Charlie Austin
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1st Test: Sri Lanka v England at Galle, 22-26 Feb 2001 Charlie Austin |
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Sri Lanka 1st innings:
England 2nd innings: Pre-game: England 1st innings: |
Craig White was the first to go. He should have been given out at bat pad the ball before, but was then wrongly adjudged lbw for three as he tried to sweep and was on the foot outside the line of the off stump.
Three overs later Andrew Caddick tried to seep a ball from Jayasuriya and was bowled around his legs as the ball just clipped the leg stump. England’s confidence in the umpires has plummeted so much that he felt the need to stay until the umpire had given him out. He scored just one run and England were 182 for seven.
Nineteen minutes later the innings was over. Ashley Giles was plumb lbw to Muralitharan for one, Robert Croft was lbw for two off Jayasuriya, although he hit the ball, and Darren Gough lasted just one ball as he swung hard and was bowled to give Muralitharan his fourth wicket of the innings.
Graham Thorpe was the first to depart after the morning drinks interval. He batted for the best part of two hours for his 12 runs before being trapped lbw by Kumar Dharmasena, the off-spinner's first wicket of the match. Thorpe had been beaten on the previous delivery and then deceived by a quicker ball that hit him on the roll of his pad as he went onto the back foot. England were 145 for four.
Graeme Hick added 22 runs with Stewart for the fifth wicket. However, his 35-minute stay at the crease was ended when Sanath Jayasuriya started his second spell of the morning from the Fort End. He came forward to a ball that spun and caught the outside edge. Kumar Sangakkara failed to grasp the catch, but parried it to Mahela Jayawardene, who reacted quickly at slip.
Alec Stewart has now batted for nearly two hours for his 25 runs. He looks a different player from the first innings, when he had pushed and prodded tentatively. He has hit four boundaries this morning, including a fine sweep and back foot drive off Muralitharan and a lofted on-drive off Jayasuriya. In the 91st over of the innings he passed 7000 Test runs for England, the seventh Englishmen to do so.
Nasser Hussain acknowledged the Don’s contribution to the game: "There is no doubt that he was a great player and his achievements will not be forgotten."
England's sadness at the death of Bradman was then compounded by the loss of Atherton this morning. It was not tragic, but it could well be fatal for England. Once again it was Chaminda Vaas who claimed the crucial wicket, proving that fast bowlers can play a role on Sri Lankan pitches. England should take note.
Michael Atherton was not altogether happy with his decision, made by A.V. Jayaprakash. He pushed forward to a full-length ball that brushed his outside edge. Whether it carried through to Sangakkara’s gloves, we cannot know for sure. Certainly the umpire could have made use of television technology.
Since then though, England have survived unscathed. Graham Thorpe has made 12 from 81 deliveries now and Alec Stewart eight from 41. They are grimly defending and one sweep shot apart from Stewart have picked up their runs in singles. England are currently 144 for three, still 83 runs behind.
Muralitharan has just completed a seven over burst and been replaced by Dharmasena. From the City End Jayasuriya has come on for Chaminda Vaas.
There have been no chances in the past hour and both batsmen have played the spinners well and negotiated an eight-over spell from Muralitharan with relative ease. Trescothick even managed to drive the off spinner through extra cover on a couple of occasions.
Jayasuriya has used four spinners so far in the innings, including the off spin of Russel Arnold, who did not bowl in the first innings.
Meanwhile, the ECB and BCCSL have announced that the scheduled three-day practice in Kurunegala, which was supposed to start on Thursday, has now been cancelled after a request from the English team. Five players are carrying injuries – Atherton (Back), Giles (Achilles), Hussain (Back), Hick (Calf) and Stewart (Elbow) – and England would prefer to rest their players ahead of the Second Test Match, which starts on the 7th of March. England will, however, play a fifty overs practice game on the 3rd of March against a BCCSL Colts XI in Kurunegala.
Sri Lanka opened with Dilhara Fernando and Chaminda Vaas after lunch. Fernando bowled just two overs in the first innings, but in the second he enjoyed a relatively long spell of four overs. He looked sharp and hit Trescothick with one nasty bouncer in his second over. Atherton too was forced to hurry and was beaten by one beauty that cut back to just shave the off stump.
Jayasuriya, however, was impatient to get back to his spinners and in the ninth over of the innings he replaced Chaminda Vaas. Dharmasena came on for Fernando in the tenth over.
Trescothick has laboured hard in the second innings. He twice edged Vaas just short of the slips and was dropped by Sangakkara as he tried to drive a well-flighted ball from Jayasuriya through extra cover. The ball caught the inside edge, Sangakkara lost his balance and spilled the chance. Trescothick had made 14 at the time.
