Bandula Warnapura, Sri Lanka's first Test captain, dies aged 68

The former opening batsman played four Test and 12 ODIs for his country and represented Sri Lanka at both the 1975 and 1979 Cricket World Cups

Sri Lanka’s first Test captain, Bandula Warnapura, has died at the age of 68.

The former opening batsman played four Tests and 12 ODIs for his country and represented Sri Lanka at both the 1975 and 1979 Cricket World Cups.

Warnapura went on to skipper Sri Lanka in their first-ever Test match in 1982, against England in Colombo, facing the first delivery and scoring the country’s first Test runs. He scored 2 and 38 - his Test high score - against Keith Fletcher’s England side as well as opening the bowling in the second innings.

He went on to face Pakistan (twice) and India in his short Test career, scoring 96 runs, before his decision to join a rebel tour to South Africa later that year ended his international career.

^{Warnapura batting against England in Colombo}

Overall, Warnapura scored 2,280 first-class runs at an average of 25.05 and took 13 red-ball wickets. In List A cricket, he scored 564 runs – 180 at international level - and took 19 wickets.

In a statement, Shammi Silva, president of Sri Lanka Cricket, said: "I am deeply saddened by the demise of Bandula Warnapura, who was Sri Lanka’s first Test captain.

"He was an excellent cricketer, administrator, coach, commentator, and above all, a good person, and his passing away is a huge loss for the cricketing community."