Sri Lanka's tour of England 2011

[DexteR]

Welcome to the Sri Lanka versus England Cricket Series 2011 thread.

The tour comprises of three Test Matches, one T20 International and five One Day International Matches.

Here is a look at the tour schedule:

Test Series

Thu May 26 - Mon May 30
1st Test - England v Sri Lanka
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Fri Jun 3 - Tue Jun 7
2nd Test - England v Sri Lanka
Lord's, London

Thu Jun 16 - Mon Jun 20
3rd Test - England v Sri Lanka
The Rose Bowl, Southampton

Limited Overs Series

Sat Jun 25
Only T20I - England v Sri Lanka
County Ground, Bristol

Tue Jun 28
1st ODI - England v Sri Lanka
Kennington Oval, London

Fri Jul 1
2nd ODI - England v Sri Lanka
Headingley, Leeds

Sun Jul 3
3rd ODI - England v Sri Lanka
Lord's, London

Wed Jul 6
4th ODI - England v Sri Lanka
Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Sat Jul 9
5th ODI - England v Sri Lanka
Old Trafford, Manchester

[DexteR]

England bowlers frustrated by Dilshan

Even in good batting conditions, for a team who were bowled out for 82 five days ago to reach 231 for 1 when the opposition have amassed 486 shows they have plenty of fighting spirit. Tillakaratne Dilshan led the way for Sri Lanka at Lord's with an unbeaten captain's innings of 127, in a record opening stand of 207 alongside Tharanga Paranavitana, to ensure England toiled after enjoying a fine morning when Matt Prior hit 126.

Dilshan showed real emotion when he cut Steven Finn for his 11th boundary to raise Test hundred number 12, pumping his fist and punching the Sri Lankan badge. It has been a difficult week for the captain, who was at a loss to explain what happened on the final day in Cardiff, and his problems continued when England recovered from 22 for 3 in their first innings here. He doesn't have a huge amount of bowling resources on offer - the disappointing fielding will have been a greater annoyance - but where Sri Lanka should be able to compete is in the batting.

It looked as though they would when they posted 400 in the first innings at Cardiff, but their later capitulation threatened to leave scars for the rest of the series. England went for three tall quicks to exploit their perceived weakness, but with the sun on their backs the openers showed there were few devils facing them as they compiled Sri Lanka's highest first-wicket stand against England. It was also the third time on tour the pair had added a double-century opening partnership.

They were helped by the bowling attack being collectively below par. Chris Tremlett was poor with the new ball, Stuart Broad couldn't make early inroads and Finn struggled for consistency. Dilshan, unsurprisingly, did most of the early scoring, including a top-edge for six off Tremlett, while Paranavitana made 5 from his first 41 deliveries. Finn, on his return to the team, should have broken through but Alastair Cook spilled a regulation chance at third slip when Paranavitana was on 13 and later the left hander was almost run out on 48.

Dilshan, too, was offered a reprieve on 80 when he got a thin edge off Graeme Swann which Prior couldn't gather to blot his copybook. Swann's duel with Dilshan was an engrossing battle and earlier there had almost been a stumping chance when the ball was jabbed into the batsman's boot but it rolled wide of Prior. Dilshan was eager to dominate the contest and lofted a six into the pavilion which struck an MCC member.

Dilshan also took a painful blow on the thumb in Tremlett's first over after tea but nothing broke his concentration as he picked off anything remotely loose. Yet Paranavitana's role should not be underestimated. He is a perfect foil for the aggressive Dilshan and doesn't get caught up trying to match his flamboyant partner. A 142-ball fifty was 13 more deliveries than Dilshan needed for three figures but the value was the same. However, like in Cardiff, a loose shot undid the hard work when he drove at a wide ball from Finn and edged to first slip.

However, such is the terrific platform Sri Lanka have they will now have designs on batting past England in a role reversal of Cardiff. That is some way off, but after dominating the morning session convincingly by collecting 144 runs in 25 overs - and the last five wickets added 285 - there is plenty for the hosts to ponder.

Prior, though, played a fine innings. His 126 made it consecutive Test hundreds after his 118 against Australia, at Sydney, in January as England's lower order gave another strong argument of being the best in the world. However, he had more than the occasional moment of fortune and was given a helping hand towards three figures.

