COLOMBO, July 2: Bangladesh will give other players a chance in this week's second Test against Sri Lanka after a crushing defeat in the opening match, coach Shaun Williams said.

“There will be a couple of changes for the second Test, there are some players who did not play in the first Test who will be given a look at,” he said as Bangladesh prepared for the second Test starting on Tuesday at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium.

Sri Lanka lead the three-match series 1-0 after dominating the first Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club where they won by an innings and 234 runs, their eighth victory in 11 home Tests and Bangladesh's heaviest defeat in their 47-match history.

The defeat prompted public criticism of the Bangladeshi players by assistant coach Sarwan Imran who told journalists “we have a talented bunch of cricketers but I think we are not mentally tough enough to sustain at this level.”

Williams, however, refused to be downcast, saying: “It's a tough challenge for us because Sri Lanka have a bowling attack now that compares with the best in the world, but the boys are enjoying it.

“I rather talk about the positives we got out of the first Test... In particular, I thought our boys batted very well in the first and second sessions of the third day.

“They maintained a good tempo and that was a positive aspect which we hope to take into the second Test,” he said.

Sri Lanka are expected to name the same team with captain Mahela Jayawardene keen to give youngster Malinda Warnapura a proper opportunity after he was dismissed for a golden duck on his debut.

“He was unfortunate as he got a great ball first up,” Jayawardene said. “But we know he is a guy with lots of talent and we must give him a proper opportunity to show us what he can do at this level.”

However, rain denied the teams any meaningful practice on Monday and thunderstorms have been forecast for the rest of the week, raising fears of a truncated match. The seasonal wet weather did not disrupt last week's first Test.

Jayawardene hoped the rain would stay away over the next few days to enable the hosts clinch the series with their ninth consecutive win over the Test minnows.

Jayawardene ruled out any complacency against the struggling rivals, saying his team needed to perform better in the five-day game.

“I feel we can still improve in batting, bowling and fielding,” he said.

“One area that we can improve on is to make those hundreds into 150s and 200s. That'll give our bowlers the ideal platform.

“In patches we bowled off target in the first Test and gave away too many boundary deliveries. We were not as consistent as we would have liked.

“In fielding we can always improve. There were a few catches that went down and we can create pressure by a run-out or two.”

Jayawardene declined to write off Bangladesh, who have won just one of their 47 matches and lost 41 since gaining Test status in 2000.

“I guess the Bangladeshis are heading in the right direction,” he said, referring to their maiden appearance in the second round of the limited-overs World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year.

“A bit more commitment from the players could help them at the Test level.”

Prolific off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who took nine wickets in the first Test, will eye another bagful of wickets on his home ground where he learnt the trade as a youngster.

“It's Murali's home wicket and he usually does very well at this ground,” said Jayawardene. “The wicket looks very hard and firm and will hopefully play well over the five days.”

Teams (from):

SRI LANKA: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Michael Vandort, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Malinga Bandara, Malinda Warnapura, Sujeewa de Silva

BANGLADESH: Mohammad Ashraful (captain), Mashrafe Mortaza, Habibul Bashar, Javed Omar, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Shahriar Nafees, Rajin Saleh, Saqibul Hasan, Khaled Mashud, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mohammed Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Sharif, Mushfiqur Rahim.—Agencies