Live Test Match Blogging / Richard O’Hagan / 27 May 2011 /

Two late wickets saved England's blushes to an extent late on in proceedings yesterday but there's plenty of Sri Lanka batting still to come and England will have to strike early on day two. Follow all the action throughout the day in the company of Richard O'Hagan.

CLOSE OF PLAY: England 47-1

And that is it for the day. It has been a great day for Prasana Jayawardene, a worrying one for James Anderson, an indifferent one for Andrew Strauss and an enjoyable one for me. Thank you for following the game with betting.betfair.com. We'll be back tomorrow for the start of a day which should see England in the lead by the end of it.

The second day at Cardiff was a tale of two players. One played above himself, the other hardly played at all. In the end, their fates were inextricably linked.

Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Prasana Jayawardene was the star of the day, batting beautifully to reach his third Test hundred. The going was never easy for any of the batsmen, with England's quick bowlers finding bounce and swing that simply didn't seem to be there yesterday. Jayawardene seemed untroubled by it all and, one horrible drop at slip by Andrew Strauss aside, there was a certain inevitability about his progress to a hundred.

For the first session and a half the day was pretty even. England had no luck before lunch but then underwent a horrible half hour after taking the second new ball. Jimmy Anderson bowled three overs with it, produced a beautiful delivery to square up Thilan Samaraweera and have him caught at slip, and then left the field with a back injury. He bowled only one more over all day and without him England struggled. Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett worked hard, but too often bowled too short, with tailenders Thisara Perera and Rangana Herath being especially harsh on Tremlett.

Andrew Strauss did not have the best of days either. Aside from that dropped chance, he had an appeal for a catch off Herath turned down because the third umpire could not tell if the ball had carried, and he also wasted both of England's referrals under the review system challenging leg before decisions that were clearly not out. Then he lost his wicket just before the close of play, a cardinal sin for any opener.

Despite all of this, it was a fascinating day of cricket right up until the final hour of the elongated day, when Sri Lanka seemed content to let England bat until close of play and, of course, Strauss and Alastair Cook were not going to decline the offer, right up to the point where Strauss was surprised by a ball from Lakmal and gave away his wicket.

The draw is still favourite at 1.34, given the amount of time lost and the docile nature of the pitch. However, England's price, which at one point in the day drifted out to 7.2, has come back in to 6.8 on the back of that anodyne bowling performance, whilst Sri Lanka might still be a good bet at 9.0 in case the spinners manage to find something in this pitch which has hitherto remained hidden from everyone.

WICKET! Strauss c M Jayawardene b Lakmal 20

Strauss gets a ball which goes through the top of the pitch and it is an easy catch for a tumbling Mahela

17.55 England 46-0
Dilshan finally turns to spin, in the form of Ajantha Mendis. Some of his mystery has gone since the heady days of his debut season, but neither England opener is a great player of spin and it is a wonder that Dilshan didn't try him earlier. Cook negotiates his over with no worries.

18.50 England 41-0

Frankly, this is now the kind of session which gives Test cricket a bad name. Sri Lanka appear to be entirely on the defensive, as if they don't want to take a wicket this evening. They are now out at 1.33 to even establish a first innings lead, which when you have put 400 runs up in the first innings is a pretty savage indictment of your bowling attack.

18.40 England 37-0

This day is drifting towards a close. The main objective for England now is not to lose a wicket before close of play and Sri Lanka are making it very easy for them with this popgun pace attack. Why we have not seen either of the spinners only Dilshan knows

18.30 England 35-0

This is pretty insipid stuff from the Sri Lankan quicks, with the ball coming through at a comparatively gentle pace and not often in the right areas. This is reflected in England's odds, which are shortening again and are now 4.9. We could, given some good weather, be in for a repeat of 2009's Cardiff Test if England can score enough runs quickly enough.

18.20 England 30-0

One of the perks of being captain is being able to decide when to bowl yourself, and Tillakaratne Dilshan does just that, strangely bringing himself on as first change. It did work in the World Cup, but not here as Strauss takes an easy six runs from his over.

18.10 England 21-0

Into the final hour of the day now. Play is due to finish at 6.30 but will be extended until 7pm to take account of England's gormlessly slow over rate. Sri Lanka's bowlers are doing themselves no favours here, both bowling either too wide of off stump or drifting into the batsmen's pads. In fact, it is curiously nonthreatening for a side with 400 runs on the board.

