Live Test Match Blogging / Richard O’Hagan / 03 June 2011 / 2

We can't have another repeat of the drama we witnessed in the First Test, can we? Well why not? Looking out for the next 1000.0 shot coming good, talking us through all the action and briefing us on his choice of tea-time cake is Richard O'Hagan.

CLOSE OF PLAY England 342-6 Prior 73 Broad 17

An intriguing first day's play. England were reeling at 22-3 after three of their top four got themselves out to careless shots. Then they fought back and Alastair Cook and Ian Bell both made good fifties. And then got themselves out with careless shots, Cook when just four short of a hundred.

Sri Lanka added to their own woes with some horribly negative bowling, whilst Eoin Morgan hit spinner Rangana Herath out of the attack. Morgan played beautifully for his 79 before falling victim to the second new ball, the one batsman who can say that he was dismissed rather than causing his own downfall.

Despite all of the runs scored by Cook and Morgan, the real star of the day was Matt Prior, whose brilliant counter-attacking innings of 73 made the day England's.

Tomorrow will see England in the field at some point. This pitch has a lot more pace and bounce than the Cardiff one did, and we all saw what problems Sri Lanka had there. At the same time, their holy trinity of Dilshan, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene surely cannot all fail again, can they?

The current match odds are England still favourites at 1.65 and Sri Lanka the real outsiders at 10.5, with the draw 3.2

Thank you for following the first day's play with betting.betfair.com. We'll be back around 10.30 tomorrow to take you through day two.

18.20 England 328-6

Prior certainly isn't playing for the close, swinging wildly outside off stump against Welegedara before punching him through the covers for four next ball. He's been superb since he came in.

18.10 England 312-6

Will that wicket pick Sri Lanka up? It certainly might inspire their bowlers. But Lakmal drops short to Prior and is hooked for four, and then dives over a ball from Welegedara to give the England wicketkeeper another boundary.

England will hope to get to at least 400 now, a score on offer at a very reasonable 1.65

WICKET! Morgan lbw b Lakmal 79 (England 302-6)

Lakmal strikes with the new ball. The appeal is turned down initially, but a review shows the ball hitting middle stump and Morgan has to go for a very fine 79

18.00 England 302-5

Sri Lanka are going to bits here. Herath gives away overthrows, Prasanna lets through two needless byes and Welegedara works into the new ball with a host of wides and a no ball. In all of that England pass 300 and the partnership goes over 100.

17.50 England 295-5

You get through a few overs when Dilshan and Herath bowl in tandem. Prior and Morgan continue to pick up runs and now have a record sixth wicket partnership for England against Sri Lanka. Prior brings up FIFTY off only 63 balls with a lovely sweep from outside off stump against the left armer.

DRAMA as Prior sells Morgan a dummy and almost causes a run out, but he scrambles back - just

17.40 England 273-5

Morgan's talent for improvisation comes out. Herath beats him in the flight, but he just chips the ball over the infield for two. Lovely to watch. Prior, meanwhile, takes a liking to Maharoof and crumps him for three fours behind square on the off side. Four overs til the new ball

17.30 England 254-5

This is not turning into proper Test cricket. Sri Lanka are bowling properly, England are having to work for their runs and there is some tigerish fielding going on. Only seven overs until the new ball becomes due, which makes it slightly surprising that Welegedara is bowling.

Consensus seems to be that England should make at least 300 and preferably 375. The latter seems the most likely and is now on offer at 1.36

17.20 England 245-5

One over from Herath, in which Prior just survives an lbw appeal, and then it is drinks.

17.10 England 242-5

Old Wellyboots, as I am sure Brian Johnston would have called him, is back, but this time he can't break the partnership. Sri Lanka seem content for these two to just knock the ball around and we are back into another session where they don't seem to really be trying. Morgan plays a lovely, dancing, drive through extra cover as Herath drops short. There doesn't seem to be much turn here at all.

