Opener Michael Vandort made a strong case for inclusion in Sri Lanka’s squadfor their two-Test tour of South Africa this November, as he scored a maidenTest century at the Sinhalese Sports Club on the third day of this one-sidedseries

Charlie Austin30-Jul-2002Opener Michael Vandort made a strong case for inclusion in Sri Lanka’s squadfor their two-Test tour of South Africa this November, as he scored a maidenTest century at the Sinhalese Sports Club on the third day of this one-sidedseries.Watched by his dotting, cricket obsessed father, who was smoking furiouslyin the stands as he son passed through the nervous nineties, the left-handerscored 140 from 185 balls as Sri Lanka amassed a formidable lead before adeclaration on the stroke of tea.Needing to score 473 to win the game, or bat for seven sessions to save it,the odds were always against a side that has only passed 300 on threeoccasions since being awarded full member status of the ICC in 1999.Sure enough, Bangladesh were soon in trouble as Sri Lanka’s fast bowlersswung the new ball, grabbing three quick wickets after the tea interval.Opener Al-Sahariar (6) departed rather sheepishly having elected to shoulderarms to an inswinger from left-armer Sujeewa de Silva that clipped his offbail, number three Habibul Bashar (3) was caught at the wicket in ChamilaGamage’s first over and Hannan Sarkar’s entertaining cameo, 30 from 39balls, was ended as he edged an attempted pull.A 59 run stand for the fourth wicket eased the nerves of those who wouldhave had to hastily organise the after match presentation had the collapsecontinued, but leg-spinner Upul Chandana, used sparingly so far in thisgame, had Tushar Imran stumped five overs before the close, to leaveBangladesh on 103 for four when stumps were drawn.But the day belonged to Vandort, 22, an ambitious 6ft 5in left-hander with areputation for making the most of his ability. A late developer – he playedjust one game in his school first XI – he scored a century on his firstclass debut for Colombo Cricket Club, a century against India last year whenpicked for a BCCSL XI and, in this game, 61 and 140 when picked in theunfamiliar position of opener.With the selectors due to sit down tonight to finalise a 15-man one-daysquad for next week’s series against Bangladesh, and the Morocco Cup thatfollows, his name will surely figure in their deliberations. Althoughunlikely to be selected in the final squad, he should now have done enoughto guarantee his inclusion in South Africa.Speaking afterwards, he hoped he’d caught their eye: “This was a goodopportunity to get a big score and put some pressure on the senior players,as I want to become a regular member of the Test team and play as long aspossible. I think I achieved that I hope I proved myself to the selectors.It’s now up to them.”The only blemish in the innings was his clumsy running, which cost JehanMubarak (31) his wicket when he failed to respond to a reasonable call for aquick single. And his only moment of good fortune came on 69 when an appealfor a catch at silly point was turned down although the ball appeared tohave glanced the face of his bat after his pad.He added 172 for the second wicket with Naveed Nawaz (78*), a partnershipthat sapped the enthusiasm of the Bangladeshi fieldsmen after a spiritedstart to the day, when their new ball bowlers had plugged away manfullyduring the first overcast hour, restricting the strokeplay of the SriLankans.But although off-spinner Fahim Muntasir was once again economical, the othersupport bowlers struggled, as Vandort and Nawaz slowly cranked up the tempoin the afternoon. And when Vandort reached his hundred from 151 balls, hethen celebrated with an aggressive spurt, lofting straight down the groundfor six and reverse sweeping for four.With so much time remaining in the game, Jayasuriya could well have battedon, providing Hashan Tillakaratne in particular with an opportunity togather some confidence, but decided instead to declare with Sri Lanka on 263for two, denying Nawaz, a gritty but limited player, a chance to become thefourth Sri Lankan to score a century on debut.