GROS ISLET, St. Lucia (AP) – The third day of the second cricket test started almost 90 minutes late on Saturday after Sri Lanka was told to play with a different ball against host West Indies and given a five-run penalty.
Umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould ruled that the tourists, who lost the first test by 226 runs, had altered the condition of the ball during West Indies’ first innings.
The umpires decided to change the match ball, which was 44.3 overs old, ahead of the third day in St. Lucia. That prompted Sri Lanka’s players to stay in their dressing room.
Match referee Javagal Srinath upheld Gould and Dar’s decision, with West Indies’ overnight total rising from 118-2 to 123-2 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 253 all out.
Sri Lanka’s players then took to the field at 10:50 a.m. local time, 50 minutes after the scheduled start, but did not start play for another 40 minutes as the dispute continued.
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