Sport - Cricket

Lanka contains England

By Ted Corbett

LONDON May 18. If anything, the pitch at Lord's was even more friendly on Saturday so that

the possibility of England defeat faded at about the same rate as Muttiah Muralitharan's plane flew towards Heathrow. The world's finest off-spinner has received all the medical attention that the Melbourne specialists can give his left shoulder and now he will rely on intensive physiotherapy. He will be allowed to make his own decision about whether he plays in the second Test at Edgbaston in ten days.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka's determination to ensure that it was not behind in the series after the first Test seemed complete. It rained overnight and, although the pitch was covered, there was dampness in the atmosphere that suggested a McGrath, a Bedser, or any great quick bowler might run through a side.

For a while it looked as if Buddika Fernando might join the ranks of those who have given batsmen palpitations on this strip but after four overs in which he not only pitched every ball up to the batsmen and had Mark Butcher caught at slip he began to over-pitch, allowing Nasser Hussain to hit three fours in an over. The spell was broken; just as I was beginning to think that his spell might be the best of the match too.

Butcher had been at the wicket only 40 minutes - including ten minutes overnight - when he flashed at a ball heading wide of his off stump and found the ball snatched at arm's length by Mahele Jayawaredene at third slip.

Fernando forced Hussain to stumble and edge his first run past short leg, beat Michael Vaughan on the outside and looked ready to capture another wicket at any moment. Instead Hussain half hit, half edged a four through the slips and then two boundaries with authentic strokes off his toes.

The Sri Lankan plan was still containment; England allowed Vaughan, the natural defender, to keep an end going while Hussain played his shots. Chaminda Vaas forced one ball between Vaughan's bat and pad but umpire Venkat saw no evidence of an inside edge although the television meter heard an explosion of sound; perhaps ball on pad.

By lunch 120 were on the board without further worries and immediately afterwards both Hussain and Vaughan passed fifty and the stand reached 100. Even when Hussain was caught behind the wicket off Numan Zoysa for 57 - including 11 fours - at 149 there was no need for a full-scale panic.

The cloud had retreated even if it was a wet, grey, hands in the pocket and three sweaters sort of day whether you were English or Sri Lankan.

Graham Thorpe was soon turning the ball off his hips to deep square leg but Vaughan was able to face only 19 balls for five runs in an hour after lunch. Hussain's determination to keep the score going had brought England to four an over; however a follow-on mark of 356 concentrates the mind even on a pitch so benign against an attack without its main wicket-taker and England stayed on the defensive.

Vaughan was again out for less than 100 when the quality of his batting for four hours had been exemplary. In three years as a Test batsman Vaughan has made one century. It is not enough and he must raise his average nearer 40 than its present 30 if he is to match results with potential. Instead of pressing on he skied a short ball from Perera to fine leg where Zoysa and Fernando almost collided as Zoysa - much the bigger man - claimed the catch. The next ball Thorpe was plumb lbw and England was in serious trouble at 203 for five as Alec Stewart avoided a hat-trick.

Those two wickets brought together Stewart and John Crawley, the much-mocked "pensioners'' - Stewart is 39 but Crawley is 30, probably at his peak - with 153 still needed to avoid the follow-on.

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