Live Test Match Blogging / Andrew Hughes / 29 May 2011 /

Centuries from Jonathan Trott and Alastair Cook on day three mean any chance of Sri Lanka winning the match are gone and an acceleration in the run rate may actually give England a chance of winning the match. Andrew Hughes will talk us through all the action.

STUMPS England 491-5
That's it for the day, Eoin Morgan has shown the way since he came in. Will Bell get his century tomorrow? Almost certainly. Can England force a win tomorrow? Almost certainly not, given that rain is forecast, but you never know. Join me tomorrow for the conclusion to the First Test.

WICKET Trott b Dilshan 203
Trott's long long innings finally ends, a mammoth and impressive contribution.

18:25 England 438-4
Finally some intent from England as Trott approaches his double century. Up at Chester-le-Street, Lancashire have recovered to be 313 all out at the close. Shaping up to be a good game between the two Championship front-runners.

18:00 England 407-4
England have slowly crawled past the Sri Lankan total. The floodlights are blazing, the hills are disappearing in the gloom and we cannot have too long left before the close. Surely it's now or never if England are going to manufacture anything from this game?
Have they been too cautious?

17:30 England 372-4
The pace has slowed again. Really good bowling by Sri Lanka, let's give them plenty of credit for sticking at the job and making it hard for England to score. At this rate, England will be barely 50 runs ahead at the close and any talk of a declaration is way off the mark.

17:07 England 365-4
A little more intent from England post interval and signs of deterioration in the pitch. An England win not completely out of the question, but they really need to get a move on in this extended session. [17.5] available for an England win

16:37 England 346-4
Boycott is comparing KP's difficulty with left-arm spinners to alcoholism. He needs to admit he has a problem.

TEA England 342-4
Good session for Sri Lanka, some interesting moments, not least that KP dismissal, but the overall feeling is that this is fast becoming an ex-Test match and it will very soon cease to be. More tea, back in twenty minutes.

16:05 England 335-4
A sharp chance goes down, Bell couldn't control his cut shot and Sangakkara nearly clung on at gully. Good tight bowling from Maharoof.

15:55 England 322-4
Far from kicking on, England appear to be digging in or stagnating. Interesting cricket, without being overly entertaining.

15:35 England 315-4
Glorious shot from Ian Bell, towards the River Taff, first six of the game. Does he have time to overhaul Trott or Cook to be Top England Batsman? He can be backed at [3.25]

WICKET K Pietersen lbw b Herath 3
Unbelievable. Another left arm-spinner, another KP dismissal. Definitely pad first. Not great that a man of his talent has still not ironed out such a glaring technical weakness. Heartening fight back from Sri Lanka.

15:15 England 305-3
Sri Lanka bowling pretty well in the circumstances. Will Pietersen get out to Herath? It's going to be a draw but things are a touch more interesting out there at the moment. Lots of chat about the rough, but really this pitch has barely deteriorated. Are pitches like this damaging Test cricket? Let me know what you think at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

WICKET A Cook c Jayawardene b Maharoof 133
What the game and the day needed. Excellent innings from Cook, but England need to press on now. Credit to Maharoof for sticking at it. And here comes KP...He says he doesn't have a problem against left arm spinners.

14:31 England 288-2
First ball driven by Trott for a single and we're underway!

14:15 England 287-2
The plan is to start at 2:30. An unpleasant thought occurs to me. Since it is highly unlikely that England can win now, they may just let Trott and Cook bat as long as they want. It doesn't bear thinking about.

14:00 England 287-2
The dance of the covers continues, this time they're coming off, the umpires are having a look, we might get cricket. The groundstaff have certainly earned their money this match. Elsewhere, it's nicely poised at Chester-le-Street with Lancashire on 100-3.

13:30 England 287-2
And after the good news, the bad news. It's raining and the covers are coming back on

13:10 England 287-2
Good news. Play will start at 1:45. Time for another slice of cake, I think. While we're waiting there are plenty of alternative markets to look at. The Top England Scorer contest is between Trott and Cook as you would expect but if you fancy a KP special, you can back him at [10.0]

12:42 England 287-2
We were hoping to have a 1:30 start but it looks like it's raining again!

12:19 England 287-2
Slightly better news, the covers are coming off. The main problem with England playing five bowlers is the lack of a genuine all-rounder. But why haven't the likes of Bell, Trott or Pietersen been asked to work on their bowling? After all, bowlers are expected to work at their batting

11:55 England 287-2
Early lunch, as expected at 12:30. We're assuming that Jimmy Anderson won't be fit for Lord's next week, so who would you replace him with? Surely Finn would be too similar to Tremlett and Broad. Onions might be the best bet, but Shahzad and Dernbach might be in with a shout too. And surely, given the weakness of the Sri Lankan attack, it's time to consider playing five bowlers.

11:35 England 287-2
Still pretty damp out there, the word is that we might get some play this afternoon, before the rain arrives again in the evening. Hard to see England being able to engineer a match winning position if we lose much time today. Perhaps they should have accelerated while they had the chance.

11:10 England 287-2
It isn't raining everywhere and there's a big game taking place up north. Durham are entertaining Lancashire, two potential Championship winners. Durham are [2.82] in the Championship winners market

10:49 England 287-2
Morning. Just for a change, it's raining in Cardiff, covers on, gloomy skies, umbrellas, no play before lunch. That isn't official, but it's looking likely. Plenty to talk about today and hopefully some cricket to watch. You can get in touch at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk and share your thoughts.

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