Atherton was dropped, this time by Tillakaratne at short leg off the bowling of Dharmasena. On 12 at the time he clipped a ball off the middle of the bat. It was a fiendishly difficult catch and the ball bounced off Dilshan before he had a chance to react.
Atherton is currently on 14 from 43 balls and Trescothick is 21 from 66 balls.
England will feel hard done by. Two top order batsmen received dubious decisions and Craig White was desperately unlucky. Sri Lanka though deserve great credit for a stunning close catching performance and some persistent spin bowling from Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya.
Robert Croft was the first to be dismissed after the drinks break. He had defended stoutly for 94 minutes for his nine runs, but was well caught by Mahela Jayawardene at second slip soon after the introduction of Sanath Jayasuriya from the City End. England were 239 for seven.
Craig White and Ashley Giles then added 15 runs for the eighth wicket and they looked in control. However, in the 132nd over of the innings, bowled by Sanath Jayasuriya, Craig White drove a full-pitched delivery powerfully. It would have gone for four had it not thundered into Russel Arnold’s bulky shin guards at silly point. The ball ballooned up into the air and Kumar Sanagakkara completed a simple catch. Craig White had made 25 and England were 253 for eight.
They failed to add any further runs to the score. Andrew Caddick lasted just two balls before Jayawardene completed a sharp left-handed catch at first slip to give Jayasuriya his fourth wicket of the innings.
Then, three balls later, Tillakaratne Dilshan wrapped up the innings with a stunning diving catch a first slip as Ashley Giles edged Muralitharan’s arm ball.
Sri Lanka bowled two overs before lunch and England at least survived unscathed. They are four without loss.
Marcus Trescothick, England’s hero yesterday, added only three runs to his overnight score of 119. He was nearly dismissed in the first over of the day when he was caught at second slip off a Muralitharan no ball. He was then caught behind pushing at an away swinger from Chaminda Vaas in the very next over. He had scored 122 from 347 balls and hit 12 fours in his innings. England were 206 for five.
Graeme Hick then appeared to become another victim of poor umpiring by Peter Manuel. In Vaas’s fifth over he tried to drive a full-length ball. The Sri Lankan players immediately appealed for a catch behind and Manuel raised his finger. Hick was distraught, motioned that he had not hit the ball and lingered dangerously long at the wicket, before tutting his way back to the pavilion for five runs. England were 217 for six.
Craig White came to the crease and immediately glanced Vaas fine for a boundary. Then, in the 12th over of the day and the last of Vaas’s spell six-over spell, he drove imperiously through extra cover. He is 14 not out, looks in prime form and holds the key for England. Robert Croft is giving him good support and has scored nine from 72 balls. He was dropped in the gully off Vaas when he had made just one.
Trescothick started the session on 81 and quickly moved into the nineties after a brace of boundaries in Chaminda Vaas’s first over after tea. Then, on 95, he pulled Muralitharan for four and scampered a single the next ball to reach the cherished landmark. The left hander from Somerset was ecstatic and quickly removed his helmet to punch the air in delight. The Sri Lankans too recognised the quality of his innings and clapped generously.
Alec Stewart is fighting hard at the other end and has faced 83 balls for his 12 runs. He has looked far from fluent, but has only to keep Trescothick company as England inch towards the follow-on target.
Muttiah Muralitharan continues to shoulder the brunt of the workload. He came on straight after tea to bowl another eight overs, this time from the City End. He beat the bat, struck the pad, and occasionally caught an edge, but he failed to break through and was replaced by Sanath Jayasuriya moments ago. Kumar Dharmasena replaced Vaas after a three-over burst from the left arm fast bowler.
The one wicket to fall in the last hour of play was that of Graham Thorpe. He had made seven runs from 37 balls before he was caught off boot and pad at second slip by Tillakaratne Dilshan off the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan. It was the second wicket of the day for Sri Lanka’s master off spinner, who bowled an unchanged 28-over spell from the Fort End.
Having completed his spell, he immediately left the field for further treatment before returning moments before the tea interval.
Sanath Jayasuriya has chopped and changed his bowling this afternoon and Aravinda de Silva has just been introduced into the attack to try and conjure up a wicket as Trescothick and Alec Stewart, who is on seven at tea, have added 29 runs for the fourth wicket.
Like Hussain had done yesterday, Sri Lanka have been reluctant to give the batsmen easy runs. When Sanath Jayasuriya bowled to Trescothick before tea, he even employed a 7-2 leg-side field. Trescothick has been particularly strong on the leg side although he has also driven well through extra cover.
