest team score in the past 5 years.
Highest Team Totals for Sri Lanka ‘A’
555/6 v New Zealand ‘A’ in Dambulla, Sep 23-26, 2013
548 v England Lions in Dambulla, Feb 24-27, 2017
498/7 v New Zealand ‘A’ in Pallekele, Sep 17-20, 2013
Highest Team Totals against Sri Lanka ‘A’
636/6 – West Indies ‘A’ in St Kitts, Jun 5-8, 2013
605/7 – England Lions in Dambulla, Feb 19-22, 2014
580/8 – Pakistan ‘A’ in Dambulla, May 20-23, 2015
Lowest Team Totals
For Sri Lanka ‘A’
131 v Pakistan ‘A’ in Leicester, Jul 3-6, 2016
139 v West Indies ‘A’ in Jamaica, Oct 11-14, 2017
147 v West Indies ‘A’ in Pallekele, Oct 11-14, 2016
Against SL A
118 – West Indies ‘A’ in Jamaica, Oct 26-28, 2017
120 – Pakistan ‘A’ in Leicester, Jul 3-6, 2016
137 – West Indies ‘A’ in Jamaica, Oct 19-21, 2017
Batsmen
Dimuth Karunaratne and Kithruwan Vithanage, the top 2 run-scorers for Sri Lanka ‘A’ during the past 5 years have scored their runs at an impressive average of 59. Roshen Silva stands out as one of the players who has consistently performed throughout the past 4 years. He has batted in 27 innings and has scored 948 runs with an average of 41.
Most Runs
Dimuth Karunaratne – 1195 (Inns 22, Avg 59.75)
Kithruwan Vithanage – 1068 (Inns 20, Avg 59.33)
Roshen Silva – 948 (Inns 27, Avg 41.22)
Highest Individual Score
Dimuth Karunaratne – 212 v England Lions at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Feb 24-27 2017
Kaushal Silva – 193 v New Zealand A at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Sep 23-26 2013
Sadeera Samarawickrama – 185 v England Lions at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Feb 24-27 2017
Kusal Perera and Udara Jayasundera stand out as two players who have managed to score big runs. The former has scored 3 centuries in the 13 innings he has batted while Udara Jayasundera has scored 9 half-centuries in 26 innings.
Most Hundreds
Dimuth Karunaratne – 6
Kaushal Silva – 3
Kusal Perera – 3
Most Fifties
Udara Jayasundera – 9
Kithruwan Vithanage – 8
Roshen Silva – 5
Dhananjaya De Silva – 5
Bowlers
When looking at the wickets taken by the Sri Lankan ‘A’ players, one bowler just dominates the charts with very comfortable leads over his successors. Malinda Pushpakumara, has been a consistent match-winner for Sri Lanka ‘A’ throughout years.
Most Wickets
Malinda Pushpakumara 56 (Inns 13, Avg 18.30)
Tharindu Kaushal 34 (Inns 9, Avg 30.94)
Lahiru Gamage 29 (Inns 22, Avg 41.41)
BBI
Malinda Pushpakumara – 8/127 v England Lions at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Feb 24-27 2017
Malinda Pushpakumara – 6/46 v West Indies A at Trelawny Stadium, Jamaica, Oct 19-21 2017
Jeffrey Vandersay – 6/47 v West Indies A at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Oct 18-21 2016
BBM
Malinda Pushpakumara – 13/205 v England Lions at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Feb 24-27 2017
Malinda Pushpakumara 12/98 v West Indies A at Trelawny Stadium, Jamaica, Oct 19-21 2017
Seekkuge Prasanna 9/186 v West Indies A at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota, Oct 11-14 2014
Most 5-wicket hauls
Malinda Pushpakumara – 5
Tharindu Kaushal – 4
Jeffry Vandersay – 3
