Sri Lankan cricket team in England in 2006
Encyclopedia
Sri Lanka toured England for cricket
matches during the 2006 international cricket season. England
were back home for the first time since September and looked to maintain their Test standards, which saw them keep their second place in the ICC Test Championship
in India
, and the teams were also competing for sixth place in the ICC ODI Championship
as both England and Sri Lanka
were coming off the back of two lost ODI tours on the Asian sub-continent, against India
and Pakistan
respectively. To add to problems, both teams were likely to be missing some key members of the team as England
were without some of their squad for their previous tour and, two days before Sri Lanka
departed for England
, it was revealed that skipper Marvan Atapattu
would stay at home for the tour due to back problems that had forced him to skip his previous tour too. Jehan Mubarak
was brought in as his replacement.
England
won the toss and decided to bat. Flintoff handed Sajid Mahmood
his first Test cap, while Chamara Kapugedera
made his Test debut for Sri Lanka
. Marcus Trescothick
opened for England for the first time since last year, alongside Andrew Strauss
. 20 minutes before lunch Muttiah Muralitharan
was brought in for his first over at Lord's, the 23rd of the England innings, with the seamers not having taken a wicket. However, in the fourth over of Muralitharan's innings Jayawardene
had Strauss caught off Muralitharan
, putting the English at 86 for one at lunch. The afternoon session started with Alastair Cook
, playing in his first home Test, coming in to face his first ball in home Test cricket; after leaving that one alone, he proceeded to 44 not out
by tea, while Trescothick was on 95 not out
. Trescothick got his hundred by "slogging" Muralitharan for a single, but in the next over he, too, perished through being caught by Jayawardene. England batted through to stumps and lost only one further wicket, with Cook caught behind off Farveez Maharoof
's bowling for 89, and England closed with nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard
at the crease and the overnight total 318 for three. Sri Lanka, however, had taken a catch off a no-ball, a close lbw against Kevin Pietersen
turned down off Chaminda Vaas
, and Alastair Cook
a couple of inches from being run out.
Day two began with Hoggard staying in the crease opposite Pietersen for 37 balls before being bowled by Vaas. This gave way to Paul Collingwood
, who had made his first Test century in the first Test of the 2005–06 India tour
. Collingwood contributed 57 to a partnership of 173 between the two before Pietersen fell at 158 trapped lbw
by Vaas, and Collingwood a few balls later fell in the same fashion by Muralitharan. With England six down, Andrew Flintoff
and Geraint Jones
were the new batsmen, and the two made scores 33 and 11 respectively before Flintoff declared following his second six, off Muralitharan. The umpires called tea time early due to the declaration and the touring team came back out with their openers Mubarak
and Tharanga
. However, Mubarak quickly went back, after he was bowled by Hoggard without a run scored by any of the batsmen. Tharanga went five overs later, though with a more successful partnership of 21, the same amount of runs the third Sri Lankan, Kumar Sangakkara
, managed to make before caught off Sajid Mahmood
, his first Test dismissal. At this time, they were 81 for two: fifteen minutes later, the scoreboard read 85 for six, with three batsmen out for duck
s including debutant Kapugedera
who fell on his first Test ball. The day's play was curtailed by bad light, which left Sri Lanka at 91 for six, fourteen of which came off English extras, while Mahmood's debut figures read three for nine.
The third day started with the clement weather of the last few days overshadowed by clouds and the forecast of rain. With Mahmood unable to add to his tally from yesterday, conceding 41 runs on the day. Sri Lanka batted through ten overs, but Farveez Maharoof
gave a return catch to Hoggard, and two overs later Flintoff makes a breakthrough, getting Jayawardene out with a catch by wicket-keeper
Geraint Jones
. However, the ninth-wicket stand between Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara
gave the most runs of the entire innings, as the two add 62 in just over an hour. After lunch, however, they were out in the space of three deliveries, and Sri Lanka were all out for 192.
