Test Cricket/England v Sri Lanka: The gloom that descended on Lord's yesterday evening, taking the players from the field for the final time in the first Test, was no more than Sri Lanka deserved.
Underrated, inexperienced and in turmoil before and during the early part of the match, Mahela Jayawardene's side, digging deep into their reserves, national pride at stake, produced one of the great rearguard actions in the game's history.
They were 359 behind England's first innings total when they followed on on Saturday. It would have required an epic performance against a side used to winning even to ensure England's batsmen strapped their pads on again. Instead, inspired by Jayawardene, they exceeded all expectation and their own dreams by reaching 537 for nine, the highest second-innings score they have made and the highest by anyone at Lord's, surpassing the 529 for five England made against them four years ago.
Play was eventually called off at 6.20pm, Jayawardene's man of the match award in the face of centuries from Marcus Trescothick and Kevin Pietersen a further acknowledgement of his side's achievement.
This was an extraordinary team batting effort, however, with Jayawardene's century complemented by six further batsmen reaching half-centuries, only the third time in Tests that seven players have done so.
Yesterday Tillekeratne Dilshan made 69, the young debutant seamer Nuwan Kulasekara, 64, and the veteran bowler Chaminda Vaas was unbeaten on 50 when the end came, having batted for almost 4½ hours. The ninth-wicket partnership shared by Vaas and Kulasekara, worth 105 by the time the latter mistimed a pull off Matthew Hoggard to deep square-leg, occupied more than three hours and proved decisive.
The England bowlers will feel aggrieved they did not receive the backing in the field their efforts demanded. Sri Lanka rode their luck, as the ball snaked past the bat on countless occasions.
England should still win the series. They know they have goofed, though. There is much to get right before then.
