After losing the toss then taking a wicket on the very first ball of this important Test match, the remainder of the day turned out to be a tough day of test cricket. It was a struggle of patience for most of the day with neither team taking a distinct advantage by stumps. Warney bowled like the champion he is, while our other three main bowlers in McGrath, 'Flemo' and 'Funky' Miller toiled admirably with little success.

Sri Lanka's most gifted batsman Aravinda De Silva played with the patience of a chess master as he fought for his 60 runs. Rarely would he have worked so hard for 60 runs and it was a relief to see him dismissed in the second over with the second new ball. The most attractive feature of his batting today was the straightness of his bat. It almost looked like he was having a centre wicket net practice such was the precision of his technique.

On a pitch that is playing few tricks it was unanimously decided in the team room tonight that today could have been better but it could also have been a lot worse. Considering the Sri Lankans won the toss and had the use of an excellent batting surface, our perseverance was rewarded by the stumps' scoreboard. With three bowlers to come in next, our aim will be to finish off the Sri Lankan tail as quickly as possible so that we can get stuck into a long first innings with the bat.

Today was a tough day at the office but as Steve Waugh and Ian Healy both pointed out tonight "that is what Test cricket is all about boys!"

From Galle

Looking forward to a bat!

JL