Michael Atherton was dismissed without adding to his lunchtime score of 33. Having survived one vehement appeal for leg before already in the over, Atherton was caught on the crease and trapped lbw to the third ball after lunch. It ended a first wicket partnership of 83.
Nasser Hussain then departed seven overs later. He was also trapped lbw, this time to Muttiah Muralitharan. Although the off break spun back sharply Hussain had gone right back onto his stumps and Umpire Jayaprakesh gave him out after a few seconds' consideration. England were 93 for two.
Marcus Trescothick, however, is looking mightily impressive. He struggled in Pakistan, but has been in good form in Sri Lanka during the practice games. He has opted to play Muttuah Muralitharan from the crease and has moved backwards and forwards with conviction. He has been particularly strong off his legs.
Trescothick passed his fifty moments before tea, much to the delight of the vocal English crowd in the stadium. It took him 166 balls and 201 minutes.
The scoring rate may be slow but Duncan Fletcher will not care. England’s openers have shown that Muttiah Muralitharan can be played and the team will believe that this crucial first game can now be saved.
Muralitharan has bowled 15 overs so far from the Fort End. After a tentative start he has settled down and bowled well. However, he does not appear his normal self. Nevertheless, he could have claimed the wicket of both openers.
Trescothick could have been caught and bowled in the 27th over of the innings. He tried to push a delivery that stopped and offered a looping return catch. The off spinner, however, set off hesitantly to his right and despite a desperate one handed dive, he failed to clasp the catch.
Then, in the 31st over of the innings Atherton propped forward to an off spinner that looked to come off bat and pad, but was dropped by Mahela Jayawardene at silly point.
Muralitharan and Vaas apart, the Sri Lankan bowlers have not looked like getting wickets on a surface that is deathly slow in pace and increasingly low in bounce. Dharmasena has bowled better than last night, but has not spun the ball a great deal and Sanath Jayasuriya, who replaced Dharmasena from the City End, has been hit for two leg side boundaries by Trescothick in his four over burst.
Worryingly for Sri Lanka, Muttiah Muralitharan appears uncomfortable with his groin injury. Jayasuriya waited 50 minutes before introducing his prize bowler. Then, having bowled one over, he immediately left the field for the dressing room. He returned to continue his spell, but does not appear to be moving freely.
Trescothick and Atherton began the day with a boundary apiece in Dilhara Fernando’s second over. The young fast bowler was promptly removed from the bowling attack after bowling two overs for 10 runs and replaced with Kumar Dharamsena, who bowled a four-over spell.
Chaminda Vaas opened from the City End and bowled the best spell by a fast bowler so far in the match. Unlike England’s bowlers in the first two days, he pitched the ball up to the batsmen, swung the ball into the right handed Atherton and cut the ball of the pitch. He induced an edge from Trescothick in his first over that dropped short of De Silva at first slip and then looked to have trapped Atherton lbw in the 10th over of the day. The ball pitched on the leg stump and would have gone on to hit the stumps, but Peter Manuel gave the benefit of very little doubt to Atherton, who was on 19 at the time.
Chaminda Vaas has now completed his seven-over spell, in which he conceded just 10 runs, to be replaced by Kumar Dharmasena. Sri Lanka will be concerned by the ease with which the batsmen have played this morning and now know they face a tough three days in the field if they are to secure victory.
Jayawardene scored an enterprising 61 off 94 balls and added 111 runs for the forth wicket with Atapattu. He countered the negative bowling of Giles with quick use of his feet and some ungainly reverse sweeps. He though became the victim of Graham Thorpe’s sharp football skills, as the Surrey man kicked down the stumps from five foot.
Marvan Atapattu survived two missed chances when he was on 177. Andrew Caddick missed a one-handed caught and bowled chance and Alec Stewart missed a stumping chance in the next over off Ashley Giles.
Sri Lanka have now sent in Chaminda Vaas, clearly with the intention of picking up some quick runs before the close of play. There is, as of yet, no indication of that Sri Lanka are looking to declare just yet. All the players are lounging in their training gear on the dressing room balcony.
Indeed, Jayawardene has shown greater adventure than all the Sri Lankan batsmen. The plan is clearly for Atapattu to grind mercilessly on, whilst the free flowing middle order starts to take the attack to a wilting English bowling attack.
Jayawardene has enjoyed two moments of fortune in his short innings, he lobbed a catch just short of a tumbling Gough at mid-off and then nearly steered a short delivery from Craig White into the hands of Graham Thorpe in the gully when he had made just eight. Since then, however, he has looked in fine form. He launched Ashley Giles for a large straight six and then swept Croft over deep-square for another. Perhaps his best shot though was a sweetly timed off-drive off Craig White that raced to the boundary.
