Two ex-Gloucestershire players were in action as Sri Lanka defeated the West Indies by 187 runs in first test
Sri Lanka came away with a 1-0 lead in Galle, having taken all 20 West Indian wickets across the two innings to leave Kraigg Brathwaite’s side 187 runs short of the required total.
An impressive 147 from Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne gave the home side a first innings score of 386 all out, which was then backed up by a great spell of bowling from left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama.
The 23-year-old took four wickets from his 20 overs to leave the Windies 156 runs behind, before a quickfire 191/4d from The Lions left Brathwaite’s side with too much to do.
The 187-run victory gives Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead in the two-match series with second Test set to get underway in Galle on Monday, November 29.
Ex-Gloucestershire players struggle
West Indian captain and a former Gloucestershire opening batsman, Brathwaite started the first innings well, reaching 41 from 115 balls before being caught at leg slip from the bowling of Ramesh Mendis.
The second innings was less fruitful for the 28-year-old as he was trapped LBW, once more from the bowling of Mendis for a 14-ball duck, the 15th of his test career so far.
Brathwaite did get a few overs under his belt, with his solitary second innings over being taken for nine runs as the match began to slip away from the West Indies.
Also in action for the touring side was fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who enjoyed a short but unmemorable spell with the West Country outfit in 2019 as Gloucestershire won promotion to Division One of the County Championship.
The quick was one of many to struggle in the match, only taking two wickets from 23 overs across both innings as Brathwaite began to turn to his spin bowlers.
With the bat, Gabriel matched expectations scoring two in the first innings before matching his skippers’ second innings display with a six-ball duck, the 22nd of his test career.
With Dutch bowler Paul van Meekren and Australian batsman Marcus Harris set to join Gloucestershire for the 2022 season it’s unlikely either of Brathwaite or Gabriel will be making a return to the South West.