Flintoff enforced the follow on, and once again Mubarak was out in single figures to Hoggard, the total 10 for one. However, Tharanga and Sangakkara built Sri Lanka's largest partnership of the match thus far, both making half-centuries and sharing a stand of 109. Eventually both batsmen were caught by Jones off spinner Monty Panesar
, with Sangakkara's innings lasting four and a half hours for 65 runs, but at this point England required seven wickets and had two days to do it in.
However, nightwatchman Farveez Maharoof
frustrated the England bowlers. He was dropped on 30 by Paul Collingwood
, and went on to bat through 40 overs and 166 minutes, as Sri Lanka went through the entire morning session without loss. England then got two wickets in five overs, both courtesy of Sajid Mahmood
, but that only brought in Tillakaratne Dilshan
. Another 20 overs followed without a wicket, with Mahela Jayawardene
completing his century, before being caught behind for 119 four overs before the close of play on day four, as 24 overs were cut due to bad light.
Sri Lanka then lost both their last specialist batsmen, Kapugedera and Dilshan, but were leading by 62 runs at that time. The ninth-wicket partners Vaas and Kulasekara, however, had already showed their batting skills by having the highest partnership of the first innings, and they were eight runs away from achieving that again in the second. Batting through 189 minutes, the pair secured the draw for Sri Lanka, with Kulasekara even hitting a couple of sixes as he ended with 64 when Pietersen held a catch off Hoggard's bowling. However, by then it was too late, as Sri Lanka led by 167 runs and there was only half an hour left to score those runs in. Indeed, the tenth-wicket stand frustrated England until stumps: Muralitharan faced out that half-hour, scoring one run, while Vaas got his half-century before the close of play.
won the toss and skipper Mahela Jayawardene
chose to bat; it seemed that they made the wrong choice as England
crippled them to 82/8 with the help of a swinging wicket, before Chaminda Vaas
and Lasith Malinga
put up a half century partnership and the team were all out for 141. Matthew Hoggard's
swinging and cult-hero Monty Panesar
put on impressive shows but regular ODI player, Liam Plunkett
, was the real boon of the side. Before the end of the first day, England had all but closed the deficit as stumps was called at 138/3, Marcus Trescothick
and Andrew Strauss
putting on a 56 partnership before Alastair Cook
came out, soon followed by big-hitter Kevin Pietersen
who was 30 at stumps aided by a 6, and went on to score another Test century the next day - the only batsmen in the first innings to hit more than 30. Despite the hot-headed player's skills, England were not fully confident at the slip, Cook being saved by a dropped ball by the Sri Lanka skipper and Muttiah Muralitharan
proved quite a threat.
Pietersen opened the second day, 80 minutes late thanks to rain, with nightwatchmen Hoggard, the latter putting on his normal single figures, this time 3 runs, but holding the line for 36 balls. Once normal play resumed with Paul Collingwood
England continued to dominate, setting their targets high with a 69 partnership before Collingwood gloved Murali to short leg for 238/5 and was replaced by skipper Andrew Flintoff
who was surprisingly tame. Pietersen went on to hit three 4s in as many balls before hitting a reverse-sweeper 6 but then being bowled lbw by Murali, achieving three Test centuries in consecutive Tests. After the departure of their number four, England crumbled hopelessly from 290/6 to 295 all out just before tea. The mood in the English camp was swiftly revitalised by the hot drinks as Hoggard bowled Upul Tharanga
for a golden duck, having been bowled for nothing in the first innings. Two more men went to see the tourists at 43/3 with a 111 run deficit and before the close of play Geraint Jones
redeemed his missed catch to Thilan Samaraweera
by stumping soon after, unbeaten opener Michael Vandort
remained at the crease for 30 when play closed at 7:30 due to the missed play earlier. After persistent rain over Birmingham, play was started at 4:45 and the fifth wicket held up for 125, helping them take the lead. Both batsmen fought off good efforts by Panesar and Plunkett but eventually it was Hoggard who made the only breakthrough on a day where Sri Lanka stood tall for a short day at 194/5.