Can Morgan overtake Cook and top score for England. He's at 1.4 at the moment, with Cook 1.76

17.00 England 228-5

Dilshan finally accepts that he isn't the answer to his side's problems and lets his specialist spinner, Herath, have a long overdue go. But there are no dramas. Morgan then powers some short wide filth from Fernando to the boundary.

Fernando reminds me slightly of Matt 'Guitar' Murphy, the great blues guitarist who appears in The Blues Brothers. What cricketers remind you of famous musicians? Email me at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk or tweet @theskiver

16.50 England 222-5

Dilshan continues to bowl himself, and Morgan dumps him into the pavilion for six. Then he edges just wide of slip for another four. Then he brings up his FIFTY with a pull of Fernando. He's at odds of 1.8 to make it to a hundred

WICKET! Cook c Maharoof b Fernando 96 (England 201-5)

The Chef will be disappointed with that. Fernando comes on, Cook forgets to allow for the extra pace and hits a pull shot straight up in the air to wide mid on, where Maharoof safely pouches the skied ball

16.40 England 201-4

England milk 15 from a Maharoof over, helped by three no balls. It is strange how often Maharoof oversteps, given that he barely opens his legs when he runs. Dilshan comes back into the attack, Morgan clouts him for a straight four and the England 200 comes up.

16.30 England 187-4

Either the umpires have had a word, or Cook's reaction to that straight ball has hit a nerve, because Sri Lanka are bowling much straighter. Both batsmen are timing the ball well, but for now the field placing is excellent and the ball keeps going to hand. And as I write that Cook thumps Maharoof for four through cover point.

16.20 England 178-4

It is very hard to say anything good about this passage of play. Sri Lanka are being hopelessly negative and yet England have lost so many wickets that they can't take chances and try to force the bowlers off line. Cook is surprised by a rare straight one from Lakmal, but the resulting edge shoots through the slips for four and he is now 1.3 to make a hundred here.

Condemnation of Sri Lanka's tactics and their over rate is all over the internet, with the call for penalty runs growing ever louder. I'm interested to learn what you think. Email me at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk or tweet @theskiver

16.10 England 167-4

Maharoof is on to join the 'bowling wide' club. Morgan resists temptation. Nothing much happens. Poor stuff from the Sri Lankans, the break has made no difference to their bowling at all.

Charlotte Edwards was on the pitch at the tea interval, collecting an award for being the most capped female cricketer. I am an unashamed fan of the women's game. I was lucky enough to be coached by one of the England team of the 70s and early 80s, Janet Tedstone, and her wonderful father Ken and I feel that it was absolutely unacceptable that only captain Claire Connor received an honour when they regained their own version of the Ashes in 2005 - when, you will recall, the entire men's side did. It is nice to see her getting a reward for her many years of loyal service.

16.00

Time for a very long evening session. We are going to finish at 6.30 and probably lose some overs forever. England have drifted to 1.71, the draw is 3.4 but Sri Lanka have come in to 8.8 despite the biggest load of negative bowling since Patrick Eagar began using digital cameras.

TEA England 165-4 Cook 75 Morgan 23

This is painfully negative cricket from Sri Lanka. They might want to tempt England's left-handers into something indiscreet outside off stump, but Lakmal is bowling so wide that it is almost criminal that the umpire is not signalling it as such. At the other end, Dilshan comes on and that at least means we got 28 overs into this session. Still 8 behind though, which means another late finish for us all tonight.

That is tea, though. I'm off for another doughnut. Or some Crunch Cremes. Or a packet of Monster Munch. See you in 20 minutes.

15.30 England 163-4

This really isn't a Test class attack. They used to say that the difference between county and Test matches were that in Tests you didn't get one ball per over that you could hit for four. But Fernando and Welegedara do just that and England's batsmen cash in.

Having raced to 22 at almost a run a ball Morgan is now 1.62 to go on to fifty.

15.20 England 151-4

Morgan follows up that four with a stupendous shot for six over wide mid on. Sri Lanka have a curious short mid on in place for him, but they would do better to concentrate on bowling in the right area outside off stump. At the moment they are far too wide and not making either batsman play at all, especially as he's now hit Herath out of the attack.

