New Zealand wins toss, opts to bat in 1st test vs Sri Lanka

By KRISHAN FRANCIS 14 August 2019, 12:00AM

GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat first Wednesday in the series-opener against Sri Lanka, the first for both teams in the World Test Championship.

New Zealand picked picked three spin bowlers, hoping for assistance on the Galle stadium pitch known to offer turn.

Sri Lanka picked an extra batsman to bolster its lineup but dropped former captain Dinesh Chandimal. Akila Danajaya and left-armer Lasith Embuldeniya were named for spin bowling duties.

Niroshan Dickwella has been recalled as a wicketkeeper batsman.

Both teams are playing for the first time with their names and numbers on their test cricket whites.

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Lineups: Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Jeet Raval, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville, Trent Boult.

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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By KRISHAN FRANCIS 14 August 2019, 12:00AM

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