England will now be wondering just how long Sri Lanka want to bat. Sri Lanka want to avoid having to bat again in this match and it would be a surprise if they declared tonight. We can though expect them to try and lift the run rate in the next two hours.
In truth, a run out always looked England’s best hope of a wicket today. The aging De Silva just survived a trial by television umpire yesterday evening and was forced to dive into his crease earlier in the morning. Thus, it was a case of third time lucky for England as Aravinda de Silva was stranded at the bowlers' end watching the fielder gather a drive from Atapattu, when he should have been watching his partner sprinting towards him. De Silva was run out by yards for 106 well-crafted runs that included 10 fours and one six.
Marvan Atapattu shows little sign of tiring. He has just passed his 150, which was scored from 401 balls. His only moments of insecurity have been against Darren Gough, who gave up trying to bowl fast on a featherbed of a wicket and bowled 70 mph off-cutters instead. He cut the ball too, quite alarmingly in fact for England’s batsmen. He completed an economical spell of 7-0-23-0 since lunch and has just been replaced by Craig White.
Mahela Jayawardene has just come to the crease and is lucky not to already be back in the cool of the dressing room. He tried to push Giles into the covers in the 132nd over of the innings, but the ball stopped on him and he lofted the ball just short of a tumbling Darren Gough at mid-off. He had made one run at the time.
England, meanwhile, refuse to allow Sri Lanka easy runs. If the home side want to score 500 runs, then they are jolly well going to have to earn them. The bowlers, even the quick ones, have preferred to spear the ball in to the batsmen, and the spinners are refusing to give the ball any air.
Marvan Atapattu and Aravinda de Silva, however, are equally obstinate. They refuse to chance their arm and prefer to accumulate their runs patiently with little glances and wristy flicks. It doesn’t make for scintillating cricket, but it is enthralling.
Sri Lanka scored 84 runs in the session, still their fastest rate of the match, and enjoy their lunch on 305 for two. Marvan Atapattu continues his marathon and has now batted 480 minutes for his 125 not out. Aravinda De Silva is nearing his 19th Test Match century and is on 96 from 218 balls.
The Sri Lankan batsmen have not given a chance this morning. The nearest England came to the wicket was when Aravinda de Silva was forced to dive in ungainly fashion as he scampered a rare two runs.
England have tried various plans to separate Atapattu and De Silva, who have now added 157 for the third wicket, but most have revolved around frustrating the batsmen. Andy Caddick has bowled gun barrel straight to Atapattu with five men on the leg side, including a short mid-wicket and leg gully. Ashley Giles bowled over the wicket on to Atapattu’s leg stump and Croft, just introduced into the attack after an expensive five over burst from Giles, has speared the ball in.
But, the tactics have failed to cramp the batsmen. Marvan Atapattu has batted with greater fluency and drove both Gough and Giles gloriously down the ground. He reached his sixth Test century with another high elbowed drive in the sixth over of the day. It came from 302 balls and included 10 boundaries.
Aravinda de Silva too has looked more like his dismissive old self. He twice lofted Giles for four with his pick-up sweep and moments before the drinks interval he swatted Caddick to the square boundary with his swivel pull. He is now 75 not out from 175 balls.
Marvan Atapattu has scored more freely since tea and he is undefeated on 76 from 233 deliveries. Aravinda de Silva too has started to take the attack to the England bowlers and he is on the verge of his first Test half-century for 12 months. He is 47 off 88 balls and has hit five fours and one six.
Darren Gough started immediately after tea, like he had done after lunch too, and should have claimed the wicket of Aravinda de Silva. The 35-year old right-hander cut hard to the gully when he had made just 20 only for Graham Thorpe to drop the catch. On such a sterile pitch, such catches can not be dropped.
Marvan Atapattu enjoyed a disappointing series in South Africa, but he has batted with increasingly fluency and unflappable concentration today. Aravinda de Silva cut loose just before the drinks interval, hitting a six and a four in successive deliveries.
Marvan Atapattu has led the way with a painstaking half-century. He reached the landmark moments before tea after 180 balls and 237 minutes of intense concentration. He did though have one moment of good fortune when Ashley Giles replaced Robert Croft from the Press Box End in the 56th over of the innings. Giles, bowling over the wicket into the rough, managed to produce a delivery that kicked up into the gloves of Atapattu. The ball ballooned up, but just out of the reach of the despairing hand of Marcus Trescothick at silly point.