On 86 he edged past a diving Prasanna Jayawardene, then on 94 Mahela Jayawardene spilled a simple chance at second slip and one run later another edge chance flew between the keeper and first slip as neither moved. Three of the chances came off the luckless Suranga Lakmal, during a four-over spell that cost 40 runs, and next ball Prior worked a single to reach his second Lord's hundred from 107 balls.

It had been Broad who set the tone for England's rapid-scoring morning as he took two boundaries in the opening over from Chanaka Welegedara. This was only Broad's second Test innings since his 169 here against Pakistan - his only other knock being a first-ball duck in Brisbane - and, as he was last year, he was strong on the pull and drive.

His fifty came from 47 deliveries but he fell four balls later as Welegedara managed to get one straight in a very similar dismissal to Andrew Strauss yesterday morning. Welegedara, the pick of Sri Lanka's bowlers, made it two wickets in the over when Swann edged to first slip although Prasanna did his best to put off the catcher by diving across in front of Paranavitana.

Still, England motored on as Tremlett offered Prior further support. Prior continued to pepper the boundary despite a deep-set field before he was finally bowled in Rangana Herath's first over when he went for a sweep. By the end of the day it was looking as though England will be grateful for all his runs.

[Nida_Ali_Nido]

Kia bana match ka

srilanka batting nyc nyc

2nd test match men to

[DexteR]

pehi innings mei theek hi hotay hain... dusri ki koi guarantee nahii

[Nida_Ali_Nido]

dosri innings tak unhen Pakistani circketers wala bukhar char jata hy na bhiya

[LoViNg IrFaN]

[myself]

Apparently Sri Lanka were bowled out for 80 odd runs to give the match to England by an innings and 14 runs.

Shoked......!

[Sadaf Gondal]

ye SL England mein suit hi nahi kerta
only Pakistan should play in Eng

[DexteR]

Rain forces draw at Chelmsford (Es+++ vs Sri Lanka)

Sri Lankans 337 for 9 dec (Sangakkara 153, Thirimanne 104, Topley 4-23) and 38 for 3 (Topley 2-11) drew with Es+++ 351 (ten Doeschate 164, Westley 99, Randiv 4-76)

There were cricket matches abandoned across the country on Sunday, and Sri Lanka's Tour Match against Es+++ at Chelmsford was one of those to fall foul of inclement weather. Less than 13 overs were bowled before persistent rain led to an early end after lunch on day three, although that was still enough time for 17-year-old seamer Reece Topley to rattle the tourists' top order with two quick wickets as they reached 38 for 3 in their second innings.

Topley had first-innings centurion and likely Test debutant Lahiru Thirimanne caught behind in his second over before Maurice Chambers removed opening partner Tharanga Paranavitana for a single. In the very next over Topley got rid of Dinesh Chandimal and Sri Lanka were staring at a repeat of their final day capitulation at Cardiff, having been reduced to a perilous 10 for 3.

But Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera stood firm until the lunch break and, ultimately, the end of the match, putting on an unbeaten 28 in 10 overs. With Tillakaratne Dilshan unlikely to feature in the third Test at the Rose Bowl, Sri Lanka will be looking to their other senior batsmen to step up their games, and as such Sangakkara's performance in this match will have been heartening to them.

"There is no change at this stage," Sri Lanka coach Stuart Law said of Dilshan's recovery from a fractured thumb. "His thumb is still in a splint, he is also in some discomfort at this stage and the medical team have said that he is highly likely to miss the Test. So the game against Es+++ has proved very useful because it's allowed a couple of our batsmen to get amongst the runs.

"Young Lahiru Thirimanne, who is only 21, batted well in our first innings and hit 104 before we retired him out, which was a good indication that he was hitting the ball as good as he could. It was also great for Sangakkara to get out there and score 153 runs in the first innings and that will do his confidence no end of good."

A lively Chelmsford pitch showed that the frailties in Sri Lanka's batting remain, however, and they are still susceptible to pace and bounce - as the 6' 7" Topley showed while collecting match figures of 6 for 34. "He has bags of talent and we are delighted with his progress," said Chris Silverwoord, the former England seamer and current bowling coach at Es+++. "He has a big heart, is quick to take on advice and works hard at his game.

"It's very encouraging to see the level of progress he has made so far and he's made a very encouraging start to his career, but he knows there is a lot of hard work ahead of him yet."

