Sri Lanka elects to bat in first Test

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against the West Indies at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka brought in the 30-year-old batsman Milinda Siriwardana to play his first Test match with senior player Dinesh Chandimal swapping wicketkeeping gloves with Kusal Janith Perera.

The 23-year-old Jason Holder, captaining the West Indies for the first time, opted to play four fast bowlers on the spin-friendly Galle pitch where the home side have a long history of success.

The second and final Test is due to be played in Colombo from October 22 and the tourists are scheduled to play three one day internationals and two T20 matches, the last of which will be on November 12.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Lahiru Thirimanna, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep, Tharindu Kaushal, Milinda Siriwardana

West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Kraig Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Shannon Gabriel, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Kemar Roach

Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA) Richard Illingworh (ENG)

TV umpire: Shane Fry (AUS)

Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Source: AFP