England tour of Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka versus England 2012

1st Test: Sri Lanka v England at Galle
Mar 26-30, 2012 (10:00 local | 04:30 GMT | 09:30 PKT)

2nd Test: Sri Lanka v England at Colombo (PSS)
Apr 3-7, 2012 (10:00 local | 04:30 GMT | 09:30 PKT)

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Sri Lanka itni fitt nahi hai ab

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England monitor Stuart Broad's fitness

Stuart Broad did not bowl during England's first training session in Galle to protect an ankle injury he picked up earlier in the tour but is still expected to be available for the first Test against Sri Lanka which starts on Monday.

Broad tripped on a boundary rope shortly before the first warm-up match against a President's XI in Colombo and was pulled out of the game. However, he was part of the team for the second practice game where he sent down 23 overs against the Sri Lanka Development XI for four wickets and was the most impressive of England's bowlers.

"He just wanted an extra day off from bowling after the game he played," James Anderson, his new-ball partner, said. "He bowled quite a few overs in the last game and he's just giving his ankle a little bit of extra time to recover."

However, if England maintain the balance of playing two quicks and two spinners with which they completed the series against Pakistan in the UAE, they cannot afford any doubts over one of the pacemen. England are not short of fast-bowling reserves -- Steven Finn has played both warm-up matches and Tim Bresnan is also in the squad -- but Broad has become an integral part of the team after recapturing his form against India last year. Since the first Test of that series, at Lord's, he has taken 38 wickets at 16.10 in seven matches.

The make-up of England team is one of the major talking points heading into the series, particularly following a side strain to Ravi Bopara which could likely prevent him from bowling in either of the two Tests. He is still expected to return to the side at No. 6 to replace the dropped Eoin Morgan, but in energy-sapping conditions the thought of having a better-than-part-time fifth-bowling option will be one that Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower will continue to ponder.

England do have a couple of ways to balance the side if they so wish; a Test debut for Samit Patel at No. 6 or a recall for Bresnan with Matt Prior moving up the order one place. The latter would be a positive statement to make at the start of the short series but remains a long shot with Strauss and Flower reluctant to play five frontline bowlers. Patel, meanwhile, showed form with the bat in the last warm-up game with 72 off 78 balls but in 18 overs during the first innings conceded four-and-a-half an over and in the second innings seven.

The least likely route England seem like taking is dropping a spinner to accommodate a third seamer after the success of Monty Panesar in the UAE. "We started going with two seamers and two spinners in the UAE and it worked well for us. Hopefully we can continue with that form," Anderson said. "It makes things slightly different for the quicks because in this heat the spells will be shorter than we're used to. It puts more focus on us to be right on the money every ball."

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Sri Lanka vs England, 1st Test Match
Match Result:Sri Lanka won by 75 runs



Rangana Herath * 38.0 overs 97 runs 6 wickets

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England : 193 & 264 / 10 in 99.0 overs
Sri Lanka : 318 & 214 in 84.3 overs

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Sri Lanka Ist innings Total: 318 / 10 in 96.3 overs
M Jayawardene 180 (315)

James Anderson 20.3 overs 72 runs 5 wickets

England Ist innings Total: 193 / 10 in 46.4 overs
Ian Bell 52 (87)

Rangana Herath 19 overs 74 runs 6 wickets


Sri Lanka IInd innings Total: 214 / 10
P Jayawardene 62 (123)


Greame Swann 32 overs 82 runs 6 wickets


England IInd innings Total: 264 / 10 in 99.0 overs
Jonathan Trott 112 (266)


Rangana Herath 38 overs 97 runs 6 wickets



Man of the Match: Rangana Herath

[Sadaf Gondal]

har gaya eng
yeh kabhi bhi subcontinent mein nahi jeet saktay

[LoViNg IrFaN]

herath itna chal gya

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Strauss under scrutiny as England slump

England captain Andrew Strauss faces close scrutiny of his batting and leadership skills as he attempts to keep his spin-shattered team on top of the world Test rankings.

England, who toppled India from the mantle with a memorable 4-0 whitewash on seaming wickets at home last year, have come unstuck on the spinner-friendly tracks of Asia over the last three months.

The 75-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the first Test in Galle on Thursday was England's fourth consecutive loss, following the embarrassing 3-0 hammering by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

If Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman wrecked England in the UAE with a combined haul of 43 wickets in the series, Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv grabbed 18 of the 20 wickets in Galle.

England are already assured of a bonus of $175,000 from the International Cricket Council as the number one side on the cut-off date of April 1, but their future at the top remains uncertain.

Strauss' men will slip to number two behind South Africa if they fail to win the second and final Test in Colombo from Tuesday and lose the series.