With the new ball due six overs into the fourth day Sri Lankan wickets fell thick and fast, half the team falling before lunch, the last of which being opener Michael Vandort who narrowly missed out on being the fifth batsmen ever to hold his wicket throughout an entire innings. England took to the crease just before lunch with a very slow run rate that came only from Strauss - Trescothick fell after nine runs, none of them contributed by him. The third man, Alastair Cook
held out for the rest of the innings though achieving 34 not out; during this time Strauss fell to a controversial catch, replays showed it popped off his pads. Pietersen, wanting to end the Test quickly, took the wicket with his usual speed, taking 13 runs off 25 balls his confidence assured by a catch by the tourists' skipper to be called a no ball, and a further two no balls which he took boundaries off. However, his cockiness proved his downfall as he lashed out at a ball from Murali, the only bowler to take wickets in the second innings, and was caught plumb. Collingwood soon fell for 3 and it seemed as if the easy target of 78 was going to be more of a struggle but Cook, remaining from the second partnership, took two runs and two byes and skipper Flintoff, who done nothing with his first three balls, drove Murali down the ground to long on for four on his fourth ball to win the match, and his third in a row as English skipper.
won the toss and again chose to bat. Nuwan Kulasekara
and Thilan Samaraweera
were dropped from the side, and Sanath Jayasuriya
and Chamara Kapugedera
came in. This was a return to test cricket for Jayasuriya following a previously announced retirement.
As at Edgbaston, Sri Lanka struggled batting first and Andrew Flintoff
and Jon Lewis
(who was in the side on debut replacing Sajid Mahmood
) took 5 wickets between them to leave Sri Lanka on 139/8. However, England were unable to finish things off and Chaminda Vaas
, who had shown resistance batting throughout the series, added 92 runs with the last two wickets. Muttiah Muralitharan
hit 3 fours and 1 six in a very useful cameo, which included some remarkable shots. This late flurry of runs would prove critical in the match.
England’s openers began the reply tentatively, and by the end of the first day, England were 53/2 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 231.
Sri Lanka came out on the second day with a very positive approach, which was noticeable from the start of the day’s play. Their body language was positive, and Mahela Jayawardene
displayed good strategic application with the field placings he set, and frustrated England’s batsmen in the process. A key point was the dismissal of Kevin Pietersen
for 41, given that he had scored big centuries in the first innings of the previous two tests. Andrew Flintoff
was dismissed cheaply and Sri Lanka had gained momentum in reducing England to 118/5.
The remaining batsmen struggled, with Paul Collingwood
taking nearly 4 hours to score the innings highest score of 48. Jon Lewis hit a quickfire 20 to boost the score to almost parity with Sri Lanka as England were bowled out for 229. Although Sri Lanka lost Michael Vandort
in the first over of their second innings, they reached 45/1 by the close of play on the second day.
On day 3, Sri Lanka showed application in their approach to batting, knowing that they did not need to score at a quick rate given the amount of time remaining in the match. Kumar Sangakkara
and Chamara Kapugedera
both scored 50s, and Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga
scored 45 and 46 respectively. By the end of the day, their score had progressed to 286/7, a lead of 288.
At the start of day 4, England took the final three Sri Lankan wickets, but not without their score progressing to 322 – thanks to the efforts of Lasith Malinga
, who scored 22, and Chaminda Vaas
who was unbeaten on 34. England had only managed to dismiss him twice in the entire series.
For England, Monty Panesar
took his first five wicket haul, recording figures of 5/78. This left England needing 325 to win, a record for Trent Bridge.
England started their chase confidently, albeit with some slices of luck. Marcus Trescothick
and Andrew Strauss
progressed the score to 84 before the first wicket fell, to Muttiah Muralitharan
. From that point on, Muralitharan assumed total control of the match, and of England’s batsman.
He proceeded to take the next 6 wickets, reducing England to 132/7, and at that point, would have harboured hopes of capturing all 10 wickets. However, the next wicket to fall was to a run out. But this did not deter him, and he took a further wicket – that of Jon Lewis
to leave the score at 153/9. England were on the verge of defeat, still needing 172 to win with one wicket remaining.