Lots of people saying how much they are enjoying the commentary here on betting.betfair.com, which is always nice to know. I'm particularly flattered to hear from Jonathan Lee, one half of the brilliant 7 Reasons website. Give them a read - but not until close of play, obviously

18.00 England 17-0

Relatively sedate progress for England here, but the bad news for them is that Jimmy Anderson has back and side problems and will be going for a scan later. Of course, they have bowling options for the other games, but we saw how shallow their present resources were without him this afternoon

Meanwhile, in the IPL, Mumbai are 41-2 chasing Bangalore's 184-4. Looks like this is one competition that Sachin Tendulkar won't be winning this year.

17.50 England 8-0

One of the problems that Sri Lanka have is that, without the injured Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Pradeep, their pace bowling attack is very inexperienced. Suranga Lakmal is in only his third Test and his opening over is way wide of the correct line. Perera does better, inducing Captain Guyliner Cook to play and miss, but neither batsman is unduly troubled.

Strauss is currently favourite to be England's leading batsman in this innings, on offer at 4.8. Did you know, though, that you can follow his life on Twitter? Catch him @SirStraussy. And me @theskiver

17.40 England 0-0

The Sri Lankans have just presented Thisara Perera with his cap and he will be keen to get the ball into his hand for his first bowl in Test cricket. England's very upper class opening pair run onto the pitch as the reply will soon begin.

The market thinks that England should establish a first innings lead here, with a score of more than 400 on offer at 1.9

17.30 Sri Lanka 400 all out

England might not be too thrilled at having 20 overs to bat tonight, but my feet will be as I can at last get the circulation back into them. That was a good 90 minutes or so for England in the end and they will hope that batting is as easy for them as they made it at times for their opponents. I'll see you after the 10 minute innings break

WICKET! Lakmal c Broad b Swann 2 (400 all out)

Fantastic diving catch by Stuart Broad to dismiss Lakmal ends the Sri Lankan innings with the score on exactly 400.

WICKET! P Jayawardene c Prior b Broad 112 (397-9)

As the saying goes, one gets you two. Prasana drives at a nice awayswinger from Broad and Prior takes a neat low catch

17.20 Sri Lanka 397-8

England tried an over of Pietersen just before that wicket, but with Ajantha Mendis now in it is back to Broad and he immediately has Prasana playing and missing. Meanwhile, the controversy over the catch that wasn't reigns on, with just about everyone thinking that third umpire Rod Tucker got it wrong.

WICKET! Herath c Trott b Swann 25 (397-8)

Herath tries to take the attack to England once too often and slaps a low catch to Trott at cover

17.10 Sri Lanka 392-7

Herath ushers in the drinks break by taking the long handle to Tremlett, clobbering him over long on and then mid-wicket. This isn't very bright bowling by Tremlett, who seems to be trying to bounce Herath out. I'm wondering if there has been a single yorker bowled all day.

17.00 Sri Lanka 378-7

These two have, very quietly, put on 30 runs for this wicket. Don't be too tempted by the 2.3 on offer for Sri Lanka to pass 450. The declaration is coming into play now and I'd be surprised if they go beyond another fifty runs here

DRAMA Herath edges to Strauss at first slip. The umpires go to the third umpire to see if the catch carries. The decision is that it doesn't. On television Gower et al are going spare, but I didn't think it carried. Whatever, the decision is that he is not out

16.50 Sri Lanka 374-7

Having reached his hundred Prasana seems to be looking to up the run rate. I'm sure the Lankans would love a bowl at England before close of play. But, as I said an hour ago, the close of play is a long way off today.

Herath has reintroduced my confusion over the pronunciation of Sri Lankan names, as I thought the Sri Lankan 'h' was pronounced 'k', yet the correct way to say his name seems to be 'Herat' (i.e. without the final 'h' at all)

HUNDRED for Prasana Jayawardene. A very fine innings indeed

16.40 Sri Lanka 364/7

England might have been hoping that they were through Sri Lanka's batting now, but new man Rangana Herath plays a lovely square drive for four when Broad overpitches.
Meanwhile, Jayawardene is on to 99 and the chances of him buying a jug at the end of the day grow ever greater.

Sri Lanka are now 2.3 to score more than 425 and the way that they are playing here, those look generous odds indeed.

16.30 Sri Lanka 346-7

Sri Lanka were in total control there. Perera's first Test nerves seemed to have left him and he clearly fancies his chances against Swann. One almighty heave had Ian Bell at short leg ducking in terror. Now the question is how fast England can pick up these final three wickets and get out there for a bat.