15.10 England 142-4

Morgan needs to do something here to prove that England were right to pick him over Ravi Bopara. Herath is doing a good containing job for Sri Lanka, but Morgan has no hesitation in thrashing him back over his head for four.

Even so, England have drifted out to 1.72 to make that 350 run target.

15.00 England 136-4

Something of a test for Eoin Morgan on his home ground, but he punches Welegedara for a fine straight driven four.

Over on Twitter, Cricinfo editor and occasional Sreesanth impersonator Andrew Miller has just suggested that that was a wicket to make you thump your television. That's the problem with these modern flat screen ones, they are much harder to give a decent thwack to when a batsman does something silly.

WICKET! Bell c Paranavitana b Welegedara 52 (England 130-4)

After doing all the hard work, Bell fences at a wider ball from the returning Welegedara and is comfortably caught at slip.

That was a long drinks break which will not help the over rate...

14.40 England 129-3

And that will be drinks. A first hour which clearly belonged to England, with the batsmen having far fewer problems than they did this morning. There's still a long way to go, though. Sri Lanka managed a more acceptable 14 overs in that hour, too, but they are still 7 behind target.

In a curious twist, the market now looks almost exactly like it did at 11am, with England 1.68, the draw 3.15 and Sri Lanka back where they began at 11.0

FIFTY! Bell joins Cook in the fifties, and one ball later Cook brings up the hundred partnersip

14.30 England 118-3

Spin at last, and Herath begins with a maiden. Not much else happening though.

Bell is on the cover of this month's All Out Cricket, under the headline 'Extreme Batting'. He's not had it easy out there, but he's done a sterling job for England and there has to be an argument for moving him up to four and allowing Pietersen to bat at five - just as they did in 2005. What do you think?

FIFTY! A mighty pull through mid-wicket takes Alastair Cook to a well earned half century. He's 1.76 to turn that into another hundred

14.20 England 105-3

The hundred comes up for England. This has been good work by Cook and Bell. Time for some spin, surely?

Your replies to the lunch question remind me of cricket writer Jarrod Kimber's assertion that he would like to keep Ian Bell in a gilded cage and have him hit cover drives for hour after hour. It is in his book about the 2009 Ashes, 'When Freddie Became Jesus', a book which also features me being wrongly accused of being wrong about something.

14.10 England 99-3

Like the new Coldplay single, it is all a bit slow, unthreatening and dull out there. Sri Lanka are trying to bounce Bell out, but Maharoof sends down a short one which goes over his head at a height of about twelve feet and is therefore called a wide. Then Bell plays that drop hands shot through the slips again and collects another four.

All of which has sent Sri Lanka's odds drifting right back out to 8.2

A reminder that you can email me at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk or tweet me @theskiver

14.00 England 90-3

Fernando is finding a bit of bounce and life in this pitch and Bell has a bit of an uncomfortable time, fending one to where short leg really should have been. He then picks up four with a lovely clip off his toes which sees Welegedara dive comically over the ball at fine leg. I have to say that nothing in this game has convinced me that Dilshan is a natural captain, he seems to be playing to a script rather than reacting to what is going on.

This session's question has to be what punishment you would impose on teams who bowl their overs slowly? Fines clearly do not work. For my money, I think that for every over under 15 that you bowl in any hour of play, you should be docked 10 runs from your innings. I am sure that being -60 at the start of their knock would speed the Sri Lankans up no end.

13.50 England 79-3

A quiet start to this session, not helped by the Sri Lankans still taking around five minutes to bowl an over.

The outcome of my lunch question shows that you are an extremely prurient lot who only want to dine with cricketers for the most unpublishable of reasons. The honourable exception was Alexandra Taylor, who wanted to have lunch with Swanny because he might make her laugh.

