Cricket: Stern test faces England A

Sri Lanka yesterday indicated their determination to give England A's young squad a stern Test of their ability in the forthcoming three- match Test series.

The England tour manager, Graham Gooch, and their coach, Mike Gatting, expected to face a selection of Sri Lanka's up-and-coming youngsters over the next seven weeks, an ideal opportunity to gauge the squad's talent against opponents of a similar age group.

But Sri Lanka have chosen the highly rated Marvan Atapattu, a proven opener and Test level, to lead their A side in the first Test at Kurenegala, starting on 30 January.