# Sri Lankan cricket team in New Zealand in 2006–07

The Sri Lankan cricket team toured New Zealand for cricket matches during the 2006–07 cricket season. It was the third successive season Sri Lanka visited New Zealand, after the 2005–06 tour was aborted and reschuled for the winter of 2005–06. Originally, the tour had been set to include three Tests and five One Day Internationals, but New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden announced in June that one of the Tests would be replaced with two Twenty20 Internationals.
Sri Lanka lost their ODI series 1–4 and the Test series 0–2 the last time they visited New Zealand, but beat New Zealand at the 2006 Champions Trophy. However, that was their only victory in the group stage, as New Zealand progressed from the group. On the ICC Test Championship tables, Sri Lanka were ranked two places ahead of New Zealand, but New Zealand were ranked third on the ODI tables, three places ahead of Sri Lanka.

## Schedule

The schedule was announced on 22 June.
| No. | Date | Venue |
| First class cricket |||
| Tour v Otago | 30 Nov, 1,2,3 Dec 2006 | University Oval |
| 1st Test | 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Dec 2006 | Jade Stadium |
| 2nd Test | 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Dec 2006 | Basin Reserve |
| Twenty20 International Series |||
| 1st T20I | 22 Dec 2006 | Westpac Stadium |
| 2nd T20I | 26 Dec 2006 | Eden Park |
| One-day International Series |||
| 1st ODI | 28 Dec 2006 | McLean Park |
| 2nd ODI | 31 Dec 2006 | Queenstown Events Centre |
| 3rd ODI | 2 Jan 2007 | Jade Stadium |
| 4th ODI | 6 Jan 2007 | Eden Park |
| 5th ODI | 9 Jan 2007 | Seddon Park |

## Squads

Sri Lanka :
| Mahela Jayawardene c | RHB, RM | Sinhalese SC |
| Prasanna Jayawardene wk | RHB | Sebastianites C&AC |
| Kumar Sangakkara wk | LHB | Nondescripts CC |
| Marvan Atapattu | RHB, LB | Sinhalese SC |
| Malinga Bandara | RHB, LBG | Ragama CC |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | RHB, OB | Bloomfield C&AC |
| Dilhara Fernando | RHB, RFM | Sinhalese SC |
| Akalanka Ganegama | RHB, RFM | Nondescripts CC |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | LHB, SLA | Bloomfield C&AC |
| Chamara Kapugedera | RHB, RM | Colombo CC |
| Farveez Maharoof | RHB, RFM | Bloomfield C&AC |
| Lasith Malinga | RHB, RM | Nondescripts CC |
| Muttiah Muralitharan | RHB, OB | Tamil Union C&AC |
| Ruchira Perera | LHB, LMF | Colts CC |
| Chamara Silva | RHB, LB | Sebastianites C&AC |
| Upul Tharanga | LHB | Nondescripts CC |
| Chaminda Vaas | LHB, LFM | Colts CC |
| Ganegama and Prasanna Jayawardene returned home after the Tests. Atapattu, Bandara and Perera were added to the squads for the one-day matches. |||
New Zealand :
| Stephen Fleming c | LHB | Wellington |
| Brendon McCullum wk | RHB | Canterbury |
| Nathan Astle | RHB, RM | Canterbury |
| Shane Bond | RHB, RF | Canterbury |
| Craig Cumming | RHB | Otago |
| James Franklin | LHB, LFM | Wellington |
| Jamie How | RHB, RM | Central Districts |
| Michael Mason | RHB, RFM | Central Districts |
| Chris Martin | RHB, RFM | Auckland |
| Iain O'Brien | RHB, RM | Wellington |
| Jacob Oram | LHB, RM | Central Districts |
| Mathew Sinclair | RHB, RM | Central Districts |
| Daniel Vettori | LHB, SLA | Northern Districts |
| Mason missed the first Test due to injury. |||

## First-class matches
### Tour Match: Otago v Sri Lankans, 30 November–3 December

Match drawn
At Dunedin, Sri Lanka passed 400 twice, with Upul Tharanga making the highest score of the match with 108 in the third innings. For Otago, Jordan Sheed, Craig Cumming and Aaron Redmond all passed 50, and the remaining eight batsmen contributed 86 runs to the total in the first innings. Lasith Malinga took three wickets, with wicket-keeper Gareth Hopkins the highest-batting, and no-balled 11 times.

