Rain threatens Sri Lanka A's unofficial Test

The fickle weather which has dogged Colombo for the past five days has extended to Asgiriya, Kandy, the venue of the first four-day unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A. Sri Lanka A were deprived of any practice on a rainy morning and had to do their light training under a steady drizzle.

With the pitch under covers the whole day, and the outfield waterlogged, Sri Lanka A were taking no chances by finalising their XI: they have delayed their announced until the morning of the match. But they have gone as far as minimising their squad from 15 to 13, by omitting batsman Anushka Polonowita and fast bowler Priyanka Silva. With three seamers likely to play, Sri Lanka A will have to make a final choice between a batsman and a spinner.

They will welcome back the hard-hitting left-handed opener Avishka Gunawardena, who was forced to miss the one-day triangular series after suffering from a severe bout of cramps during a practice match. His condition was so serious that he had to spend a few days in hospital. Without his big hitting experience, Sri Lanka's batting was found wanting on several occasions during the tournament.

Two other left-handers, Russel Arnold and Michael Vandort, will be keen to continue their good form in this series. Arnold, who was overlooked for the tour of New Zealand, was in outstanding form during the one-day tournament running up the highest aggregate of 316 runs at an average of 63, which included four fifties in five matches.

Vandort broke on to the Test scene with much promise, but he didn't even make the A squad after a heavy loss of form. He was handed a lucky break when Gunawardena was hospitalised, and he seized the opportunity with both hands, scoring an undefeated hundred backed up by two fifties to total 291 runs at an average of 73 in five matches in the one-day tournament. It was Arnold and Vandort who held their team's batting together when the rest failed.

The series will also prove testing for skipper Jehan Mubarak. Despite his undoubted talent, this tall left-hander had a horrific one-day tournament with the bat, averaging 4.40 from five innings.

Pakistan practised in the afternoon and were more fortunate with the weather. They were able to use the ground to gain for some useful practice under a spot of welcome sunshine.

Pakistan are buoyant after a thrilling final against Sri Lanka to clinch the tri-nation one-day limited overs tournament by one wicket on the Duckworth and Lewis rule on Tuesday. But their only two-day practice match, against a Sri Lanka Academy XI, was affected by bad weather at Moratuwa. They dismissed the Academy XI for 159 and replied with 101-4 before the match ended in a draw.

The Asgiriya ground authorities were keeping their fingers crossed that it wouldn't rain later last night, which may prevent a prompt start at 10.30 a.m. The series will comprise two Tests, with the second one due to commence at Rangiri Dambulla on April 10.

Sri Lanka A (from) Jehan Mubarak (capt), Avishka Gunawardene, Ian Daniel, Michael Vandort, Russel Arnold, Malintha Gajanayake, Prasanna Jayawardene, Gayan Wijekoon, Malinga Bandara, Dilhara Fernando, Nandika Ranjith, Suraj Mohamed, Sajeewa Weerakoon.

Pakistan A (from) Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Wajahatullah Wasti, Faisal Athar, Bazid Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Hasan Raza, Yasir Arafat, Zulqarnain Haider, Tahir Khan, Imran Thahir, Abdul Rauf, Mohammad Asif, Riaz Afridi, Aamir Bashir, Asher Zaidi.