I've had some lovely messages via Twitter and Facebook to say how much you enjoying our commentary here on betting.betfair.com. Thanks in particular to Vix, Jim and Oli for their very kind words. A reminder that you can email me at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk or tweet me @theskiver

WICKET! Perera c Tremlett b Broad 25 (346-7)

And that is Broad's hundredth Test wicket as Perera hoicks one up in the air and into the huge hands of Tremlett at mid on

16.20 Sri Lanka 335-6

Anderson leaves the field after that one over. Broad's ill luck continues as the ball continues to fly just past fielders, or drop just short of them. Swann comes into the attack in place of Anderson but Perera plays a lovely on drive for four to show that not even the world's number two bowler is going to have it his way today. It's all Sri Lanka at the moment and English heads are dropping.

16.10 Sri Lanka 329-6

Prasana Jayawardene is currently 2.2 to make a hundred and if he is out with his score showing as between 96 and 99 you can blame umpire Billy Doctrove, because he just got a huge inside edge for four to a ball from Anderson and Billy gave it as byes. Anderson is bowling, but he looks unhappy and more laboured than some of my punchlines.

16.00 Sri Lanka 316-6

Eyes down for the final session of the day, and it is going to be a long one. We have to bowl 98 overs today and England have only bowled 50 of them. With a 7pm cut off it is a pretty safe bet that everyone will be losing a chunk of their match fee due to the slow over rate.

Sri Lanka will be happy with how things have gone, but the forecast, I remind you, is for the skies to get more overcast and that could make life more uncomfortable for them. With that in mind, England will be desperate for James Anderson to bowl in this session and have to hope that whatever he was given by the doctor during the last session works rapidly.

TEA: Sri Lanka 316-6 P Jayawardene 69 Perera 19

And that will be tea. Sri Lanka's session, that. Jimmy Anderson took a wicket with the first over of the new ball, but then was forced from the field with what we understand to be a back complaint. England got a bit of luck with the run out of Maharoof and have beaten the bat time after time, but those two wickets have cost them 109 runs in this session.

With each session a draw becomes more likely and is now on offer at 1.48. Sri Lanka's dominance of this session has brought their price in to 6.0 and sent England's out to 5.6

15.30 Sri Lanka 296-6

England bring back Tremlett to try and bounce Perera out, and it is a valid move because he plays the short ball in a very curious fashion, taking the bat across the stumps and then bringing it back in towards his body. But he clobbers an overpitched ball over mid-off for four and survives without any drama at all.

We have been inundated with an email. Portuguese Pirate says:

My most-hated form of dismissal just occurred. People say "that's unlucky to get out that way" but it's not. It's just downright careless and irresponsible. I can understand it to an extent that you want to be a couple of yards down the track in a limited-overs matches but no excuse in a Test where stealing singles isn't that crucial. If I were a Team Manager, getting out that way, overstepping (and giving away a free hit) and giving away runs through overthrows when you have no chance of running someone out would all be finable offences.

It is hard to disagree with that. The only thing you can say in Maharoof's defence is that Prasana hit that ball so well he probably thought it was passing Trott easily and that it was safe to set off for a run, but then there's the argument that it was still premature to move before the ball had passed the bowler.

15.20 Sri Lanka 286-6

Thisara Perera is the new man, on debut. He's made a reputation for himself as a big hitter in the one day game and has a first class average of over 40, but this will be a big test for him in more ways than one.

The drama of the run out rather overshadowed Prasana's fifty. Can he go on to a hundred? You can back him to do so at odds of 2.2

WICKET! Maharoof run out (Trott) 16 (278-6)

Trott gets a wicket, but not in the way that anyone expected. Prasana hits a lovely straight drive, Trott gets a finger on it and it cannons into the stumps at the bowlers end before Maharoof can get back into his ground.

15.10 Sri Lanka 278-5

Jayawardene finally reaches 50. It has been a determined knock from the little wicketkeeper and, as I have said before, he's looked more comfortable than anyone else out there today. Despite Anderson's return, England turn to Trott. Oh dear.

A reminder that the IPL is, remarkably, still going on. Today sees Bangalore take on Mumbai for the right to face Chennai in the final. You can read Ed Hawkins' preview here

15.00 Sri Lanka 275-5

England heave a sign of relief as Anderson returns, thereby sparing themselves the horror of more overs from Trott. The Sri Lankans are finding it easier batting now, but they need to take advantage of the clear skies as the forecast is for more cloud cover after tea.