### First Test: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 7 December–9 December

* 7–9 December
* New Zealand won by 5 wickets Jade Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand Umpires: BG Jerling (RSA) and SJA Taufel (AUS) Player of the match: SE Bond (NZ)
Shane Bond took three wickets in his first six overs in his first Test match for a year, and Sri Lanka were bowled out for 154 with only Tharanga and Chamara Kapugedera passing 20. In reply, New Zealand trailed by 41 with six wickets in hand, but Daniel Vettori's half-century helped score 206 against a Muttiah Muralitharan-led bowling attack. Murali took four for 65 from 34 overs, while Chaminda Vaas took two wickets in an over and ended with three for 49. The second time around, Kumar Sangakkara made an unbeaten century from number three, out of a total of 170. After completing an easy single to complete Sangakkara's century Muralitharan walked down the pitch to celebrate while the ball was being returned to the wicketkeeper. McCullum then appealed for a runout and Muralitharan was dismissed, ending Sri Lanka's second innings. After the match Jayawardene expressed the Sri Lankan team's disappointment about the incident, saying it was contrary to the spirit of the game, but Fleming and McCullum were unrepentant. New Zealand managed to reach the modest target of 118 to win the game, despite a mini-collapse.

### Second Test: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 15 December–19 December

* 15–19 Dec
* Sri Lanka won by 217 runs Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand Umpires: BG Jerling (RSA) and SJA Taufel (AUS) Player of the match: LPC Silva (SRL)
Kumar Sangakkara and Chamara Silva put on a stand of 121 runs to lift the Sri Lankans to a score of 268 in their first innings after Jayawardene chose to bat. Sangakkara hit 21 4s and one 6 on his way to 156 not out, while Silva scored 61 runs. The only other player for Sri Lanka to get into double figures was Prasanna Jayawardene, while 5 of their players didn't manage to trouble the scorers. At the end of the first day, New Zealand in reply were 64 for 4, still 204 runs behind with Malinga taking 3 scalps.
On the second day, Muralitharan and Malinga shared the remaining 6 wickets of the New Zealand innings, as they were bowled out for 130 before lunch. The second Sri Lankan innings started off shaky, with their first three wickets, including the in-form Sangakkara falling with just 62 runs on the board. Chamara Silva then came to the crease and helped the Sri Lankans to 255 for 5 at the end of the day, with Silva getting to 79 not out at stumps.
The third day belonged to Sri Lanka once more, with Silva reaching 152 not out by the end of the innings, and Chaminda Vaas chipping in with a well made 47. Needing an unlikely 504 runs to win the match, New Zealand lost their openers with just 60 runs scored. On the fourth and final day, the New Zealanders lost five quick wickets falling to 163 for 7, before Vettori and Franklin shared a partnership of 96. After Vettori got out, the New Zealand team lost their way and finished with 286. Sri Lanka won by 217 runs to level the test series 1-1. The player of the match was Chamara Silva after scoring 213 runs in the match.

## T20 international series
### 1st T20I

* 22 December 2006 (D/N) Scorecard
| New Zealand 162/8 (20 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 62/1 (5.5 overs) |
| BB McCullum 39 (22) ST Jayasuriya 3/21 (4 overs) | | ST Jayasuriya 51* (23) SE Bond 1/24 (3 overs) |
* Sri Lanka won by 18 runs (D/L method) Westpac Stadium, Wellington Umpires: AL Hill (NZ) and EA Watkin (NZ) Player of the match: ST Jayasuriya (SL)
* New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat.
* When play was halted Sri Lanka needed to have scored 45 runs to win
* LRPL Taylor, PD McGlashan, MR Gillespie (all NZ), MS Atapattu, LPC Silva, WPUJC Vaas, M Muralitharan (all SL) made their T20I debuts.

