Over rate significantly faster this morning - 14 overs in the first hour from England. “Motivation, motivation, motivation - the three Ms.”
2 for 2 from Plunkett. So far, Thirimanne might as well not have got on the plane.
…and Matthews goes!
And there’s the end of the first day.
I was surprised that England chose to bowl first = Headingly can surprise you sometimes, with a cloudy morning turning into a lovely batting strip for 2 days and, in those conditions, you don’t really want to bat last. Still, out for 257, we’ll take that. And getting to close without loss is the best start we can ask for.
Good start to the game for England.
4 wickets lost for what? 40 odd?
I can’t say Ali impressed me much today.
4/35. From Sri Lanka’s point of view, though, a lot of damage has been done. We’re unlikely to win by an innings now, but I’d be surprised (and disappointed) if the lead was below 100, and a lead of 150-200 isn’t out of reach with Prior at the crease.
Turning out to be a good game. England on top, but Sri Lanka coming back in.
108 run lead. Useful, but disappointing from where England were at tea yesterday.
Now we have to hope we can have them 5 or 6 down before they overtake us.
Didn’t quite manage that, but 3 quick new ball wickets (Jayawardene, then Chandimal and Prasad in 2 balls) took it to a lead of only 169 with the tail exposed.
Since when, a 100-run partnership has brought Matthews his century and pushed the question from “Will England get SL out for a chasable target?” to “Will SL declare with enough time to bowl England out?”. This is definitely their match to win now, thanks to some very capable batting by Matthews but also to some generous drops by England and a reluctance to bowl spin.
Sri Lanka all out for 457, a lead of 349 for gods’ sake. Matthews made an impressive 160, Herath was run out by his captain on 48 and Eranga tonked 20 from 19 balls, presumably on the grounds that there was no reason not to.
So, England. 3 1/2 sessions, 350 runs, 10 wickets. It would be a heroic run chase, but they’re not going to try. Just getting through to close today without dropping a wicket would mark a turning of the tide.
This, bluntly, was damn disappointing given where England were halfway through the Sri Lankan second innings. They had this game by the scruff of the neck and then dusted it down and wished it well on its way down the Swanee River. Hopefully, they will eke out a draw. If Robson and Cook stay in for any real length of time, they won’t score quickly enough at any point to chase it down.
The required run rate is just a shade under 3, but I find it hard to believe that England will push for a victory under Cook.
A very disappointing situation for England to be in.
Ah, English cricket - where false dawns are almost as numerous as false shots. Let’s put that cautious optimism back in the bag for another few months.
They’re actually going to lose this match. 4 down already and Plunkett in as nightwatchman. Maybe it will rain and we’ll get lucky.
Checks Forecast
Oh well. Looks like that isn’t happening.
I haven’t seen any of the coverage, but from the scores it would appear to be yet another pathetic capitulation by the top order. Clearly the ghosts of that awful winter have not been laid to rest at all.
Having said that, they were better this morning, and it’s now raining - so maybe they could still get off the hook.
slaps self on wrist
Way too positive - stop that right now! Just remember to stick with relentless pessimism at all times unless and until we actually win another Ashes series, where a brief moment of celebration may be permitted.
2 overs to face.
I daren’t type anything.
Unbelievably, even that was too much. Lost it on the penultimate delivery.
Great knock by Moeen.
England didn’t deserve to win this mind. Now they should find a new captain and get Cook to focus on regaining his form with the bat. Some of the bowling and field placements in SL’s 2nd innings were ridiculous.
Ok, so Ive gone away and calmed down and had a cup of coffee.
The negatives from the series are obvious. Cook’s problems are twofold - he’s not scoring runs, and his captaincy seems uninspired. Andersen got England’s Player of the Series for some reason, I didn’t think he shone at his best in either test, but then it seems that noone played particularly well in both tests. We threw away what was not only a winning position, but a position from which we should have striven to win by an innings. Sri Lanka played very well to pull the game back, but England let them back in.
On the positive side, our new batsmen have all scored hundreds in this series. Joe Root scored 200 at Lords. Matt Prior looks like he might actually be back in some kind of nick after Lords, even if he didn’t show it in this game.
I honestly think the selection of the team is there, really. Yes, it would be great to have a spinner, but I don’t think we’ve got one at the moment, and bringing a not-very-good spinner in against India isn’t going to end well. At least Ali can bat.
I don’t think Cook is going to go as captain, to be honest. I suspect they will stick with him through the India series, and then there’s a break with no test cricket. Would be nice to go out on a high, but India have some quality about them.
Fuck that was annoying. I agree that England didn’t deserve to win, but I don’t think they necessarily deserved to lose (either the match or the series). The immediate question that springs to mind is why were England unable to finish the job in the previous test, whereas Sri Lanka were able to do so in this one? It must surely come down to mental strength - England’s is still fragile after the winter, whereas Sri Lanka were obviously boosted by hanging on at Lords and then converted that into a great performance at Headingley.
Think I agree with Teuton that the core of a potentially decent team is there. In that respect, in some ways it’s a pity the next series isn’t against Bangladesh, so we can get some confidence back, as that seems to be the issue at the moment. The commentators on TMS yesterday were going on about how all the England batsmen are suddenly scared of short fast bowling after being roughed up by Mitchell Johnson. Mind you, India don’t offer too much in that regard so at least that’s something. And actually, playing Bangladesh at the moment could be a bit of a double-edged sword - all well and good if the expected convincing victory materialises, but a shock loss could actually ruin careers.
Also on TMS yesterday they were still going on about the run out while backing up. To my mind, you can call it ungentlemanly all you like (particularly if it is done without warning), but it has a really simple solution - stay in the crease, don’t try to pinch an extra foot or whatever because it’s just not worth it.
I didn’t realise just how quickly the India tour starts - the first Test at Trent Bridge is on 9th July which is precisely two weeks away. Any opportunity for reflection, or for remedial batting practice with, ooh, lets say Essex, is minimal at best. And with that kind of turnaround, it’s almost unthinkable that they would try to swap the captaincy - there’s just no time for adjustment.