Sri Lanka draw first Test

LONDON: Bad weather and the wagging tail-enders helped Sri Lanka to escape with a draw in the first Test against England at Lord's on Tuesday.

The tourists, following-on, finished on 537 for nine in their second innings when bad light
forced the players off for the last time in the first Test.  

But their 14-hour resistance, which featured a fine century from captain Mahela Jayawardene (119) as well as battling fifties from Tillakaratane Dilshan (69), Nuwan Kulasekara (64) and Chaminda Vaas (50 not out), was aided by a series of fielding errors.

The most costly was when Andrew Strauss floored a routine slip chance when man-of-the-match Jayawardene, who'd top scored in his team's first innings with 61, had made 58 second time around.