13.40 England 75-3

The players are coming out for the afternoon session. If I were backing Sri Lanka, there are two things that I would worry about. The first is that the famous Lord's slope was clearly troubling England's batsman in the morning and there were a lot of unbalanced shots being played. The Sri Lankans have far less experience of it and could find it even more of a problem.

The second is that I simply do not think that they have enough batting in this side. Their top five rivals anything in the world, but thereafter it all looks a bit feeble. Prasanna showed in the second innings in Cardiff that he might have the technique to bat at six but certainly not the temperament, whilst neither Maharoof or Herath should be batting above nine in a Test side and by dropping Thisara Perera instead of Lakmal they have effectively three number elevens in the side.

England are nowhere near a decent total yet, but anything over 325 currently on offer at 1.5 - might be very challenging indeed.

LUNCH - England 75-3 Cook 32 Bell 32

Fernando finally deigns to bowl a couple of overs. He's getting up to 90mph but without looking dangerous. England have recovered well and these two have put on fifty for this wicket. Sri Lanka's over rate has been pitiful to say the least and that has helped England no end.

England are now 1.76, with the draw slightly longer than at the start of play at 3.55. Sri Lanka are also drifting in the market and are now out to 6.2 after that second hour. Frankly, their chances of winning will improve if they actually bowl more overs than they are doing; you can't get a man out if you rarely send the ball in his direction.

I'll see you at 1.40 for the resumption

12.45 England 70-3

I think Sri Lanka are trying to break Lakmal, who has now bowled 10 overs on the hoof. Cook moves into the 30s with a beautiful cut for four off Maharoof, who immediately comes around the wicket to him. Which is an odd move, as he hasn't been bowling at all badly from over the stumps.

Thinking about lunch, and bearing in mind Graeme Swann's recent (overcomplicated - typical spinner) attempts to make bangers and mash for a well known supermarket chain, which international cricketer would you most like to have lunch with? For me it has to be the Kiwi fast bowler Iain O'Brien, if only because he might then give me my umbrella back.

You can email me - betfairliveblogger@hotmail.com or tweet me @theskiver

12.35 England 63-3

Maharoof, after beginning with a no ball which Cook clipped for four, is proving surprisingly effective and hasn't conceded a run since. Bell continues with his dangerous game of deflecting the ball through the slips with soft hands and almost comes unstuck when a genuine edge drops just short of first slip. It looks like a beautiful day for batting but England have put themselves on the back foot here.

Lunch is approaching and I'm regretting opting for cheese on toast over fish fingers, even before I have eaten anything.

12.25 England 62-3

Lakmal is tiring now and Bell collects two boundaries, one deftly played through the slips and one a crunching square drive through point. Why Fernando isn't bowling yet is beyond me. Bell now has 26 to Cook's 25 and they are both 1.3 to go on to fifty in this innings

12.15 England 49-3

It is the openers to continue for now, but both Cook and Bell pick up boundaries with nicely timed shots.

Sri Lanka bowled a disgraceful 12 overs in the first hour. Even with wickets falling that is unacceptable. They need to pick up, otherwise they'll all find themselves short of a chunk of their match fee, and my son will get locked into his nursery over the weekend.

12.00 England 40-3

Lakmal has induced a couple of edges this morning, but now jags one back into Bell and almost removes his off stump, as the batsman essays an airy and reckless drive.That's the end of the first hour and the players will take drinks. As shall I. It has been a tough time for England, but even in their wildest dreams the Sri Lankans will not have expected to take three wickets. Expect the change bowlers, Fernando and Maharoof, to be in action soon. England will hope that life is easier against them.

What do you think England will score in this innings. Getting to their Cardiff high of over 400 looks difficult from here, but you can get odds of 3.1 on them doing it.

11.48 England 26-3

Frankly, no international batsman should be getting out to Lakmal. I have rarely seen a more innocuous opening bowler in Test cricket. He's making the most of his limited talents here and is getting a reward thanks to sloppy English batting. Ian Bell shows just how easy it can be to score off him, pulling his first ball square of the wicket for an imperious four.

