West Indies v Sri Lanka delayed after ball controversy

Controversy over the state of the ball caused the start of day three in the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka to be delayed for around two hours.

Play finally got under way at 1130 local time in St Lucia, with the tourists and their captain Dinesh Chandimal contesting a five-run penalty awarded to West Indies amid the umpires' concerns over the state of the ball, which followed the conclusion of day two.

After an initial delay on Saturday while the tourists refused to take to the field, Sri Lanka's players – still visibly angered - eventually came on at 1050, which was one hour and 20 minutes after the scheduled start time, only to leave the field again before a ball was bowled.

Following talks on the boundary and a period of further uncertainty, umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar then gave batsmen Devon Smith and Shai Hope the opportunity to select a new ball, as Chandimal and his team-mates finally returned, still in heated discussion with officials.

Any code of conduct charges brought by the ICC will follow at the close of play.

Going into day three, West Indies were 118-2 in their first innings, after Sri Lanka scored 253.