Sri Lanka Were All Set To Forfeit Second Test Against West Indies: Report
Sri Lanka were reportedly ready to take the dire step of forfeiting the ongoing second Test against West Indies in St.Lucia after being accused of ball tampering.
Following concerns raised by on-field umpires about the condition of the ball nearing the end of the second day, the Sri Lankans were advised before the start of play on Saturday that they could not continue with the existing ball. However, it did not go down well with the visitors as their skipper Dinesh Chandimal declined to lead his team onto the field. At one point of time, it looked like the match would not go ahead. But fortunately, the play eventually began nearly two hours after the scheduled start.
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Bur according to a report in Cricbuzz, the visitors had made up their minds on forfeiting the game. They finally decided to go ahead with the game only after talking to SLC officials – including CEO Ashley de Silva – on the phone.
“The players and the team management were adamant that the game should be forfeited. The match officials were accusing them without showing any concrete evidence. But they were informed by SLC to not to forfeit the game,” an SLC source told Cricbuzz.
The Sri Lankans apparently were unhappy that the charge was brought just before play got underway on Saturday (June 16). The Sri Lankan players took the field after 90 minutes. However, they left the field again after the umpires awarded 5 runs to the hosts. Discussions between players, match officials and SLC continued for another 30 minutes before play resumed.
Meanwhile, Chandimal has pleaded not guilty to breaching Article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct. He was accused of changing the condition of the ball on day two. Match referee Javagal Srinath will now hold a hearing following the conclusion of the game.
On-field umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould, and third umpire Richard Kettleborough had charged Chandimal after play on Saturday.
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West Indies vs Sri Lanka
