The Sri Lankan players refused to take the field on the third day of the match in St Lucia on Saturday, delaying the resumption of play for almost two hours, after the umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould had changed the ball and awarded West Indies five penalty runs. Their players protested the charge and the subsequent penalty of a ball change and the award of five extra runs to the opposition by refusing to take the field at the start of the third day's play. The match eventually resumed after a two-hour delay, but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have said the players are effectively continuing with the game ‘under protest’.

The Sri Lankan board sent out a statement defending its players.

"The team management has informed us that Sri Lankan players have not engaged in any wrongdoing. SLC shall take all necessary steps to defend any player, in the event any unwarranted allegation is brought against a member of the team," the board release said.

At the close of play on Day 2, Windies were 118 for 2 in reply to the opposition's first-innings score of 253. Day 3 was due to start at 9.30am local time, half-an-hour early to make up for time lost to rain delays on day two. But the players eventually came onto the field at 10.50am, West Indies were officially given five extra runs and umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar oversaw the changing of the ball. Before the first ball could be bowled, though, the Sri Lanka players left the middle of the ground and made their way to the boundary lines. It took another 40 minutes for play to finally begin.