Sporting Digest: Cricket

AN unbeaten fifth wicket partnership of 92 between Aravinda de Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne edged Sri Lanka closer to avoiding the follow-on in the first Test against Pakistan in Colombo.

(Second day of five; Pakistan won toss)

PAKISTAN - First Innings

(Overnight: 297 for 6)

Inzamam ul-Haq c Tillakaratne b Dharmasena 81

Wasim Akram c Jayasuriya b Dharmasena 37

Akram Raza c Tillakaratne b Warnaweera 25

Mushtaq Ahmed not out 5

Waqar Younis c Gurusinha b Dharmasena 2

Extras (b11, lb6, nb16) 33

Total 390

Fall (cont): 7-345 8-354 9-387.

Bowling: Wickramasinghe 12-0-59-0; Gurusinha 4-1-24-0; Dharmasena 45.2-13-99-6; Muralidharan 36-6-123-1; Warnaweera 28-5-63-3; De Silva 1-0-5-0.

SRI LANKA - First Innings

R S Mahanama b Mushtaq 21

S T Jayasuriya c Sohail b Wasim 9

A P Gurusinha c Latif b Mushtaq 11

A M de Silva not out 74

* A Ranatunga c and b Mushtaq 9

H P Tillakaratne not out 25

Extras (b1 lb2) 3

Total (for 4) 152

Fall: 1-13 2-41 3-42 4-60.

To bat: H D P K Dharmasena, P B Dissanayake, G P Wickramasinghe, M L Muralitharan, K P J Warnaweera.

DAVID ACFIELD, the Essex chairman, has been appointed the new chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board cricket committee.

ENGLAND UNDER-19 (v India): M Vaughan (capt); M Trescothick; R Weston; C Schofield; A Morris; K Innes; I Dawood (wkt); A McGrath; G Keedy; C Silverwood; M Betts; S Lugsden.