Richardson anchors New Zealand on final day

Opener Mark Richardson scored 93 as New Zealand batted throughout the final day of their drawn practice match against Sri Lanka A at Nondescripts Cricket Grounds on Tuesday.

The visitors, replying to Sri Lanka A's 284, struggled against the legspin of Upul Chandana as they were bowled out for 283. The match was then declared a draw.

Chandana claimed five for 98 from 33 overs, providing a timely reminder to the Sri Lankan selectors, who will be finalising the Test squad tonight.

They had been expected to plump for the young Kaushal Loukuarachchi, who had impressed in Sharjah, but Chandana's fine all-round performance - he also top scored in the first innings with a breezy 55 - now provides them with a dilemma.

Apart from Richardson, who also cracked 106 in the opening warm-up game over the weekend, none of the Kiwi batsmen scored heavily, although a handful made good starts.

Fellow opener Matt Horne (4) was bowled in the first over of the day by Nandika Ranjith, a left-armer, who also claimed bowled Jacob Oram (26), ending a 44 run partnership with Richardson.

Stephen Fleming (15), Matthew Sinclair (22) and Richard Jones (1) all failed to make maximum use of their last opportunity to acclimatise to local conditions before the first Test starting Friday.

Robbie Hart, the wicket-keeper, did provide some lower-order resistance though, facing 98 deliveries for his unbeaten 34.

New Zealand, after four consecutive days of match practice, now have a couple of days to recuperate and fine tune before the opening match of the two-Test series.