Rankings will change over the next 12 months, but a greater concern for the tourists is the form of their captain.

Strauss has now gone 23 innings without adding to his 19 Test centuries, averaging a poor 28.52, and has managed just one three-figure knock in his last 48 innings.

He made 26 and 27 in Galle, falling both times to Herath, but the left-hander was determined to change his -- and the team's -- fortunes in the next Test at the P. Sara Oval in the Sri Lankan capital.

"I feel in good form, but you're judged on your performances and I have not performed well enough," the 35-year-old admitted.

"My job in the side is to score runs, the same as any other batsman, and I have not scored as many as I would have liked in the last 12 months or so.

"That's very frustrating, but hopefully I will put it right next week."

Strauss admitted his team's inability to put runs on the board had proved costly, both against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"We have not got scores on the board," he said. "You're not going to win too many Test matches if that's the case."

The Galle Test was a tale of missed opportunities for England.

The tourists had Sri Lanka on the ropes at 15-3 in the first four overs of the match and again at 191-7, but allowed them to make 318 on the back of a brilliant 180 from skipper Mahela Jayawardene.

Bundled out for 193 in their first innings, England once again fought back through the bowlers, who reduced Sri Lanka to 127-8 in the second knock, a lead of 252 runs.

But wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene turned the game around with a defiant 61, adding 87 for the last two wickets with tailenders Chanaka Welegedara and Suranga Lakmal.

The fourth innings target of 340, never achieved before by England in their Test history, proved too much for the tourists who were dismissed for 264 despite a wonderful 112 from Jonathan Trott.

"Trott did not deserve to be on the losing side," Strauss said, after the last six wickets tumbled for 31 runs on a wearing wicket.

Captain Jayawardene was candid when asked if England's batsmen had a problem in playing spin.

"It's not just about spin bowling, but how you play in certain conditions," he said. "It's about adapting. They have lost four in a row now, so maybe they do have a problem." (AFP)

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Panesar's England place in doubt for second Test

Little more than two months after his successful return to Test cricket, Monty Panesar could find himself back on the sidelines as England try to balance their side in their attempt to level the series against Sri Lanka.

The injury that has forced Stuart Broad to leave the tour ahead of the second Test in Colombo has created another selection dilemma because his likely replacement, Steven Finn, lacks his batting strength while Tim Bresnan, the other quick bowler in the squad, has not had enough cricket in recent months to be fielded as one of a two-man pace attack.

Jonathan Trott admitted it would not be a simple decision for the selectors. "Finny has been working hard on his batting so we should give him some credit," he said. "But obviously Stuart is very good as a bowling allrounder and adds that dynamic to the team."

Panesar bowled far from poorly in Galle but did not pose the same threat as he had done against Pakistan in the UAE. That was partly because the Sri Lankans, especially Mahela Jayawardene, made a conscious effort to lead with their bat rather than the pad so limiting the likelihood of lbws.

In the first innings, Panesar did a good holding job - conceding less than two an over - but had to wait until midway through Sri Lanka's second innings to claim a wicket and ended with 2 for 59.

Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka's left-arm spinner, by comparison had career-best match figures of 12 for 171 and showed the value of variations in pace and flight whereas Panesar's mode of attack was more predictable. Graeme Swann, meanwhile, starred in the second innings with 6 for 82 to cement his standing as England's lead spinner.

Panesar also did himself no favours with a poor fielding display when he dropped Jayawardene twice in consecutive overs during the latter stages of his 180. The first, a top-edged hook to fine leg, came out of a low sun and was less simple than it appeared but the second, which looped to him at mid-on, was an embarrassing drop. During training on Sunday, Panesar held the half-dozen catches given by Richard Halsall, the assistant coach, but nothing can replicate the pressure of a match situation.

Samit Patel's Test debut in Galle amounted to 11 runs and two wickets and the suggestion that he should retain his place ahead of the specialist bowler sounds at odds with the needs of England who must win to level the series therefore making 20 wickets a priority. However, taking 20 wickets has not been their problem this year; scoring runs has.

If Patel was omitted in favour of Bresnan it would leave Graeme Swann at No. 8 followed by three bowlers - Finn, Panesar and James Anderson - who do not offer a huge amount with the bat. There is one other option which involves bringing in Ravi Bopara as a specialist batsman and playing four frontline bowlers if Bopara's batting is viewed as substantially superior to Patel's. But England's need for a fifth bowler in these conditions has not disappeared.

There were few clues during England's net session on Sunday although Kevin Pietersen did bowl more than he often does on practice days.

