Sunday 5 June 2011

England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test - Day Three Review

Close of play
England 486ao (Prior 126, Cook 96, Morgan 79, Welegedara 4-122)
Sri Lanka 372/3 (Dilshan 193, Paranavitana 65, M Jayawardene 40*, Finn 2-84)

In a sentence

A dull day to go with the dull weather, as a flat pitch got flatter and a flat attack got flatter.

Player of the day

Tillakeratne Dilshan. A shame that he was unable to make what would have been a deserved double century. Unorthodox he may be, but he is compelling to watch when he gets it right. For the good of cricket, one must hope that his thumb is not too badly injured and that his involvement continues.

Moment of the day

Tremlett once more hitting the bruised digit of the Sri Lankan captain. Not a moment for the squeamish, but it almost certainly had consequences for his innings and could possibly do so for the remainder of the series.

Outlook for tomorrow

It seems unlikely that the pitch will liven up and the fears about England's "samey" attack seem to have been borne out. Sri Lanka do have a brittle tail but they have done enough to make any fears of a repeat of Cardiff to be dispelled - or at least so logic would dictate. For England, it would be good to see Graeme Swann regain his mojo and for Steven Finn to bowl a more consistent line; on his home ground, he has been unacceptably erratic, despite picking up two wickets.

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