Atapattu remains on exactly 50 from 181 balls at the tea interval. He is being well supported by Aravinda de Silva who is on 19 from 43 balls. The experienced right-hander has hit three boundaries in his 59 minute innings and will be desperate to score runs after a disappointing tour of South Africa and New Zealand.
England at least have managed to stem the flow of runs in the session. Hussain made it clear before the Test match that he was not going to let the Sri Lankan's score at four or five an over and he restricted the Sri Lankans with deep set fields and thanks to some accurate bowling from Andrew Caddick and Robert Croft in particular.
Sangakkara and Atapattu added 92 runs for the second wicket and they did so without great alarm. Sangakkara looked particularly impressive and hit five boundaries in his 58. He reached his third Test fifty off 90 balls with a flick off his legs for four off Darren Gough, who bowled an expensive three over burst straight after lunch.
England bowled Giles for two overs from the Press Box End and then replaced him with Robert Croft. The Glamorgan off spinner stemmed the flow of runs, bowling seven overs for just 11 runs.
He was rewarded for his accuracy when Kumar Sangakkara used his feet and tried to drive the off spinner through extra cover. He failed to keep the ball down, however, and Craig White took his second catch of the match.
Marvan Atapattu continues to accumulate his runs patiently and he is 30 not out from 125 balls. He is joined at the crease by Aravinda de Silva.
England's fast bowlers stuck manfully to their task on the first morning, but were nevertheless guilty of bowling too short on a snail-like pitch. They failed to find the lateral movement that had been expected and looked relatively innocuous.
With Craig White's slower delivery looking his most dangerous ball, England have quickly turned to the spin of Robert Croft and Ashley Giles. The pair immediately spun the ball and will surely bowl the lion's share of the overs today.
Ashley Giles nearly claimed the wicket of Marvan Atapattu. The steady right-hander tried to flick the spinner to leg and the ball ballooned up to Graeme Hick at slip. England looked convinced that it had come via his bat, but were disappointed when Peter Manuel disagreed. TV replays confirmed Manuel's judgment as being correct.
Later, in Croft's first over, the 23rd of the innings, England were appealing again, this time for a stumping off Atapattu. Although Peter Manuel referred the decision to the television umpire, the batsman was well inside his crease.
Kumar Sangakkara has been the more free flowing batsman of the two. He has scored 31 from 70 deliveries and has looked every bit the classy player that the Sri Lankans believe him to be. His use of his feet against the spinners has been particularly impressive.
Atapattu is laying down anchor. He loves to bat for long periods (He already has three Test double centuries to his name) and will be looking the others to bat around him. He is now 18 from 87 balls.
After the first hour of play Sri Lanka have scored 44 runs from 13 overs. They have though lost the crucial wicket of Sanath Jayasuriya. Marvan Atapattu has shown his patience with just 7 runs from 44 balls and waited 40 balls for his first boundary, a perfectly balanced cover drive off Craig White.
Kumar Sangakkara was batted with greater fluency. The left-hander, who scored 98 in his final Test Match against South Africa, has timed the ball well and has scored 17 from 23 balls.
Sri Lanka, however, will be disappointed that their talisman, Sanath Jayasuriya, failed to make the big score he craved. He hit three fours in his breezy 14 run innings, two of which were too his favoured area on the square boundary. The punching forcing shot brings him many runs, but it also often leads to his downfall. It did today as Craig White, one of two well set gullies, pulled off a stinging two handed catch in Gough's third over.
Jayasuriya's wicket apart, there has been little for the mass of English supporters to cheer. The pitch is so slow in pace that the batsmen have rarely been troubled. The English fast bowlers have not helped their cause by bowling too short.
Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to bat first. Both sides would have done the same but Sri Lanka could still face a tricky first two hours until the sun burns off the early morning cloud cover.
The decision is entirely sensible considering Nasser Hussain’s declared desire to "have control." Andy Caddick provides that and could also prove dangerous in conditions that are conducive to swing bowling.
Forced to make a difficult choice between Graeme Hick and Michael Vaughan, the management have plumped for only English batsmen to have scored a century against Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Hick.
Sri Lanka meanwhile have selected seven batsmen, thus including both the impressive Tillakaratne Dilshan and experienced Aravinda de Silva. Nuwan Zoysa has been forced to pull out after suffering from the flu and is replaced by Dilhara Fernando.
Sri Lanka have opted for the off spin of Kumar Dharmasena to partner Muttiah Muralitharan. This leaves them with an incredible five off spinners in the side and Sanath Jayasuriya’s left arm orthodox for variation.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 26 Feb2001 - 18:24