Date-stamped : 02 Feb1998 - 10:32 Jan 30- Feb 3 Sri Lanka A v England A Daily News Reports Day 2: Sri Lanka 'A' make bold reply Chris Dhambarage reporting from Kurunegala Sri Lanka 'A' were 105 for 2 in reply to the England 'A' first innings total of 385 on the second day of their first four day unofficial Test match continued at the Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala yesterday. England 'A' who resumed the day at 202 for 4 went on to score a formidable 385 runs in 156.5 overs and 603 minutes of batting time. Mark Ealham and Ben Hollioake consolidated their position with a fifth wicket stand of 132 runs. Mark Ealham hit a solid 85 in 212 deliveries and 275 minutes with the help of one six and seven boundaries. Ben Hollioake was even more aggressive and struck ten boundaries and one six during his knock of 68. The tailenders James Ormond and Chris Read also made useful contributions during the latter stages and England 'A' were eventually dismissed for 385 at the stroke of tea. The medium paceman Suresh Perera captured the last three wickets but it was the two spinners Tilan Samaraweera and Dinuka Hettiarachchi who really caused the damage with some penetrative bowling. The Sri Lanka 'A' team had a disappointing start to their innings losing opener Russel Arnold in the fourth over. Left hander Sanjeeva Ranatunga too failed to make an impact and the home side collapsed to 43 for 2 in the 15th over of the innings. However skipper Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardena repaired the early damage with a third wicket stand of 62 runs. Atapattu remained unbeaten 48 in 74 deliveries having struck five boundaries. Jayawardena who survived a chance at 18 remained unbeaten on 21 having faced 40 deliveries. Day 3: Mahela (110) helps Sri Lanka 'A' to 341/8 Chris Dhambarage reporting from Kurunegala A splendid knock of 110 by in form batsman Mahela Jayawardena helped Sri Lanka 'A' score 341 for 8 in their first innings on the third day of their first four-day unofficial Test match against England 'A' continued at the Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala yesterday. Jayawardena held the middle order together with a determined performance while occupying the crease for 283 minutes. The right hander struck a dozen of boundaries and was also associated in three good partnerships He added 83 runs for the third wicket with skipper Marvan Atapattu and followed up with a fourth wicket stand of 57 runs along with Naveed Nawaz, Jayawardena also dominated a fifth wicket stand of 71 runs with Lanka de Silva who made 38. Lanka de Silva batted for exactly three hours and struck five boundaries facing 123 deliveries. Sri Lanka 'A' reached 256 for 5 at tea and looked set to build up a good first innings total. But England 'A' came back into the game by capturing three quick wickets through Paul Huchison and Mark Ealham who made use of the second new ball quite affectively. Earlier skipper Marvan Atapattu added only four runs to his overnight score and was dismissed for 52 having struck five boundaries. Naveed Nawaz too made a good start, but departed in the first over after lunch having struck half a dozen of boundaries. The Sri Lanka 'A' team tailenders too made some useful contributions with Mario Villawarayan scoring an unbeaten 38 with the help of six boundaries. Together with Dinuka Hettiarachchi they have so far put on 45 runs for the ninth wicket. Source :: Daily News (http://www.lanka.net) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)