FAISALABAD, Oct 23: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer admitted on Saturday that it was going to be tough to save the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Iqbal Stadium.

"We had enough bad sessions to be on the wrong side of the game and I am now going to tell my players to bat out the 83 overs if you can," said the Englishman who took charge of the Pakistan squad in June.

He said that an extraordinary schedule of 16 one-day matches in a row that his team has had to play did not help. "It is not an excuse but it didn't help and plus the fact that this is the first Test since April this year, so we have to get around that and do better."

Sri Lanka were firmly on top in the Test after reducing Pakistan to 114-4 by the close of play on the fourth day with the hosts needing another 304-runs to win the match on Sunday.

"Our batting was disappointing in the first innings to say the least and our bowling was pretty good this morning but (Sanath) Jayasuriya played magnificently after lunch."

Jayasuriya struck a masterly 253 runs, his third Test double, as Sri Lanka hit up a mammoth 438 runs in their second innings.

"We should have got more runs and we all accept that as a team; we had a long discussion after the day's play and we try to put it right."

"I would want more Test matches in the general programme so that you are not always playing One-day Internationals. Surely there should be three or four Test matches and then five one-dayers so that the players can alternate better."

He pointed out that his batsmen needed to play the kind of innings that Jayasuriya and Thilan Samaraweera displayed.

"We are looking for players to bat for two days in Test matches just like Jayasuriya to get 250 and take the game away; Samaraweera's 100 set Sri Lanka in the game in the first innings, so those are the types of innings you need in Test cricket."

"We haven't produced one hundred in this Test match. We got two fifties, so in reality we have to look where we are going in batting."