The scene of the three match unofficial Test series between Sri Lanka A andKenya now moves to the coastal town of Matara where the visitors will bestriving hard to win the second four-day match and keep their chances ofwinning the series alive

CricInfo06-Feb-2002The scene of the three match unofficial Test series between Sri Lanka A andKenya now moves to the coastal town of Matara where the visitors will bestriving hard to win the second four-day match and keep their chances ofwinning the series alive. But the home team, meanwhile, will be lookingforward to executing the knock out blow, to seal the series at the UyanwattaCricket Stadium, Matara.Batting made all the difference between the two sides in the firstunofficial Test Match in Colombo. While most of the frontline Sri Lankanbatsmen notched up half centuries, the Kenyan camp failed to provide thegoods with big names like Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe failing with thebat.”Our batting failed in the match in Colombo. Myself, Steve (Tikolo) and theother front line batsmen really didn’t get going,” admits Kenyan skipperMaurice Odumbe.He continues,” It’s even disappointing when you analyse the way we’ve beengetting out. We’ve been getting out going for our shots,”However Odumbe feels that his side can bounce back, “We can pickourselvesup. We know what we are doing wrong. We are going for too many shots veryearly in the innings. So we got to cut down on our shots and got to occupythe crease and bat on,””Occupying the crease,” is the answer to square the series Odumbe feels. TheAfrican nation seems to be ill at ease with the four-day game being moreused to playing one-day games. But this tour is to learn and with noquestion on their ability the visitors might spring up a surprise by doingthe essentials right.Meanwhile Sri Lanka A coach Roshan Mahanama commended his side for a goodperformance with the bat in Colombo, but expects them to start afreshtomorrow.”When the top five make runs it’s a good sign and that eases the burden onthe bowlers, but on the other hand I told the boys that one of them shouldhave gone on and made a big hundred which they didn’t do. So here in Matarathey’ve got an opportunity,” says Mahanama.This is the first real challenge that has come Mahanama’s way from the timethat he took on the post of coach cum manager of the Sri Lanka A team inlast September. He believes in the young guns that have been entrusted tohim and expects a series win here from them.”In Colombo the boys bounced back after a bad start on the first day to winthe match against odds like rain and if they continue the good form we canwin the series here,” believes Mahanama.Both the sides are to decide on the final eleven on the morning of thematch. However it’s felt that the Kenyans will play 25-year-old mediumpaceman Peter Ochieng instead of fellow paceman Lameck Onyango who had arelatively bad game in Colombo.The Sri Lankans have dropped Kaushalya Weeraratne from the side that playedin the Colombo match and have brought in Pulasti Gunaratne.The Uyanwatta Stadium pitch looks a good batting track with a bit of grassthat should help the seamers early on.But if the grass on the track is further pruned on the final day morning itlooks as if Sri Lanka will go with a three men spin attack with RanganaHerath coming in to support skipper Upul Chandana andMutumudalige Pushpakumara.The teamsKenya (from):Maurice Odumbe (capt), Steve Tikolo, Ravindu Shah,Kennedy Otieno, Hitesh Modi, Thomas Odoyo, MartinSuji, Otieno Ondik, Lameck Onyango, Sorongo Ababu,Brijal Patel, David Obuya, Joseph Angara, PeterOgondo,Collins Obuya, Muhammed Sheikh.Sri Lanka A (from):Avishka Gunawardene, Ian Daniel, Michal Vandort,Chamara Silva, T.M. Dilshan, Upul Chandana, PrasannaJayawardene, Muttumudalige Pushpakumara, PrabathNissanka, Ruchira Perera, Rangana Herath, UpekaFernando, Gayan Wijekoon, Pulasti Gunaratne.