CRICKET/First Test: The moment of truth has arrived for cricket in Britain, the time when the sport discovers whether the incredible renaissance of last summer - the relationship with the game developed by people in their millions, many of whom had not previously given it houseroom - is more than a one-night stand based on a massive collective outpouring of national euphoria. The signs are promising.
On the back of the Ashes success, top players have become national icons, in demand where once many went unrecognised. Boosted by his heroism and charisma over the past 12 months, a benefit night in London is rumoured to have brought about a third of a million pounds into Andrew Flintoff's benefit fund.
At Trent Bridge, they surfed the wave of success and sold out the first three days of the third Test against Sri Lanka almost as soon as tickets went on sale last autumn, unheard of for a low-profile series.
Complacency, though, is not an option, and the part played by the England cricket team in this is paramount: on their continued success, particularly in a season where awaits the ultimate football distraction, hangs the key to progress. It is they who must produce the deeds which keep their names in the public domain, first against Sri Lanka, next Pakistan and then against Australia once more.
It is quite a responsibility. Overcoming Sri Lanka, in early summer in England when the ball darts around, ought not to be a problem. The Pakistanis, here in August with drier pitches, may prove more of a test, but by then the team that won the Ashes will, one hopes, be starting to regenerate: soon Ashley Giles hopes to be playing again and Steve Harmison would have done so yesterday for Durham had his wife not gone into labour.
Michael Vaughan and Simon Jones require caution but, by the anniversary of the clinching of the Ashes, Duncan Fletcher will be hoping to have fielded the side that will next walk out together in Brisbane at the end of the year.
For now Fletcher has been given the further opportunity to assess the progress of the understudies. How well will Alastair Cook adapt to the role of first wicket down? Well enough, judging by the unflappable temperament shown in India. Has Sajid Mahmood the pace to be a contender for the harder Australian pitches? Will Monty Panesar's stature continue to grow? Of the latter two, Mahmood is the likelier to be given the chance at Lord's.
The pitch, according to Flintoff, had a noticeable amount of grass on it (he was unsure if it would remain) and, good surface as it tends to be, the lack of cracks suggests the sort of underlying moisture that must come with mixed weather during preparation and the earliest ever start to a Test in England. At Lord's, the conditions overhead can dictate the behaviour of the ball more than the pitch itself, but given the lack of technique shown by Sri Lankan batsmen against lateral movement it would be a surprise if Flintoff, captaining for the first time at home, did not want to bowl first even if the sun is out first thing.
Sri Lanka are a team in transition. In Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara they have a brace of world-class batsmen, but they will miss Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu at the top of the order where now they are particularly vulnerable.
Of their bowlers, Chaminda Vaas is one of the great left-arm pace bowlers in the game's history, and none has been faster for the country than Malinga the Slinger.
And then there is Murali, who is, well, Murali. Unique.
Guardian Service
