Cricket:Sri Lanka struck three big early blows with the wickets of Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen at Lord's this morning. Strauss and Trott mustered only six runs between them as England lurched to 26 for three, vindicating the tourists' surprising decision to bowl first.
Left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedera, replacing Ajantha Mendis from the team beaten by an innings in the first test at Cardiff, saw off Strauss. The left-hander failed to get bat on a delivery slanted into the pads up the slope, and accepted Rod Tucker’s lbw verdict without consulting DRS.
That was five for one. But Sri Lanka’s chances of forcing their way back into this three-match series still depended much on more gains in the first hour.
They did not have to wait nearly that long, Suranga Lakmal making short work of England’s player of the year Trott — who aimed across a length ball and missed. It was enough to convince umpire Billy Doctrove that a second lbw departure was in order, and DRS could not reprieve Trott.
Pietersen, in need of runs for himself and his team, therefore joined Alastair Cook in an unexpected pressure situation. And he could manage just two runs before being caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan off Lakmal’s bowling.