Philippe, Maddinson puts Australia ‘A’ on top

Josh Philippe and Nic Maddison cracked half tons to put Australia ‘A’ on top against Sri Lanka ‘A’ to end the third day’s play on top in the first four-day match played at the Sooriyawewa Stadium.

Austraia ‘A’ batting the second time ended with a score of 212 for 5 for a lead of 317 runs. In fact Philippe’s knock was his second half -ton of the match having made a top score of 92 runs in the first innings. He made a 70 ball knock of 69 inclusive of ten boundaries while Maddinson hit 59 in 95 balls that included eight boundaries.

The pair put on a partnership of 111 runs for the fourth wicket after openers Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw who both made 32 runs each gave the side a solid start of 61 runs.

Earlier in the day Sri Lanka ‘A’ resuming their first innings from their overnight score of 250 for 8 added a further 24 runs to end with a score of 274 runs in reply to Australia ‘A’s score of 379. The match will be continued today.

Brief scores:
Australia A 379 and 212/5 (J Philippe 69, N Maddinson 59, L Manasinghe 2-83)
Sri Lanka A 274 (N Fernando 86, L Udara 50, T Murphy 4-67, M Steketee 3-51)

Photo: Josh Philippe scored a second half-century for Australia A in the first four-day match against Sri Lanka A (Picture courtesy Sri Lanka Cricket)