CRICKET:ENGLAND'S WELL-EARNED reputation for coming out of the starting stalls with all the speed of a Whitbread shire horse has in no way been diminished by the first two days' play in Cardiff.
Given a pitch with more life in it than has hitherto been the case on this ground, and an outfield that helped retain the shine on the ball so that there was swing for much of the day, they were unable to shift resilient Sri Lankan batsmen, who by virtue of tenacity, skill and, given how often the ball beat the bat or took the edge and missed fielders, good fortune, played their way towards a respectable total of precisely 400, not match-winning by any means but certainly sufficient to put England under pressure.
In bright evening sunshine Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook started well enough, before Strauss was caught at second slip off Suranga Lakmal for 20.
England were 47 for one at the close.
Good as this pitch may appear, especially with the sun out, it was always tricky. No batsman appeared at any stage to be totally secure: not Tharanga Paranavitana, who carrying on from the first day made 66 before dragging Chris Tremlett’s clever fuller delivery on to his stumps; not Thilan Samaraweera, whose 58 contained nine boundaries before he was caught stingingly at second slip by Graeme Swann off Jimmy Anderson armed with the second new ball.
Most permanent was Jayawardene, although not the one that most would expect.
The day had hardly begun when Mahela had been superbly caught by Strauss at first slip, during a fine spell from Anderson, the ball almost past him as he took it to his right.
Instead it was the wicketkeeper, Prasanna Jayawardene, a batsman promoted in the order beyond his capability according to many, who underpinned the total. When, deep into the final session, he clipped Tremlett precisely off his legs and scampered three runs, they took him to a second Test century to add to the one he made against India in Ahmedabad.
And when he edged to Matt Prior and walked from the field with 112 to his name, it was a total justification of the faith shown in him. He had led an impressive Sri Lankan recovery that, at 159 for four and the ball on a string for Anderson, seemed unlikely. But the supposedly weak tail thrashed, 84 coming for the fifth wicket, 68 for the seventh, and 51 for the eighth.
Overnight: Sri Lanka 133-2 (48 ovs) (T Paranavitana 58no, T Dilshan 50).
SRI LANKA FIRST INNINGS
T Paranavitana b Tremlett 66
M Jayawardene c Strauss b Anderson 4
T Samaraweera c Swann b Anderson 58
P Jayawardene c Prior b Broad 112
F Maharoof run out 16
T Perera c Tremlett b Broad 25
R Herath c Trott b Swann 25
A Mendis not out 1
S Lakmal c Broad b Swann 2
Extras (b9 lb21) 30
Total (all out, 118.4 ovs) 400
Fall of wickets: 1-93, 2-114, 3-133, 4-159, 5-243, 6-278, 7-346, 8-397, 9-397.
Bowling: J Anderson 28-8-66-3; S Broad 33-4-113-2; C Tremlett 26-9-81-1; G Swann 24.4-2-78-3; J Trott 6-0-29-0; K Pietersen 1-0-3-0.
ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS
A Strauss c M J’wardene b Lakmal20
A Cook not out 24
J Anderson not out 1
Extras (lb1 nb1) 2
Total (for 1 wkt, 20 ovs) 47
Fall of wicket: 1-46.
To Bat: J Trott, K Pietersen, I Bell, E Morgan, M Prior, S Broad, G Swann, C Tremlett.
Bowling: S Lakmal 7-3-13-1; T Perera 6-1-19-0; T Dilshan 2-0-9-0; F Maharoof 4-1-5-0; A Mendis 1-1-0-0.