Over on Twitter, the world's poshest cricket writer, Sam Collins, is suggesting that teams should not waste reviews on LBW decisions, as very few are overturned on review. I'm not so sure about that, I am sure it was just that which led to Ashoka de Silva being removed from the Elite Panel of umpires earlier this month. Sam is, of course, one half of cricket's latest sensation, The Two Chucks, in which he partners Jarrod Kimber in a completely surreal look at the world of cricket. We have a delay here whilst the groundsmen repair the pitch, so why not check them out here

14.50 Sri Lanka 270-5

Worrying times for England. As the players take drinks, Jimmy Anderson leaves the field with the doctor. He's only bowled three overs with this new ball and without him England will really struggle.

Without him, the odds on Sri Lanka passing 400 will shorten. That is currently on offer at 3.0 and now might be the time to take those odds, just in case Anderson cannot return.

14.40 Sri Lanka 265-5

England keep appealing for leg before, but the ball insists upon just missing the stumps. Maharoof just adds to the drama by dropping a ball just in front of Ian Bell at short leg.

A reminder that you hit F5 to refresh the page, use betfairliveblogger@hotmail.com to contact me, or do as Hazel did a while back at tweet me @theskiver

14.30 Sri Lanka 258-5

England's other review goes west, but it is a very close shout against Mahroof this time, who is adjudged to be outside his off stump again, but by barely the thickness of a pad this time.

With 5 wickets down now might be the time to consider a bet on the top innings scorer. Paranavitana still leads with 66, but you can have 1.73 on anyone else, which with Prasana still there looks a good call.

14.20 Sri Lanka 248-5

Hazel White has just asked if I have the Sri Lankan names on predictive text. Unfortunately, I haven't. I may have blistered fingers by 7pm. Fortunately, new man Farveez Maharoof is at least one syllable shorter in name than some of his teammates, and England waste a review checking an LBW appeal when the ball hit him outside off stump.

14.15 Sri Lanka 246-5

Anderson is making the ball dance out there. Unfortunately, Broad is still spraying it around at the other end and you have to wonder why Tremlett isn't getting first use of the new cherry. There's an entertaining sulk by Anderson as the batsmen steal a single to slip, but no drama.

WICKET! Samaraweera c Swann b Anderson 58 (243-5)

The new ball does the trick as Anderson's sixth ball squares Thilan Samaraweera up and Graeme Swann takes a sharp catch at second slip

14.00 Sri Lanka 242-4

That's 50 for Samaraweera. He worked hard for that. If you think he can go on to a hundred he's on offer at 2.08.

Trott is bowling some of the worst stuff I have seen for a long while, and that includes my own. Strauss unsurprisingly calls for the new ball. The sun is shining brightly and this could be a long session for England.

13.50 Sri Lanka 220-4

Jonathan Trott stays on and serves up an over of pure filth, which is treated with the contempt it deserves by the Sri Lankans.

This is the clearest indication that England will take the new ball when it becomes available in four overs. They have drifted out to 3.2, so now might be the time to back them with a view to laying them later, as wickets with the new ball will see that price contract again.

13.40 Sri Lanka 207-4

The players are back. I hope they had a better lunch than I did. I seemed to spend the 40 minutes doing everything but actually eating. If I vanish midway through the afternoon, send coffee and chocolate.

The new ball is due in six overs, but for now it is Graeme Swann switching back to the end where he bowled so well yesterday. Thilan Samaraweera to face, and away we go.

13.22 LUNCH

There are some days when you get the feeling that, no matter who the player, today could just be a good one for them. Prasana Jayawardene could be that player, he's looked more solid than his more illustrious counterpart Samaraweera and batting is only going to get easier as the day goes on and the sun continues to shine. He's currently 2.0 to make fifty in this innings and those odds are only going to get shorter as the afternoon goes on.

LUNCH: Sri Lanka 207-4

An absorbing first session ends with an over from Jonathan Trott. It is gentle and innocuous stuff which Prasana has no trouble negotiating. This is now the second highest partnership of the innings.

The draw is now at 1.89, which is a huge leap inwards from the start of play yesterday. England are drifting at 2.9 and Sri Lanka a way out at 7.8

12.50 Sri Lanka 202-4

Both sides consolidating before lunch now. The sun is starting to break through the clouds and so England will be extra keen to pick up a wicket before lunch.

At the start of today Sri Lanka would have been hoping for a score of around 450. That is still on offer at 4.0 but an awful lot will depend upon this partnership, as once this pair are broken there are only the all-rounders and bowlers to come. It is a long and inexperienced tail that they are fielding here.

12.40 Sri Lanka 192-4

With twenty minutes or so to lunch, we have the first appearance today of Graeme Swann. He bowled beautifully yesterday, but his third ball is short and cut disdainfully to the point boundary by Samaraweera.

