COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A sensational century-partnership between all-rounders Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite provided West Indies with a major boost ahead of their three-match One-Day International Series against Sri Lanka.The pair added a boundary-studded eighth-wicket stand of 193 off 99 balls which included 16 fours and 13 sixes, as Windies defeated the SLC President’s XI in a 50-over warm-up match at Colts Cricket Club yesterday.

They came together with the Windies in trouble on 109-7 and saw the visitors to 318 all out off 48.4 overs. The last 18 overs yielded 209 runs.
Brathwaite, 27, is a strongly-built six-footer, and smashed the ball to all parts of the field. He made 113 off 58 balls – his maiden List A century – and hit 82 runs in boundaries.
Russell who is also 27, was equally entertaining and powered his way to 89 off 54 balls with six sixes and six fours.
The home side reached 103-3 off 21 overs when rain and bad light brought the match to an end. West Indies won by 43 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis Method.
“When I went to the crease we were in quite a bit of trouble at seven wickets down for just over a hundred so I knew my job at that time was to support Russell and try to rebuild the innings,” Brathwaite said.
“I decided to give him as much of the strike as possible and basically sit back and watch the ‘Andre Russell show’. But I started to hit a few in the middle of the bat and decided to take it from there.”
Brathwaite added: “This was a good win for the team as we look forward to the three One-Dayers against Sri Lanka.”
Full squad: Jason Holder (captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels and Jerome Taylor.
Schedule of matches – November
Sunday 1: 1st ODI – Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (day/night)
Wednesday 4: 2nd ODI – Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (day/night)
Saturday 7: 3rd ODI – International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele (day/night)
Monday 9: 1st T20 International – International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele
Thursday 12: 2nd T20 International – Premadasa Stadium, Colombo