England not counting on the weather

Alastair Cook admits the rain in Galle has helped England's bid to save the third Test against Sri Lanka - but he insists he …

Alastair Cook admits the rain in Galle has helped England's bid to save the third Test against Sri Lanka - but he insists he would not welcome more tomorrow.

While bad weather would help England in their goal of securing a draw - and avoiding a 2-0 series defeat - Cook wants the side to have a chance to regain some pride after their first-innings capitulation for just 81.

Cook made his way to 53 not out as England closed at 101 for one before torrential rain called off play seven minutes before lunch.

"It is (good news) to be honest. It's taken two sessions out of the game and we're on a mission to save the game. It's certainly helped us," Cook told Sky Sports. "But then everyone can say the rain helped us. We as a team are desperate to prove we can come through it.

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"Selfishness (at the crease) will help the side. Everyone loves to score runs and make hundreds. We need to make sure our mental approach once we get to 50 or 60 lets us get the big scores.

"There's still seven hours of cricket tomorrow and it's still tough."

Cook believes batting conditions have become easier since the collapse which put them under pressure - something that could be key to the side's hopes of standing firm on the final day.

"It's a fresh day. It doesn't matter what went before but the pitch has lost half a yard of pace. They got the ball to zip around yesterday.

"That's made it slightly easier."

England lost captain Michael Vaughan during a determined rearguard on the fourth morning before a light shower halted play seven minutes before lunch.

The downpour increased in intensity during the interval and left vast puddles on the ground's protective covering, and the day's play was eventually abandoned around 3pm.

Vaughan shared a 67-run stand with Cook and England, after following-on 418 runs in arrears yesterday, were 101 for one.

Vaughan perished chasing a wide delivery from debutant Chanaka Welegedara in the 19th over of the day, but that was the sole loss in Vaughan's side's two-day bid to avoid a 2-0 campaign defeat.

Half-a-dozen wickets fell in the first 11 overs of the first innings but aside from two edges for four by left-hander Cook, both of which landed short of the slips on their way through, there were few alarms in the quest to survive during the first half of today's session.