Over on Sky, David Lloyd is having a real go at Samaraweera, who needs further treatment for that elbow injury. I am normally a fan of the legendary Bumble, but there is something vaguely distasteful about him accusing someone who survived a terrorist attack and came back to Test cricket of being a wimp.

12.30 Sri Lanka 178-4

Broad is getting a lot of movement, but it is mostly so late that the ball is passing the batsman harmlessly. Tremlett continues to cause problems and gets one to spit up from a length to rap Samaraweera on the unprotected elbow.

If you haven't seen this story yet, you really ought to. A quite remarkable tale, and see if you can spot the veiled dig at former England off-spinner Jamie Dalrymple

12.20 Sri Lanka 174-4

Tremlett - who I remain convinced was the model for Sheriff Woody in Toy Story - is causing the Sri Lankans all sorts of problems and Samaraweera edges just wide of Cook at third slip. Then, to the last ball of the over, he should have been caught by Morgan at cover, but the lack of pace on the ball deceives the fielder and the ball falls short of his dive

12.13 Sri Lanka 160-4

That wicket has sent Sri Lanka's odds out to 9.0, which is looking very tempting given that England still have to bat on this pitch. The new batsman is wicketkeeper Prasana Jayawardene, who has a highest Test score of 154 but a very low average for a number six batsman of barely 30. England know that they are in charge here.

WICKET! Paranavitana b Tremlett 66 (159-4)

England get the breakthrough they deserve as Paranavitana chops one onto his stumps and goes for a dogged 66. The over before he survived a huge LBW appeal which England chose not to review, though replays showed the ball striking 3/4 of the way up leg stump

11.55 Sri Lanka 153-3

The players take drinks after Paranavitana takes a blow to one of the softer parts of his anatomy. It has been an enthralling first hour, with England on top for the first half hour and Sri Lanka battling back in the second.

England's problem is how long they can rotate their three seamers for without exhausting them. Will we see some dibbly-dobbly Jonathan Trott awayswingers before lunch, I wonder?

11.45 Sri Lanka 149-3

Samarweera drives beautifully through the off side to pick up the first boundary of the morning. It was a risky shot as the ball was swinging in, but he is a different player to the one who never reached double figures when Sri Lanka were last here and must be a candidate for the 'Most Under-rated Batsman in World Cricket' award. But both batsman are living dangerously as Paranavitana edges just short of Prior and then Samaraweera shoulders arms to Chris Tremlett and sees the ball barely pass over the top of off stump.

Sri Lanka are now out to 7.4 and starting to drift badly against this revitalised England attack

11.30 Sri Lanka 137-3

The first half hour over and the visitors have added just four runs for the loss of that wicket. England's bowling today has been so much better and it is no surprise that Sri Lanka have struggled with the ball moving. England could do with another wicket or two in this half hour.

11.20 Sri Lanka 135-3

Paranavitana finally gets the scoreboard moving with two off Broad's seventh ball. Then there's a delay whilst new man Thilan Samaraweera has something removed from his eye by umpire Billy Doctrove. In the reverse of that, I've finally had a moment to put my contact lenses in.

That wicket has done little to alter the odds, but expect England to shorten rapidly once these two are parted

WICKET! Jayawardene c Strauss b Anderson 4

A cracker of an inswinger from Anderson, Mahela has to play at it and Strauss pouches a fine catch at first slip, stumbling away to his right.

11.10 Sri Lanka 133-2

There's some swing and movement out there for the England bowlers and both batsmen have played and missed at least once. On the other hand, there have been plenty of balls passing harmlessly outside off stump, too. Stuart Broad is operating off a shortened run and it does seem to have given him more control.

Commentary today will be aided by the fact that the scoreboard seems to have recovered from yesterday's meltdown and is working again, and that I have learned how to pronounced Paranavitana (the secret is that the 'v' is pronounced as a 'w'). Now I need to know the correct way to say Herath...

11.00 Sri Lanka 133-2

OK, we are ready to go. Jimmy Anderson has the ball and Mahela Jayawardene is on strike. Remember that you can email me at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk and even tweet me @theskiver

10.55 Sri Lanka 133-2

Five minutes to the start of play. Yesterday's rain has brought the draw right in to 1.81 with Sri Lanka's strong batting performance also causing them to drift in to 6.2

10.40 Sri Lanka 133-2

Good morning and welcome to the second day's play from Cardiff. Yesterday was a frustrating day for both sides because of the weather, but the good news is that it is a dry morning in the Welsh capital and play should begin on time. I'm off to grab some breakfast, so in the meantime why not catch up on the first day's events with Andrew Hughes' close of play summary from yesterday?

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