McCann Misses Century as Kalupahana Shines in Youth Test

England Under-19s opener Freddie McCann narrowly missed out on a second century of the summer as Sri Lanka Under-19s captain Dinuru Kalupahana reached his maiden international ton in the rain-affected first Men's Youth Test at Wormsley.

McCann, who had smashed a record-breaking 174 in the second Youth ODI last week, fell just eight runs short of a century after sharing a 160-run partnership with Keshana Fonseka. The duo's efforts helped England respond strongly to Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 324.

Kalupahana, who celebrated his century with a leap into the air, had earlier anchored Sri Lanka's innings with a composed 101. Surrey Academy quick Alex French was the pick of the England bowlers, claiming 4 for 81.

England lost three late wickets, with captain Hamza Shaikh and Noah Thain following McCann back to the pavilion. However, Fonseka remained unbeaten on 72, leaving England 131 runs behind at the close.

Sri Lanka's innings was characterized by five batsmen being caught in the ring, including Abeywickramasingha, who became the first victim when he mistimed a drive to Flintoff. Leicestershire's Alex Green claimed the prized wicket of Kalupahana with the first ball of his new spell, trapping him lbw.

Thain enticed Thewmika to drive to Flintoff at wide mid-on, while Caldera was the last man out, mis-hitting a drive that Shaikh held to give French his fourth wicket.

With one day remaining in the match, England will need to work hard to overcome Sri Lanka's first-innings advantage and secure a positive result.

Tags: #EnglandU19s, #SriLankaU19s, #YouthTest, #FreddieMcCann, #DinuruKalupahana