The P Sara Oval groundsman, NS Silva, has said he thinks the match will go five days but England have not achieved that on their recent travels. There have been 11 results from the 15 Tests played at the venue, the last of which was in August 2010, when India chased down 257. Suraj Randiv took nine wickets in that match and spin has a good record at the ground. That still might not be enough for Panesar.

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England level series to stay No.1

England 460 (Pietersen 151, Cook 94, Herath 6-133) and 97 for 2 beat Sri Lanka 275 (Mahela Jayawardene 105, Swann 4-75) and 278 (Mahela Jayawardene 64, Swann 6-106) by eight wickets

In the end it was a breeze. Whatever doubts England might have had about chasing 94 to win the second Test at the end of a tormented Asian winter did not manifest themselves as they gambolled to a victory that, for the moment at least, preserves their status as the No. 1-ranked side in the world.

Lurking memories of their collapse to 72 all out, in pursuit of 145, in Abu Dhabi barely two months ago were banished as Alastair Cook proceeded from the outset at a one-day rate and Kevin Pietersen added a lighthearted singalong to his majestic first-innings century. England had it all wrapped up within 20 overs, levelling the series at 1-1 and preventing Sri Lanka from achieving their own first Test series win for three years.

It was a steamy Colombo day - one reading showed 42C - so hot that holidaymakers along Sri Lanka's coast would be dragging sunbeds into the shade. England lost their captain, Andrew Strauss, for nought, bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan as he met one that turned with ponderous footwork and an angled blade, and Jonathan Trott followed lbw to Rangana Herath as Sri Lanka successfully asked for a referral, but they were not about to wilt in the sun.

Sri Lanka, who had added another 60 in the morning session, relied entirely upon their spinners in recognition that the P Sara pitch had finally become the minefield that many had long forecast. Cook signalled his intent by driving and cutting Dilshan for successive boundaries and scored 30 of England's first 40 runs. When he cut three times in one over at Herath, and missed the lot, Sri Lanka must have realised there would be no miracle.

Then Pietersen came over all Frank Sinatra, confident again to do it his way, gliding down the pitch to loft Herath straight for six. Appropriately, the match ended with Pietersen v Dilshan, reviving memories of the contretemps over Pietersen's switch hit. Mahela Jayawardene brought the field in and challenged Pietersen to win it with a six and he did so, launching the ball over midwicket. What did he think of April Tests in Colombo when the climate was at its fiercest? "A joke," Pietersen said, ingenuously.

Sri Lanka, six down overnight, lost three wickets in a rush, but Angelo Mathews countered briefly to turn an overnight lead of 33 into something a little more substantial. Their chief tormenter was Graeme Swann who had rolled in, sunglasses not quite disguising a scampish intent, to turn the game with two wickets in the penultimate over of the fourth day. He spun the ball viciously at times on a pitch that, for him at least, finally had become the spin bowler's friend.

Samit Patel also chipped in with his first wicket of the match when Herath anticipated Swann-like turn, found Patel-like turn instead and offered the simplest of chances to James Anderson at slip.

For Sri Lanka, the onus rested once more on Jayawardene. Swann, who took 6 for 106 to finish with ten wickets in the match, finally removed him an excellent ball which turned and bounced to hit the glove and lob easily to Cook, plunging forward at short leg. It was the end of a polished defensive innings - 64 from 191 balls with only four boundaries.

Jayawardene made 354 runs in four innings with two centuries and his stock has rarely been higher. It was easy to carp that Sri Lanka had not helped themselves by a scoring rate not much above two an over, but only Pietersen, whose rapid century had created the time in which England could win the game, had played with any panache on this pitch and to try to ape Pietersen in that mood would be to fly too close to the sun.

Two overs later and another Jayawardene followed, this time Prasanna, coming in two places lower at No. 9 thanks to Sri Lanka's recourse to nightwatchmen on the previous two evenings. It was a briefly unimpressive stay, ended when he tried to sweep and was bowled around his legs.

Mathews' survival owed much to a calamitous morning for Cook at short leg. Three times in five overs Swann had expectations of dismissing Mathews to a nudge to short leg, but Cook failed to cling to two low chances and then a third fell wide of him as Swann looked as dangerous as at any time on England's winter tours.

There was further frustration for England, too, when Mahela Jayawardene, on 58, was adjudged lbw by umpire Asad Rauf only for the decision to be overturned on review when the TV umpire, Rod Tucker, spotted an inside edge.

As wickets fell, Mathews eventually had little choice but to formulate an attacking response, but eventually an erratic surface betrayed him as Steven Finn made one stick in the pitch and Mathews, intent upon advancing to drive, could only chip into the leg side. England's run of failures were soon to be put behind them.