Live Test Match Blogging / Andrew Hughes / 28 May 2011 /

England will have to bat all day and score relatively quickly if they're to have any chance of forcing a win in the First Test. In between the stats, the betting and meticulous description of cakes and refreshments, Andrew Hughes will be telling us how Andrew Strauss and co are getting on.

CLOSE England 287-2
That's it, a solid performance from England. It remains to be seen whether they can force a win with a 3 man bowling attack, but we will find out over the next two days. Join me tomorrow morning for the fourth day's play. I'm off to cheer on Barcelona!

18:55 England 268-2
Sri Lankans going through the motions with just four overs to go tonight. Interestingly, Jonathan Trott is a touch shorter than Alistair Cook in the Top England Series Batsman market at [1.75]

18:36 England 249-2
Century for Trott now and the 200 partnership. Meanwhile over in India, Chennai are on the verge of winning their second IPL title. Congratulations to MS Dhoni and his chaps in canary yellow.

18:19 England 222-2
Century for Cook, the shot of authority. Completely dominant all day and has steered England through a potentially tricky day with total assurance

18:08 England 213-2
You have to admire the durability of Trott and Cook though. They keep grinding on, they don't get bored, they don't play silly shots. Perhaps the real Cook and Trott were replaced by androids in the autumn.

17:44 England 196-2
Light persistent drizzle. Even the rain is dull. Some thought they might be going off but looks like a drinks break.

17:26 England 182-2
While we wait for something to happen in Cardiff, worth mentioning that the County Championship is looking particularly interesting this year, with 4-5 teams capable of winning it. Durham are the current favourites on [2.8] but which team do you think is best placed? Get in touch at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

17:00 England 150-2
Pitches like this are killing Test cricket. Trott and Cook are good players but they aren't even being pushed. No pace, no seam movement, no spin. It's hard going for everyone but the two batsmen. England are as short as [1.04] in the First Innings Lead market.

16:38 England 150-2
We're underway again, Trott has his fifty and a white bag is holding up proceedings. What's more entertaining, Trott batting or a man trying to catch a plastic bag? Over in India, Chennai have been blazing away as the IPL nears its conclusion. 131-0 off 13 overs!

TEA England 148-2
It isn't rating high in the entertainment stakes, but Trott and Cook are progressing serenely and Sri Lanka will need to come up with something different if they are going to break this pair.

15:59 England 133-2
Peculiar things happening in the Match Odds market. Sri Lanka longer than England again on [26.0] but thinks that's an overreaction. The England middle order can be flaky. Mendis is back on.

15:37 England 111-2
Cook and Trott in no difficulty at all. Problems for Dilshan. He likes to attack but he needs to do something to stem the flow of runs

15:14 England 91-2
Batsmen looking more comfortable now and a half century for Alistair Cook who looks unbeatable at the moment. Over in India, Chennai are batting first in their attempt to win back to back IPL trophies. They are [1.93] to beat Bangalore

14:58 England 71-2
Portugese Pirate has been in touch. Trott came up against Mendis in the World Cup, facing 23 balls without dismissal. He was struggling a little against the mystery spinner today though. I say 'was' because in a strange move, Dilshan has taken Mendis off. Perera has his chance.

14:50 England 65-2
Slow going as you might expect. Trott is very effective but he isn't pretty to watch. Interesting odds in the Match Finish market. Day 5 Evening finish is [1.08] but if the pitch doesn't deteriorate much or we get a lot more rain, the captains might well agree to call it a day before tea on the last day.

14:26 England 51-2
Fascinating to watch Mendis and it looks like Trott is struggling to pick him. I'm not sure whether he would ever have faced him before. England can struggle against unorthodox spinners, remember how they crumbled against Ajmal at the Oval last year

14:20 England 49-2
Important phase. England's two stodgiest batsmen at the crease and Mendis getting into his work. And is Trott the most irritating batsman in world cricket? Enough with the digging!

WICKET J Anderson c Jayawardene b Mendis 1
Horrible dismissal. Might not see Jimmy Anderson for a while, too, unlikely to play at Lord's. Raises the old question of whether sending in a nightwatchman is really worth it. Surely Trott could have come in last night? Work for England to do.

13:55 England 47-1
Play due in 5 minutes. The pitch is looking pretty good, no signs of serious cracking yet and should still be plenty of runs for the England batsmen. Worth having a look at the market for top England runscorer. Ian Bell is in top form at the moment and can be backed at [6.0] but will he get a chance at number five?

13:45 England 47-1
Looking gloomy overhead, but let's not dwell on that. Cricket fifteen minutes away. Sri Lanka's seamers, limited though they may be, did a reasonable job yesterday. If they can get an early breakthrough, that [1.14] about the draw could move sharply upwards.

13:25 England 47-1
Play will start at 2:00, which is good news, providing you don't look at the sky where the clouds are gathering. The draw is [1.13] as low as it has been at any stage. What needs to happen today to make a result possible? Get in touch at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

13:05 England 47-1
Signs of brightness in Cardiff, though plenty of bucket and mop work to be done. Play looking slightly more likely now than it did half an hour ago.

12:30 England 47-1
They're taking an early lunch in Cardiff and so am I. Pork pie on the menu today and my fourth cup of tea of the day. No news on any inspection yet, will keep you posted.

12:07 England 47-1
Important ICC meeting this week to discuss whether non-Test nations will have the chance to play in the next World Cup. The ideal solution appears to be a 10 team tournament with the bottom two Test nations playing off against the top two Associates for the last couple of places. What do you think? Get in touch at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

11:56 England 47-1
No news yet on any inspection, dampness abounds. We can still make up this time today, so we're not technically losing time yet, but it doesn't look good.

11:36 England 47-1
Cannot fathom why England, 350 runs behind, with their best bowler crocked, are shorter than the tourists, at [15.0] with Sri Lanka on [19.0] Crazy

11:24 England 47-1
James Anderson has a grade one side strain, which is about the best kind of side strain you can get, apparently. But he is still unlikely to be bowling again here. Strange things happening in the market. Sri Lanka briefly touched [16.5] and bigger than England. [14.5] now and that is still quite appealing.

11:10 England 47-1
England big drifters, out to [14.0] and the draw down to [1.17] as people tune in and aquaint themselves with the weather conditions. The Test in Cardiff is not the only big cricket today. It's IPL Final day and betting expert Ed Hawkins has written the definitive preview for punters here. Well worth checking out.

11:00 England 47-1
Still drizzling at the moment. Don't forget, you can get in touch with me at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk No definitive news on James Anderson yet, but his sore back is a big concern

10:54 England 47-1
The draw is [1.26] at the moment, obviously. Sri Lanka on [8.0] at the moment still could be value, given they have the two spinners. Anyone who thought England would roll over the tourists can't have seen Sri Lanka play or indeed, have glanced at the ICC rankings. Any post Ashes delusions have been dispelled and England know they have a tough summer ahead of them.

10:40 England 47-1
Morning all. Many thanks to Richard O'Hagan for his sterling work yesterday. The game is poised intriguingly and this should be a fascinating day's cricket, many things to talk about, but before we get into it, I should warn you that the covers are still on and there is a persistent drizzle about.

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