This clatter of wickets has done little to England's price, but the draw has now drifted out to 4.0 and the Sri Lankans are 4.7

WICKET! Pietersen c Dilshan b Lakmal 2 (England 22-3)

Pietersen plays a shocking, uppish drive to a wide ball and Dilshan takes a great catch at gully. England in trouble here and it is three bad shots that have got them there.

11.35 England 21-2

At last some support for the visitors, as their price comes in to a more sensible 6.2. If you are feeling a bit warm in your office or wherever you are reading this, there are at least three Sri Lankans wearing sweaters out there today. Wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene even has a long sleeved one on. It apparently isn't summer yet.

WICKET! Trott lbw b Lakmal 2 (England 18-2)

Trott plays across a straight one from Lakmal and is plumb. He reviews the decision, but to no avail. A chance for Kevin Pietersen to make some runs, though - who would have thought we would ever say that?

11.25 England 15-1

The usual solid starts from Cook and Trott. Cook seems over that early waftiness and clips a lovely two off his pads. Welegedara still isn't using the slope at all and anything on the pads is meat and drink to the England vice captain. Much of the last ten minutes has, of course, been taken up with Trott taking guard. He's not quite undermined the foundations of a Test ground yet, but he must be close.

The wicket has brought Sri Lanka's odds in to 9.0, by the way. Still not a lot of confidence in them and on the evidence of the first 25 minutes it is a well placed lack of confidence!

11.15 England 5-1

Not the start England wanted. Suranga Lakmal surprisingly got the first over from the Nursery End and his first ball was a wide of Harmison-esque proportions, but his line improved and he had Cook wafting at a wide one. Can Trott and Cook repeat what they did in Cardiff?

A reminder that you can email me at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.com or tweet me @theskiver

WICKET! Strauss lbw b Welegedara 4

Welegedara's up-the-hill line works as Strauss plays around a ball angled into him and is plumb leg before. Jonathan Trott time.

11.00 England 0-0

An exceedingly tame first over from Welegedara. He's bowling left arm over from the Pavilion End and the ball should shape down the slope towards the four slips, but everything arrows in on Strauss' leg stump

10.45

Whilst you wait for the 11am start, why not do some reading? Our Cricket Ambassador Michael Vaughan's preview is here, whilst Ed Hawkins has his own take on the game here, including all his best bets for the game to come.

Me, I'm off for a coffee and a doughnut. See you at 11.

10.40

Let us have a look at the opening odds. England are currently at 1.69 and the draw at 3.3. What is really surprising is that Sri Lanka are way out at 11.0. Surely they can't be as bad again?

10.35 THE TOSS

The news is the Sri Lanka have won the toss and decided to bowl. They are going with four seamers, which means a recall for Dilhara Fernando and Chanaka Welegedara replacing Ajantha Mendis and Thisara Perera. Andrew Strauss admits that he would have bowled first as the wicket looks a touch green. England, as expected, replace the injured Jimmy Anderson with Steven Finn.

10.30

That was quite a remarkable opening Test, wasn't it. It isn't often that you get a match which loses close to half the playing time ending in anything other than a draw. Even more extraordinarily, the only full day's play came on the day that I was commentating. I'm usually such a rain god that I can guarantee a couple of wet hours in any day.

Not that there is much danger of that today. The sun is shining at the Home of Cricket. There is barely a cloud in the sky and, in another change from Cardiff, it looks like a pretty full house, too. Sri Lanka have never won a game here, but they badly need to after the way the last game ended.

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1. AndyinBrum | 03 June 2011

   167-4 on the first day of a lords test? Brings back a nice nostalgic field #trottsfault ;)

2. Carl | 03 June 2011

   Don't think Sri Lanka's bowling was 'horribly negative'. They don't have great strike bowlers at present and did the best they could against a good batting lineup on a good wicket. The basic strategy of containment is one that has to be employed under those circumstances. They also have bowlers who are unfamiliar with what it takes to bowl well at Lord's. I think they should be given some credit at least for responding well after the last innings debacle at Cardiff.

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