Sri Lanka's Gunathilaka to face rape trial in Australia

SYDNEY : Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka will stand trial on a rape charge stemming from an alleged incident which occurred while he was in Australia to play in the Twenty20 World Cup last year.

The 32-year-old, who was suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) immediately after his arrest last November, had three of the four sexual assault charges he faced dropped last month.

Gunathilaka entered a not guilty plea to the remaining charge of sexual intercourse without consent at a local court in Sydney on Thursday, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported.

The top order batsman, who played more than 100 times for his country in all formats, also attempted to have his bail conditions altered so he would only have to report to police three times a week rather than daily, AAP said.