[DexteR]

Anderson returns for Rose Bowl squad

James Anderson is set to lead England's attack in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl on Thursday, after being named in a 12-man squad at the expense of Surrey's Jade Dernbach.

Anderson missed the second Test at Lord's after suffering a side strain during the first innings of the Cardiff Test, but he was optimistic of a quick return and will be officially passed fit provided he successfully negotiates Lancashire's Friends Life Twenty20 match against Worcestershire on Sunday.

Anderson comes into the squad for Dernbach, who came close to making his Test debut at Lord's before the selectors decided to go with the extra height of Steven Finn. As it turns out, the lack of variety in England's attack was exposed at Lord's, with Tillakaratne Dilshan leading the way for Sri Lanka with an excellent 193.

England National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: "Jimmy Anderson is the leader of our bowling attack so clearly he will be a significant inclusion should he get through Lancashire's Friends Life Twenty20 match against Worcestershire unscathed.

"Side strains can be particularly troublesome for bowlers but given Jimmy's injury was a grade one strain and therefore a low grade injury, he is expected to be fit for selection. A period of rest and recovery has certainly been beneficial and we obviously wouldn't include Jimmy in the squad if the medical staff weren't confident of his fitness."

Anderson looked in prime form in Cardiff as he took 3 for 66 before picking up his injury on the second afternoon, although it didn't stop him being the nightwatchman. Then, in his absence, England's three-man attack completed a stunning victory on the final afternoon as Sri Lanka were skittled for 82.

"It's been a tough week because I can honestly say I haven't felt a moment of discomfort since the diagnosis was made so I do believe I probably could have bowled in their second innings," Anderson told last week's The Mail on Sunday. "I fully understand the position of the medical staff; this is going to be a long summer and there was no point in taking a risk. But it may have been something that felt worse than it was because of the cold and windy weather."

"I had mixed emotions as events unfolded on the last day in Cardiff," he added. "It was fantastic to see us doing so well, taking the wickets and winning but, at the same time, it was tough to watch them all celebrating and not be involved on the pitch."

Assuming Anderson comes through his match against Worcestershire, England may face a tough decision as to which of their seamers to omit for the Rose Bowl.Stuart Broad's recent appointment as England Twenty20 captain is an acknowledgement of his senior status within the England squad. Nevertheless, his record in red-ball cricket is becoming something of a concern, with his two wickets at Lord's costing 154 and coming at 3.75 an over. After 36 Tests, he still averages an unworthy 35.97.

"I don't think he's quite getting the rub of the green at the moment," said Andrew Strauss after the Lord's Test. "He's bowled some very good balls that are passing the edge, and has probably bowled better than the statistics say. But all of us have to keep trying to improve, and make sure our performances get better."

The likelier man to miss out is Steven Finn, who became the youngest England bowler to reach 50 Test wickets during the Lord's Test, but who leaked his runs at close to 4 an over and appeared to be lacking in rhythm in the early part of Sri Lanka's innings.

"I think Steven Finn got a lot better as the game went on," said Strauss. "He'd been out of the side a little bit, so I suppose he had every right to feel a bit anxious at the start. But all our bowlers bring something different, and certainly Jimmy does with his consistent lines and swinging it a bit more than the others. We are very hopeful he'll be fit."

England squad:
Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Steven Finn.

[DexteR]

Dilshan out of Rose Bowl Test

Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, has been ruled out of the third Test at the Rose Bowl because of his fractured thumb.

Dilshan sustained the injury during the Lord's Test, where he made 193 in the first innings but was unable to take the field during England's innings and did not bat a second time for Sri Lanka.

Kumar Sangakkara, who resigned from the captaincy after the World Cup, led the side in his absence and could do so again at the Rose Bowl but batsman Thilan Samaraweera is also a candidate after captaining the side in the recent tour game against Es+++.

Sri Lanka's manager Anura Tennekoon said: "[Dilshan] definitely won't be playing. The main reason we've kept him out of this Test match is that, had he played and got another blow while fielding on that thumb, he might have been out for the rest of the tour. So as a precautionary measure, we have kept him out."

Lahiru Thirimanne, the 21-year-old left-hand opener, is expected to replace Dilshan after impressing with a century against Es+++.