Sport

England stares down the barrel

— PHOTO: AP

ON FIRE: Chaminda Vaas scored a 90 in Sri Lanka’s first innings and then returned to scalp four English batsmen.

GALLE: For almost three hours on Thursday, the Galle International Ground lay under a chequered board of green and black tarpaulin while Sri Lanka’s players waited patiently in their dressing room for the chance to complete the victory that will promote their hopes of laying down a serious challenge to Australia.

Huge lorry wheels kept the covers in place while up to 70 workers scurried round trying to protect the pitch as the rain thundered down for all of 20 minutes; the rest of the time was spent mopping up, removing the covers and turning sodden turf into a playing field fit for the home heroes.

Sri Lanka finished its first innings eight overs before lunch with 499 for eight declared. It was already in a dominant position but in the 25 minutes before the two teams headed for lunch, Chaminda Vaas made England’s hopes of levelling the series possible only in the boy’s own paper.

It was inevitable. Mahela Jayawardene had added another double century to his collection of Test hundreds, Vaas had warmed up with as good a 90 as you will see in any circumstance and England, which had been lectured on its shortcomings by both the captain Michael Vaughan and the coach Peter Moores, was clearly not in the mood to offer substantial resistance.

Vaughan’s must-try-harder lecture lost its point when he failed to spot Vaas’s inswinger and was left with his bat over his shoulder and his pad plumb in front of his stumps.

Alastair Cook ran out Ian Bell in the next over and, in Vaas’s fourth over Cook, and in Malinga’s next over Kevin Pietersen were both caught by that excellent wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, although there were doubts about both catches.

The storm left us with time to debate Matt Prior’s less than excellent keeping after he dropped his third chance of the innings off Mahela Jayawardene, making it 12 misses in a short career.

You can argue that, as Jayawardene was already on 154, a dropped chance hardly mattered but there must now be another serious debate about the spot behind the stumps.

Prior is not the answer but I wonder if there will be a change. Prior is popular and sometimes bats brilliantly and the modern mantra is that the runs are more important.

After the rain, England was shot out in nine overs for another 20 runs — for a total of 81, its lowest against any side from the sub-continent.

It is its 20th poorest score of all time and I admit that when wickets began to fall I had no difficulty in remembering Trinidad in 1994 when Curtly Ambrose, in a towering rage, made sure it was all out for 47.

Sri Lanka’s new boy Chanaka Welegedara, taller and quicker than Vaas, had a memorable wicket when he bowled Paul Collingwood, who is exempt from any criticism simply because he battled so hard.

So, what else is new? England, 418 behind, had to bat again in the gloaming with Muttiah Muralitharan taking the new ball to end a bizarre day with one ball that was at least as quick as anything the careful Vaas bowled in grabbing four for 28.

Rain and a Dunkirk spirit could save this match but the sound of Jingle Bells on the tannoy and the snow effect in the shop windows behind the old Fort will make thoughts of Christmas weaken the England resolve; and besides, who can hold out for two days against Murali with the new ball?

On evidence of the day’s play, certainly not this England batting line-up, unless Collingwood has a whole team of brothers back home in county Durham.

SCOREBOARD

 Sri Lanka — 1st innings: M. Vandort lbw b Sidebottom 18, U. Tharanga lbw b Harmison 16, K. Sangakkara c Panesar b Harmison 46, M. Jayawardene (not out) 213, C. Silva c Bell b Harmison 1, T. Dilshan (run out) 84, P. Jayawardene c Prior b Bopara 0, C. Vaas c Vaughan b Hoggard 90, L. Malinga b Collingwood 5, Extras (b-1, lb-14, nb-3, w-8): 26; Total (for eight wickets. decl. in 148.5 overs): 499.

Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-44, 3-132, 4-138, 5-287, 6-287, 7-470, 8-499.

England bowling: Sidebottom 34-8-95-1, Hoggard 32-4-121-1, Harmison 34-4-104-3, Panesar 26-3-76-0, Bopara 10-1-39-1, Collingwood 9.5-2-38-1, Pietersen 3-0-11-0.

England — 1st innings: A. Cook c P. Jayawardene b Vaas 13, M. Vaughan lbw b Vaas 1, I. Bell (run out) 1, K. Pietersen c P. Jayawardene b Malinga 1, P. Collingwood b Welegedara 29, R. Bopara c Welegedara b Vaas 0, M. Prior b Vaas 4, R. Sidebottom c Dilshan b Muralitharan 11, S. Harmison (not out) 9, M. Hoggard c M. Jayawardene b Welegedara 0, M. Panesar (run out) 0, Extras (b-4, nb-8): 12; Total (in 30.5 overs): 81.

Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-9, 3-22, 4-22, 5-25, 6-33, 7-70, 8-72, 9-72.

Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 9.5-2-28-4, Malinga 9-2-26-1, Welegedara 8-1-17-2, Muralitharan 4-2-6-1.

England — 2nd innings: A. Cook (batting) 1, M. Vaughan (batting) 1; Total (for no loss in one over): 2.

Sri Lanka bowling: Muralitharan 1-0-2-0.

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