Martin demolishes Sri Lanka A

New Zealand A 238 for 6 (Marshall 68, How 56) beat Sri Lanka A 166 (Martin 6-24) by 72 runs
Scorecard

Chris Martin destroyed Sri Lanka A with a superb spell of swing and seam bowling as New Zealand A clinched their first win of the triangular one-day series in Colombo. Martin took the first four Sri Lankan wickets and finished with superb figures of 6 for 24 as the home team, chasing a challenging 239 for victory, were bundled out for 166.

Martin dismissed Upul Tharanga (0), Michael Vandort (0), Shantha Kalavitigoda (2) and Jehan Mubarak (1) as the Sri Lankans slumped to 32 for 4. The rest of the bowlers then took over, while Avishka Gunawardene's run out didn't help the Sri Lankan cause either. Martin then returned to winkle out a couple of tail-enders to finish with six wickets.

Earlier, half-centuries by James Marshall and Jamie How helped New Zealand A to a respectable total. How, batting at No. 3, made a sedate 56 while Marshall spanked three fours and two sixes in his 80-ball 68. Chris Harris chipped in with an unbeaten 35 lower down the order to lift the New Zealanders to a total which, in the end, turned out to be more than sufficent.

The emphatic win also gave New Zealand A a bonus point and kept them in contention for a berth in the finals. The South Africans have both their games in the tournament so far, while Sri Lanka A, like their New Zealand counterparts, have one win in three matches. All teams play each other twice, with the top two qualifying for the finals, on October 1.

New Zealand Cricket, meanwhile, announced the three players who will travel to Sri Lanka to replace James Franklin, James Marshall and Jeetan Patel, who have been selected for next month's tour to South Africa.

The replacement players are Craig Cumming, Paul Wiseman and Warren McSkimming.

Franklin, Marshall and Patel will play out the remainder of the one-day section of the A series before returning to New Zealand to prepare for the senior tour of South Africa