Windies ‘A’ bats flop to defeat
KINGSTON – A half-century from captain Shamarh Brooks failed to spark a batting revival for West Indies “A” and Sri Lanka “A” crushed their hopes of a series-clinching victory with a commanding ten-wicket win in the decisive third and final cricket “Test” on Saturday.
Brooks, whose previous scores in the series were 19, 11, 7 and 4, saved his best for last, gathering a resolute 52 as the Caribbean’s best second-tier players were dismissed for 118 in their second innings on the third day at Sabina Park.
No other Windies “A” batsman reached 20, as off-spinner Shehan Jayasuriya bagged 6-60 from 17 overs to earn the Player Of The Match award and left-arm tweaker Malinda Pushpakumara took a miserly 4-19 from 11.3 overs.
Pushpakumara finished the series with 27 wickets.
The Sri Lankans, needing 27 for victory, reached their target in 5.5 overs without losing a wicket to win the three-match series 2-1. Windies “A” had clobbered them by an innings and 13 runs inside three days in the opening “Test” three Saturdays ago at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Complex, where the visitors rebounded in the second “Test” to secure a resounding 280-run win.
Following a day lost to rain and the feeble batting of West Indies “A”, who folded for 181 despite a century from Sunil Ambris, Sri Lanka “A” earned a hard-fought first innings lead of 92 on the back of half-centuries from their captain Dhanajaya De Silva and Roshen Silva.
Batting a second time, the Windies batsmen again failed to neutralise the Sri Lankans’ spin threat – and another ignominious batting collapse resulted.
Brooks stood firm for just over two hours, striking five fours from 90 balls and putting on 41 for the third wicket with left-hander Vishaul Singh, but he too succumbed to the spin.
Jayasuriya claimed the first six wickets. All except Singh were either bowled or lbw, similar methods that Pushpakumara utilised to reap three of the last four wickets.
The two teams will now play a three-match one-day series, starting on Wednesday at this venue. (CMC)