All to play for

The third and final Test between hosts Sri Lanka and the West Indies starts tomorrow (11:30 tonight Jamaica time) with all to play for in the three-match series which still stands at 0-0.

The weather has badly disrupted the series, particularly in the second Test at the Premadasa Stadium, where West Indies allowed Sri Lanka to recover from a shaky start to control the game.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy has urged his West Indies side to remain focused on the task at hand, following the drawn second Test.

"It's always difficult when you are on and off the cricket field," said the West Indies captain. (On Saturday's last day of the second Test) it looked like we wouldn't have any play, but the weather cleared up. This is something as professionals we have to master."

On the eve of the third Test, one of the areas of concern for West Indies will again be their fielding, with a few dropped catches, including Sammy's reprieve of century-maker Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, proving costly in the last match. Sangakkara made 150 in Sri Lanka's first-innings 387 for nine declared.

"I know the potential we have as a fielding team," he said. "The guys work hard, and put a high level of quality on their fielding.

"In cricket, you drop catches, but what I would like to see is half-chances to go in our favour, at least one or two."

Half-chances

He added that they were not able to capitalise on the half-chances the bowlers created but they are working hard to correct all the problems.

Sammy acknowledged his amazement that West Indies would enter the final Test without the series decided.

He believes the visitors are taking small steps towards restoring the reputation that the West Indies team once held.

"You don't change overnight," he said. "You have a process. I must say that our work ethic has been excellent.

"Even the fight we showed (on Saturday), it's good to see that we are thinking of the fans at home. They are waking up at early hours to watch this game.

"From the reports we have got from (the Caribbean), people are quite happy to see the fight the team is putting up."

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankans go into the game with the added boost that captain Kumar Sangakkara has reclaimed the top spot in the International Cricket Council's Test rankings for batsmen, ending India's Sachin Tendulkar's short-lived stay at the head of the table.

Sangakkara's has played well in the first two Tests of the series while Tendulkar has had modest returns against New Zealand. In the current series, the Sri Lankan captain has so far made 228 runs taking him to 882 rating points, 23 clear of Tendulkar.

The Sri Lankan bowling, their main strength before the retirement of seamer Chaminda Vaas and world Test wicket record holder Muttiah Muralitharan, has been less than penetrative against the West Indies and was destroyed by former captain Chris Gayle in the first Test when he made a career-best 333. Spinners Ajantha Mendis and Ragana Herath and fast bowler Suranga Lakmal must improve their consistency if they hope to dismiss a determined West Indies twice.