All was left to do was for Monty Panesar
to dispel the popular belief that he was incapable of batting – he proceeded to attack Muralitharan’s bowling – hitting 3 fours and one remarkable swept six on the way to a career best 26. In the end, Muralitharan did not claim his wicket – with Jayasuriya being the one to dismiss him lbw.
England had been bowled out for 190 – pretty much by one man. Muralitharan’s figures of 8/70 earned him man of the match, and were his second best bowling figures recorded. Sri Lanka won the match by 134 runs and squared the series. They would go on to carry this momentum into the one day series that followed.
England batted first having won the toss, and looked to be putting themselves in a strong position, guided by a century from Marcus Trescothick
. Alastair Cook
and Vikram Solanki
also had scores in the 40s, and 321/7 seemed a reasonable total at the halfway stage.
However, any hopes that the 5-0 whitewash would be averted were quickly dispelled by Sanath Jayasuriya
and Upul Tharanga
, who both launched into the bowling attack which they knew had had its confidence already battered from the previous encounters of the series.
The first ten overs of the Sri Lankan reply yielded an amazing 133 runs. Andrew Strauss
kept turning to different bowlers, even calling on the spin of Jamie Dalrymple
as early as the 8th over in a futile attempt to stem the flow of runs. But Jayasuriya and Tharanga were unstoppable, and although their scoring rates tapered off slightly when fielding restrictions were lifted, they continued on their merry way and racked up an enormous partnership of 286, which was broken in the 32nd over - with only 36 more needed to win at this point.
Jayasuriya brought up his century in 72 balls, and Tharanga in 82. Tharanga was caught and bowled by Dalrymple for 109 with the score on 286/1, and Jayasuriya went 4 balls later for an outstanding 152 off just 99 balls.
Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had over 17 overs left to score the remaining 33 runs, and the victory was completed soon after. The target of 322 was chased down with 12.3 overs to spare, and the whitewash complete.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches during the 2006 international cricket season. England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
were back home for the first time since September and looked to maintain their Test standards, which saw them keep their second place in the ICC Test Championship
ICC Test Championship
The ICC Test Championship is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 teams that play Test cricket...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and the teams were also competing for sixth place in the ICC ODI Championship
ICC ODI Championship
The ICC ODI Championship is an international One Day International cricket competition run by the International Cricket Council. The competition is notional in that it is simply a ranking scheme overlaid on the regular ODI match schedule. After every ODI match, the two teams involved receive points...
as both England and Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
were coming off the back of two lost ODI tours on the Asian sub-continent, against India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
respectively. To add to problems, both teams were likely to be missing some key members of the team as England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
were without some of their squad for their previous tour and, two days before Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
departed for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, it was revealed that skipper Marvan Atapattu
Marvan Atapattu
Marvan Samson Atapattu is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former Sri Lankan captain. Towards the end of his career he joined the Indian Cricket League and captained the Delhi Giants...
would stay at home for the tour due to back problems that had forced him to skip his previous tour too. Jehan Mubarak
Jehan Mubarak
Jehan Mubarak is an American-born Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler.-Early career:...
was brought in as his replacement.
