England U19s Draw with Sri Lanka U19s in Rain-Affected First Youth Test

Sri Lanka U19s 324 (Kalupahana 104, Caldera 55, French 4-81) and 192 for 4 (Shanmuganathan 73) drew with England U19s 247 (McCann 92, Fonseka 86, Maneesha 6-56)

The first Youth Test between England Men Under-19s and Sri Lanka Under-19s concluded in a rain-affected draw, with both teams heading to Chelmsford for the series decider.

Rain washed out the entire second day, which hindered any chance of a conclusive result. Sri Lanka U19s managed to take control of the game, securing a 77-run lead in the first innings. They then played out the remaining time, reaching 192 for 4 when the match ended at 5:30 pm.

Dinura Kalupahana's century and Praveen Maneesha's impressive 6 for 56 were the highlights for Sri Lanka, with Maneesha taking five of the six Young Lions wickets on the final day.

England U19s were bowled out for 247 but took several positives from the game. Freddie McCann top-scored with 92, and Lancashire's Keshana Fonseka added 86, the two putting on a 160-run partnership for the second wicket.

In the first innings, Surrey Academy paceman Alex French took four wickets, reducing Sri Lanka to 37 for 4. However, Kalupahana’s century shifted the momentum back to the visitors.

On the final day, England U19s needed to reassert their position but instead lost six wickets for 54 runs, with Maneesha's leg spin causing most of the damage. Rocky Flintoff was caught by Nathan Caldera, while Jack Carney was trapped lbw by Maneesha. Fonseka, who hit 13 boundaries, was eventually caught by Sadew Samarasinghe.

Maneesha cleaned up the tail, securing a first-innings lead for Sri Lanka that seemed unlikely after their initial collapse.

As the match drifted towards a draw, Farhan Ahmed picked up his first wicket, dismissing Samarasinghe. Noah Thain then caught Pulindu Perera off Jaydn Denly’s bowling. Sharujan Shanmuganathan reached 73 before being caught in the deep by Ahmed, who also caught Gayana Weerasinghe off Daavya Sharma’s bowling.

The teams will now prepare for the decisive second Youth Test next week, with England looking to build on their positives and Sri Lanka aiming to maintain their momentum.