CRICKET/First Test, England v Sri Lanka: The old and the new flourished in sublime weather as England ground down Sri Lanka yesterday. Marcus Trescothick, refreshed and rejuvenated, marked his return to the England side with his 14th Test century and it was no more than anyone expected.
With him, during a second- wicket partnership of 127, was Alastair Cook, an old head on young shoulders, who played an innings of the almost unblemished simplicity that characterised his debut in Nagpur not so many weeks ago, and which promises a long career.
Cook, in his third match for England, and on his home debut was within 11 runs of his second Test hundred when, concentration awry for once, he wafted at a wide ball during a dire over from Farveez Maharoof and edged to the wicketkeeper.
This morning, with the new ball just nine overs old, may be Sri Lanka's last chance to force a position from which they can do anything other than cling on. But now they have Kevin Pietersen with whom to contend. Already, with the pitch losing any of the moisture that might just have tempted Andrew Flintoff to bowl first, Pietersen was rippling out his pulverising bottom-hand strokes, reaching 54, having been caught at extra cover from a no-ball when 52, immediately prior to Cook's dismissal.
Andrew Strauss, who made a relatively frisky 48, comfortably outscoring Trescothick in an 86-run opening stand before becoming one of two victims captured by Muttiah Muralitharan, was caught at slip in identical fashion, and might feel he missed out. At 319 for three, with Matthew Hoggard a nightwatchman with, no doubt, the ambition of Jason Gillespie if not the panache, England can feel secure, although the optimism will be tempered by the realisation that, although Pietersen may yet rectify the situation, no batsman truly capitalised with the large centuries that Duncan Fletcher demands.
Sri Lanka fielded well for the most part, but were mundane while the captaincy of Mahela Jayawardene was reactive and at times thoughtless. Short mid-on for Strauss? Have they seen him play? The tactic to pack the off-side field to Trescothick and bowl wide was just plain flawed as it allowed the batsman to fling the bat with abandon.
That did not last long. Take Muralitharan out of the equation and the Sri Lanka attack was worthy but toothless on a pitch that offered some help early on. Chaminder Vaas, brilliant on the pitches of the subcontinent and who should have proved a handful here, found some movement but was too modest in pace to make life difficult during 25 overs, and in the absence of Malinga the Slinger - a piece of faint-hearted selection - they lacked any flair or bite.
Only as the day drew to a close, and Vaas unleashed a bouncer at Pietersen, was anything approaching hostility shown. Sri Lanka must have signed a non-aggression pact. So Muralitharan, first from the Pavilion End, then the Nursery, then the Pavilion once more, provided the lone threat.
Sri Lanka did not get the rub of the green with umpiring decisions. When Trescothick had 28, Muralitharan's doosra, the delivery that goes as a leg-break, pitched in line with and would have hit middle stump no more than halfway up. Rudi Koertzen saw it differently. Later, when Trescothick had 85, he received similar benefit from Koertzen.
Never mind technology and appeals, Murali had a case for the Court of Human Rights. For Pietersen's part, scarcely had he driven Vaas through extra cover to get off the mark than the bowler swung one on to his pads in classic left-armer fashion, and this time the appeal was turned down by Aleem Dar. On another day, with umpires in more benevolent mood, each would have been given.
Blemished as it was, Trescothick's innings was not one of his finest or most fluent, a relatively sedate affair for the first half in which it took him two and three-quarter hours hours before he slogged Muralitharan over midwicket for six to bring up his 50.
Thereafter, he produced some pedigree Trescothick strokes, principally the firm-footed drive that pings effortlessly off the bat and none finer than that which he threaded precisely to the left of short cover and to the right of extra cover, which took him to 99. By the time he pushed forward to Muralitharan and edged for Jayawardene to take his second sharp, low tumbling catch, he had hit 17 fours and that six in 106.
If one stroke can tell a story of a talent then it came from Cook midway through the final session. The ball from Vaas was not a bad one, just back of a good length and demanding defence. Instead Cook stood tall, brought his bat down vertically and then, with little more than a roll of his wrists, eased it just to the on-side of straight, sufficient to beat the stumps on the one hand, and a flailing effort by mid-on on the other. Pure class.
ENGLAND: First Innings
M E Trescothick c D P Jayawardene b Mura106
A J Strauss c D P M D Jayawardene b Mura48
A N Cook c Sangakkara b Maharoof89
K P Pietersen not out54
M J Hoggard not out2
Extras lb3 w3 nb1319
Total 3 wkts (90 overs)318
Fall: 1-86, 2-213, 3-312.
To Bat: P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, G O Jones, L E Plunkett, S I Mahmood, M S Panesar.
Bowling: Vaas 25-2-77-0; Maharoof 18-1-94-1; Kulasekara 18-2-63-0; Muralitharan 27-8-69-2; Dilshan 2-0-12-0.