Schedule
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| April | ||
| 24-26 | Tour Match | Fenner's Fenner's Fenner's is the University of Cambridge's cricket ground.-History:Fenner's has hosted first-class cricket since 1848, and many of the world's great players have graced the wicket. The ground was established on land leased for the purpose by Francis Fenner, after whom the ground is named.Playing for... |
| 29–1 May | Tour Match | County Ground, Derby County Cricket Ground, Derby The County Cricket Ground, usually shortened to County Ground and also known as the Racecourse Ground, is a cricket ground in Derby and has been the home of Derbyshire County Cricket Club since at least 1871. As the name implies it originally hosted horse racing.It also held the games of Derby... |
| May | ||
| 4-7 | Tour Match | New Road, Worcester New Road, Worcester New Road, Worcester, England, has been the home cricket ground of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896. Immediately to the northwest is a road called New Road, part of the A44, hence the name.- Overview :... |
| 11-15 | 1st Test | Lord's |
| 18-21 | Tour Match | Country Ground, Hove County Cricket Ground, Hove The County Cricket Ground, also known as the Probiz County Ground for sponsorship reasons, is a cricket venue in Hove, England. It is home to Sussex County Cricket Club. It is one of the few county grounds to have deckchairs for spectators - which are in the colours of Sussex CCC - blue and white.... |
| 25-29 | 2nd Test | Edgbaston Edgbaston Cricket Ground Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England... |
| June | ||
| 2-6 | 3rd Test | Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of... |
| 15 | Twenty20 | Rose Bowl, Hampshire Rose Bowl, Hampshire The Rose Bowl is an English cricket ground used for county, One Day International and Test Matches. It is situated at West End, Hampshire, near Southampton, and is home to Hampshire Cricket. The design of the venue is set into an amphitheatre creating a bowl, hence the name... |
| 17 | 1st ODI | Lord's |
| 20 | 2nd ODI | The Oval The Oval The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval... |
| 24 | 3rd ODI | Riverside Ground Riverside Ground The Riverside Ground, officially called the Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground, is a cricket venue in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England. It is home to Durham County Cricket Club.... |
| 28 | 4th ODI | Old Trafford |
| July | ||
| 1 | 5th ODI | Headingley Headingley Stadium Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie .... |
Squads
| Sri Lanka (Test Squad) | England |
|---|---|
|
Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top... Test c Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... (Tests only) Andrew Strauss Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots... ODI c Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... Geraint Jones Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose... wk Tim Bresnan Timothy 'Tim' Thomas Bresnan is an English cricketer. He is a fast-medium bowler, as well as being respected for his ability with the bat for Yorkshire. He normally fields in the deep. He won the NBC Denis Compton Award in 2002 and 2003. In June 2006 he was called up to the England One Day... (ODIs) Glen Chapple Glen Chapple is an English cricketer. He is an all-rounder, and represented the national team in a One Day International, as well as performing well for Lancashire over many years. He bowls right-arm fast-medium, and is a right-handed batsman... (ODIs) Paul Collingwood Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting... Alastair Cook Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003... Jamie Dalrymple James William Murray "Jamie" Dalrymple is a Kenyan-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler.... (ODIs) Steve Harmison Stephen James Harmison MBE is an English cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODI's, and 2 T20's. He also plays county cricket for Durham.... (ODIs) Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of... (Tests) Ed Joyce Edmund Christopher Joyce is an Irish cricketer who has played for both the Irish and English national cricket teams. After beginning his career with Middlesex, he moved to Sussex in 2009. A left-handed batsman and occasional right-arm bowler of medium pace, Joyce is widely regarded as one of the... (ODIs) Jon Lewis Jonathan "Jon" Lewis is an English cricketer. He was brought up in Swindon where he went to Churchfields School and Swindon College. He played for Swindon CC and, in Minor Counties cricket, for Wiltshire County Cricket Club in 1993. He joined Northamptonshire in 1994 and played for its Second XI... (Tests) Alex Loudon Alexander Guy Rushworth Loudon is an English former cricketer. A right-handed batsman and off spin bowler, he was considered a promising future international player.... (ODIs) Sajid Mahmood Sajid "Saj" Iqbal Mahmood is an English cricketer of Pakistani descent... Monty Panesar Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009... (Tests) Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey... Liam Plunkett Liam Edward Plunkett is an English cricketer, who plays for Durham and England. In the 2005 season he was Durham's leading first-class wicket-taker, with 51 wickets at a bowling average of 30.84, including eight for 88 in his first game of the season against Leicestershire.-Test cricket:Plunkett... Marcus Trescothick Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established... |
Tour Match: Sri Lanka v British Universities (24–26 April)
Sri Lanka 289 & 256-6(dec) drew with British Universities 125 & 130-8Tour Match: Sri Lanka v Derbyshire (29 April-1 May)
