Clarke, Thirimanne Hits Century in Drawn Match

Colombo: Australia captain Michael Clarke geared up for the forthcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka with an impressive century in a warm-up match, which ended in a draw on Saturday.

Clarke cracked one six and 12 fours in his 104 before retiring as the tourists were bowled out for 393 in their first innings in reply to Sri Lanka Board XI's 258 on the third and final day of the practice game.

The hosts were 174/2 in their second innings, with opener Lahiru Thirimanne scoring an unbeaten 100 with the help of one six and 12 fours.

Clarke, who was unbeaten on 61 Friday, completed his hundred in the morning session to maintain his impressive form on the tour. He was also named man of the one-day series for scoring 242 runs in five matches.

The series, starting in Galle next Wednesday, will be Clarke's first as Test captain since taking over from Ricky Ponting after the World Cup.

The remaining two matches will be played in Pallekele (September 8-12) and Colombo (September 16-20).

Brief scores
Sri Lankan Board XI 258 (Chandimal 59, Copeland 5-47) and 174 for 2 (Thirimanne 100*)
Australians 393 (Hughes 76, Khwaja 101, Clarke 104)
Results Match Drawn

Scores	Upcoming	Results
Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan - 3rd ODI 3rd ODI - South Africa v Pakistan - December 22, 12:00 GMT 4th Test - Australia v India - December 26-30, 23:30 GMT 3rd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 80 runs 2nd ODI - South Africa v Pakistan at Cape Town Pakistan won by 81 runs

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