Sri Lanka were resigned to being without captain Tillakaratne Dilshann for the upcoming third and final Test against England after rain had the final say in their warm-up match with Essex.
Bad weather at Chelmsford on Sunday’s third and final day meant only just over 12 overs’ play was possible before a draw was agreed.
Dilshan was sitting out the match after suffering a broken thumb when hit twice by England fast bowler Chris Tremlett while making 193 — the highest Test score by a Sri Lankan at Lord’s — in the drawn second Test.
The final Test of the series, the first to be staged at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl ground, starts on Thursday and Sri Lanka interim coach Stuart Law said of Dilshan: “There is no change at this stage.
“His thumb is still in a splint, he is also in some discomfort at this stage and the medical team have said that he is highly likely to miss the Test.
“So the game against Essex has proved very useful because it’s allowed a couple of our batsmen to get amongst the runs.”
If Dilshan is ruled out, the uncapped Lahiru Thirimanne, who made a century against Essex, is set to take his place.
“Young Lahiru Thirimanne, who is only 21, batted well in our first innings and hit 104 before we retired him out, which was a good indication that he was hitting the ball as good as he could,” added former Australia batsman Law.
“It was also great for (Kumar) Sangakkara to get out there and score 153 runs in the first innings and that will do his confidence no end of good.”
Sangakkara, Dilshan’s predecessor as Sri Lanka captain, is in line to lead the side at the Rose Bowl, where the tourists will be looking to square the series after an innings defeat in the first Test at Cardiff, if the opener is unfit.
In the play that took place at Chelmsford on Sunday, Tharanga Paranavitana was lbw to Maurice Chambers before teenager Reece Topley had Dinesh Chandimal well caught by Dutch international Ryan ten Doeschate at third slip.
Sangakkara finished on 19 not out, while Thilan Samaraweera was unbeaten on 11 at the close.
Chandimal’s wicket gave the 17-year-old left-arm seamer Topley, son of former Essex paceman Don, match figures of six for 34 in 21.4 overs.
Topley, who is still at school, has now taken 28 wickets in seven first-class matches, including a pair of five wickets in an innings hauls.
“He has bags of talent and we are delighted with his progress,” said Essex bowling coach Chris Silverwood.
“He has a big heart, is quick to take on advice and works hard at his game,” added the former Yorkshire, Middlesex and England seamer.
“It’s very encouraging to see the level of progress he has made so far and he’s made a very encouraging start to his career, but he knows there is a lot of hard work ahead of him yet.”
