Sri Lanka v England 2nd Test Match Thread

[Duty281]

First topic message reminder :

Not too early for this is it? After their 'heroic' defeat last Thursday, England will need a win to tie the series and preserve their no.1 ranking while Sri Lanka need a win or tie to win the series.

England's preparations haven't been helped by the fact that Broad will miss out due to injury while Sri Lanka's have been boosted by the news that Mathews will return from injury. Cricinfo predicts the following line-ups with two changes for each team:

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Lahiru Thirimanne, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jaywardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene, 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Dhammila Prasad, 11 Suranga Lakmal.

England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steve Finn.

The pressure is really on Andrew Strauss, for his batting (justified) and his captaincy (unjustified). England's batsmen will also be feeling the heat as well - they haven't made over 400 so far this winter!

Keep an eye out for the rain, some is predicted on the first day. Game starts at 5:30 BST. Come on England!

[eirebilly]

Cook is batting slower than Matthews

Not complaining, just think that takes some effort

[mystiroakey]

Yeah lol - its almost as if I feel that the lower the RR the better the batsman.. Its been along time since i felt that way!!

[Guest]

well played straussy

[msp83]

50 for Andrew Strauss, I just am so happy for him!. But the job isn't even half done, He just have to stay focused and go on.

[mystiroakey]

The boys have got in and now actually look good !!

phew!!!!!!!

[alfie]

I am willing STrauss to a 50 here

Well that worked very nicely , billy


Keep up the good work

Really glad to see Strauss back in runs...

[Guest]

100 up

[Guest]

5O FOR COOKY

[alfie]

...and now a good 50 for Cook...

[eirebilly]

Excellent stuff from both batsmen. Really happy with this and i hope that this stand breeds confidence within the English batting lineup as we all know how dangerous they can be when confident.

[mystiroakey]

4's are flowing - woop woop!!!

[liverbnz]

Can't remember Cook reverse-sweeping the ball too often!

[eirebilly]

That takes some effort from Strauss, he was under massive pressure and has come out playing like the proper captain and opener he is

[alfie]

They don't need to do anything fancy ... Just bat and bat and get as many as they can.

If they can really tire these bowlers there are plenty of dashes down the order who can up the run rate if needed...

But frankly I reckon the key to this game is getting a substantial lead , however long it takes .. This is a "bat once " type pitch if you can do it...

[eirebilly]

I doubt if we will see anything fancy alfie, Strauss and Cook have approached this in the perfect manner. I would suggest pretty much the same approach for a while.

[mystiroakey]

so anyone wanna suggest what i am smoking now!!

[alfie]

Yes I am delighted to see they have followed my instructions to the letter , billy

(they have clearly been reading 606v2)

[mystiroakey]

The RR is picking up- and i think its vital otherwise pressure builds! but the two openers are only playing naturally- which i think is vital!

[eirebilly]

They are tuned into you for once alfie

[Guest]

so anyone wanna suggest what i am smoking now!!

One of Fistys hats

[mystiroakey]

Has fisty made any hat bets yet?

[mystiroakey]

what do we reakon then guys- declare on 550?

[mystiroakey]

errrrrrrrrrrrrr. My fantasy world has been turned into reality.

strauss gone!

[alfie]

what do we reakon then guys- declare on 550?

Damn you Roakey ...

Strauss gone ...

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Strauss out trying to score. Oh well.

[eirebilly]

Oh well, still a massive effort from him under loads of pressure. I was hoping for 150/1-2 today and that is still very much on the cards.

[mystiroakey]

Oh well, still a massive effort from him under loads of pressure. I was hoping for 150/1-2 today and that is still very much on the cards.

yep your gonna be spot on

[Guest]

Let's hope Trott and Cook can continue on building the innings. A good knock from Strauss though. He needed some form of score.

[Guest]

what do we reakon then guys- declare on 550?

I suppose it is always good to be optimistic but recent history indicates the game will probably be close. England are always one wicket away from a batting collapse in these conditions (maybe).

[alfie]

Good start anyway...up to Trott and others now to keep up the good work.

Got to go off for a while now - make sure no more wickets fall please , chaps...

[eirebilly]

Trott has shown some form so hopefully he will put in a decent effort

[mystiroakey]

i thought kp was in at 3! i suppose it makes sense to have trott in mind- gotta be our most consistant batsman- another 100 partnership on the cards!

[eirebilly]

There is something reassuring about Trott, he is calmness personified.

[Guest]

Ps: Overall it was a good performance from Strauss, the only disappointment has been in his previous knocks on the tour and the state of the test series (one down having lost 3-0 against Pakistan). However in this innings he has done a good job and it is now up to others to perform accordingly (I'm particularly thinking of KP and Bell).

[eirebilly]

I do like it when Cook plays like this as well. A lot of patience and control.

[mystiroakey]

not sure if i agree with atherton that trott is allways on the money when it comes to the in game game plan!

At test - yes.

One day- not 100% convinced.

However certainly englands, if not the worlds best batter when you combine both formats!

[Guest]

I would love to see Trott open Cook.

[mystiroakey]

when struass goes i think we have the perfect partner for cook in trott

[Guest]

The score rate is about 2.4 runs per over, similar to Sri Lanka's.

[eirebilly]

So happy to see the 150 come up here :-)

[Guest]

Shame this will be the last test here.

[eirebilly]

See the overs out lads, see the overs out

[mystiroakey]

2 tests is humbug time!! we should be playing 3 minimum

[eirebilly]

Pretty happy with my predo, i thought 150/1-2 would be excellent. I am pretty much bang on

[Guest]

If you offered me that at the start of play today I would've bitten your hand off. Well done lads

[Mad for Chelsea]

well that concludes a really excellent day's play for England. The only blemish being Strauss once again failing to convert a start (though this time he did get to 50+). Cook and Trott both looked pretty settled there, and hopefully England can bat through tomorrow. If they do they'll be in a very good spot.

[eirebilly]

Great stuff from all 3 England batsmen today. Really swung things back in Englands favor somewhat. 2 good sessions tomorrow and England will be well and truely on top.

[mystiroakey]

yep decent predo.

Great start from england, we should be able to get to 480 tommorow.

if we can get to 400 then i reakon we should hit out

[Fists of Fury]

Excellent day for England, full marks for their bowling and fielding performance this morning, and then their obdurate batting.

If these two can take us near to Sri Lanka's total then I think KP, Bell, Prior and Samit will be very pleased. They'll be in a situation that they haven't been in all winter, fields back, reduced pressure and with license to play their shots; and let's face it, they're much better at that than prodding and poking defensively.

[Duty281]

Absolutely superb day for England.

Firstly great effort from the bowlers who took the last four wickets for 37 runs in a professional manner, well done in particular to Swann.

And the batting was good from the openers as well, just accumulating, playing sensibly and laying the foundations for tomorrow. Strauss will probably sense a missed opportunity but you feel a century is coming for him in the near future. Cook was the best he'd been all winter, 77* and you feel a century coming for him tomorrow.

Tomorrow we just need to aim for 400 at stumps with a maximum of 6 or 7 down which will allow us a swing of the bat early on day 4. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves, one hour at a time lads!

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