### 2nd T20I

* 26 December 2006 Scorecard
| Sri Lanka 115 (18.2 overs) | v | New Zealand 116/5 (18.3 overs) |
| SL Malinga 27 (19) JEC Franklin 3/23 (4 overs) | | NJ Astle 40* (37) CRD Fernando 3/19 (4 overs) |
* New Zealand won by 5 wickets Eden Park, Auckland Umpires: BF Bowden (NZ) and AL Hill (NZ) Player of the match: JEC Franklin (NZ)
* New Zealand won the toss and elected to field.

## ODI series
### 1st ODI

* 28 December 2006 Scorecard
| New Zealand 285/8 (50 overs) | v | Sri Lanka 289/3 (40 overs) |
| LRPL Taylor 128* (133) WPUJC Vaas 3/50 (10 overs) | | ST Jayasuriya 111 (82) JEC Franklin 2/69 (10 overs) |
* Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets McLean Park, Napier Umpires: SJ Davis (AUS) and AL Hill (NZ) Player of the match: ST Jayasuriya (SL)
* New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
* MR Gillespie (NZ) made his ODI debut

### 2nd ODI

* 31 December 2006 Scorecard
| Sri Lanka 224/7 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 228/9 (50 overs) |
| KC Sangakkara 89 (122) MR Gillespie 2/46 (10 overs) | | JAH Marshall 50 (80) M Muralitharan 3/31 (10 overs) |
* New Zealand won by 1 wicket Queenstown Events Centre, Queenstown Umpires: GAV Baxter (NZ) and SJ Davis (AUS) Player of the match: JEC Franklin (NZ)
* New Zealand won the toss and elected to field

### 3rd ODI

* 2 January 2007 Scorecard
| Sri Lanka 112 (35.2 overs) | v | New Zealand 110/6 (24.3 overs) |
| MS Atapattu 28 (26) MJ Mason 4/24 (9 overs) | | PG Fulton 43* (57) CRD Fernando 2/34 (6.3 overs) |
* New Zealand won by 4 wickets (D/L method) Jade Stadium, Christchurch Umpires: SJ Davis (AUS) and AL Hill (NZ) Player of the match: MJ Mason (NZ)
* New Zealand won the toss and elected to field
* The match was reduced to 46 overs per side, New Zealand target was 110 runs

### 4th ODI

* 6 January 2007 (D/N) Scorecard
| Sri Lanka 262/6 (50 overs) | v | New Zealand 73 (26.3 overs) |
| KC Sangakkara 79 (103) MR Gillespie 3/39 (10 overs) | | CD McMillan 29* (64) WPUJC Vaas 3/10 (8 overs) |
* Sri Lanka won by 189 runs Eden Park, Auckland Umpires: GAV Baxter (NZ) and SJ Davis (AUS) Player of the match: ST Jayasuriya (SL)
* Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat

### 5th ODI

* 9 January 2007 (D/N) Scorecard
| Sri Lanka | v | New Zealand |
* Match abandoned Seddon Park, Hamilton Umpires: BF Bowden (NZ) and SJ Davis (AUS)
* New Zealand won the toss and elected to field
* Under ICC regulations, this counts as a match played since the toss was made

## References and notes

* ↑ Twenty20 'part of future of cricket' – Snedden, from Cricinfo, retrieved 8 December 2006
* ↑ NZ focus on World Cup preparation, from Cricinfo, retrieved 8 December 2006
* ↑ Silva and Ganegama named in Test squad, from Cricinfo, retrieved 8 December 2006
* ↑ Sinclair picked for first Test against Sri Lanka, from Cricinfo, retrieved 8 December 2006
* ↑ Mason to miss first Test, from Cricinfo, retrieved 8 December 2006
* ↑ Cricinfo – Tour Match: Otago vs Sri Lankans at Dunedin, Nov 30-Dec 3, 2006, from Cricnfo, retrieved 9 December 2006
* ↑ Cricinfo – 1st Test: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka at Christchurch, Dec 7-9, 2006, from Cricinfo, retrieved 9 December 2006
* ↑ No regrets on controversial run-out – Fleming from Cricinfo, retrieved 11 December 2006
* ↑ Cricinfo – 2nd Test: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka at Wellington, Dec 15-19, 2006, from Cricinfo, retrieved 19 December 2006