Cricket: Crowe's century

Sri Lanka 394; New Zealand 102 and 277-6

MARTIN CROWE'S defiant century helped New Zealand to survive in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo yesterday, his side finishing the third day on 277 for 6 and needing another 15 runs to avoid an innings defeat.

New Zealand will now be looking to Adam Parore and Grant Bradburn, the last two recognised batsmen, to give them some sort of total to bowl at.

Crowe's 107 at least gave New Zealand faint hopes of saving the match after the earlier embarrassment of being dismissed for 102, their lowest total against Sri Lanka.

The Kiwi captain, out for a duck in the first innings and whose previous highest score on the tour was 19, recaptured his form at a fitting moment. He was out in the last over before tea after completing his 15th Test hundred. 'It was the best century I have ever played,' he said.

(Sri Lanka won toss)

SRI LANKA - First Innings 394 (R S Mahanama 109, H P Tillekeratne 93, A Ranatunga 76).

NEW ZEALAND - First Innings

(Overnight: 100 for 7) G E Bradburn c T'keratne b Liyanage. . . . . .1 M L Su'a not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 C Pringle b Liyanage. . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 M B Owens c Anurasiri b Muralitharan. . . . . 0 Extras (lb4 nb9 w1). . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Fall (cont): 8-101 9-101.

Bowling: Liyanage 9-3-9-2; Gurusinha 4-1-15-0; Anurasiri 6-1-13-0; Hathurusinghe 7-3-14-0; Warnaweera 14-3-25-4; Muralitharan 12 1-3-22-3.

NEW ZEALAND - Second Innings B R Hartland c M'litharan b Gurusinha. . . . 21 J G Wright c Mahanama b Muralitharan. . . . .50 A H Jones c T'keratne b Warnaweera. . . . . . 5 * M D Crowe c T'keratne b Muralitharan. . . 107 K R Rutherford c sub b Warnaweera. . . . . . 38 C Z Harris lbw Anurasiri. . . . . . . . . . .19 A C Parore not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 G E Bradburn not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Extras (lb5 nb10). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Total (for 6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277

Fall: 1-23 2-30 3-189 4-196 5-240 6-261.

Bowling (to date): Liyanage 6-1-23-0; Gurusinha 5-1- 11-1; Warnaweera 29-3-92-2; Muralitharan 27-4-101-. 2; Anurasiri 14-2-43-1; Hathurusinghe 3-2-2-0.

Umpires: T M Samarasinghe and I Anandappa.