Sri Lanka 166-7(dec) and 262-4 defeated Derbyshire 219 & 208-4(dec) by 6 wicketsTour Match: Sri Lanka v England A (4–7 May)
England A (259 & 41-0) beat Sri Lanka (179 & 118) by 10 wicketsFirst Test (11–15 May)
 England |
6/551 (dec Declaration and forfeiture In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket... ) |
Match drawn | ||
KP Pietersen Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey... 158 M Muralitharan Muttiah Muralitharan Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002... 3-158 |
Lord's, London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... Umpires: AS Dar Aleem Dar Aleem Sarwar Dar is a retired Pakistani first-class cricketer and a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel. He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards 2009, 2010 and 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006. Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel are the only umpires to have received the... (PAK) and RE Koertzen Rudi Koertzen Rudolf Eric Koertzen otherwise known as Rudi Koertzen is a former international cricket umpire. His name is pronounced in English.... (SA) Man of the Match: DPMD Jayawardene Mahela Jayawardene Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s... (Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the... ) |
|||
 Sri Lanka |
192 | & | 9-537 | |
DPMD Jayawardene Mahela Jayawardene Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s... 61 MJ Hoggard Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of... 4-27 |
DPMD Jayawardene Mahela Jayawardene Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s... 119 MJ Hoggard Matthew Hoggard Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of... 5-93 |
England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
won the toss and decided to bat. Flintoff handed Sajid Mahmood
Sajid Mahmood
Sajid "Saj" Iqbal Mahmood is an English cricketer of Pakistani descent...
his first Test cap, while Chamara Kapugedera
Chamara Kapugedera
Chamara Kantha Kapugedera is a Sri Lankan cricketer.Kapugedera made his first-class debut in a match for Sri Lanka A and in domestic cricket, he plays for Colombo Cricket Club....
made his Test debut for Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
. Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
opened for England for the first time since last year, alongside Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
. 20 minutes before lunch Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
was brought in for his first over at Lord's, the 23rd of the England innings, with the seamers not having taken a wicket. However, in the fourth over of Muralitharan's innings Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
had Strauss caught off Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
, putting the English at 86 for one at lunch. The afternoon session started with Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
, playing in his first home Test, coming in to face his first ball in home Test cricket; after leaving that one alone, he proceeded to 44 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
by tea, while Trescothick was on 95 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
. Trescothick got his hundred by "slogging" Muralitharan for a single, but in the next over he, too, perished through being caught by Jayawardene. England batted through to stumps and lost only one further wicket, with Cook caught behind off Farveez Maharoof
Farveez Maharoof
Mohamed Farveez Maharoof is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He first made his impression in the 2004 U19 World Cup in which he captained the Sri Lankan team. He enjoyed a prolific school career for Wesley College, with a highest score of 243 and best bowling figures of 8 for 20. An all-rounder, he made...
's bowling for 89, and England closed with nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of...
at the crease and the overnight total 318 for three. Sri Lanka, however, had taken a catch off a no-ball, a close lbw against Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
turned down off Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
, and Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
a couple of inches from being run out.
Day two began with Hoggard staying in the crease opposite Pietersen for 37 balls before being bowled by Vaas. This gave way to Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
, who had made his first Test century in the first Test of the 2005–06 India tour
English cricket team in India in 2005-06
The English cricket team toured India during February, March and April 2006. The English cricket team was aspiring to maintain the form that took them to second place in the ICC Test Championship before their disastrous spell against Pakistan, and which helped win the 2005 Ashes series at home to...
. Collingwood contributed 57 to a partnership of 173 between the two before Pietersen fell at 158 trapped lbw
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
by Vaas, and Collingwood a few balls later fell in the same fashion by Muralitharan. With England six down, Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
and Geraint Jones
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose...
were the new batsmen, and the two made scores 33 and 11 respectively before Flintoff declared following his second six, off Muralitharan. The umpires called tea time early due to the declaration and the touring team came back out with their openers Mubarak
Jehan Mubarak
Jehan Mubarak is an American-born Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler.-Early career:...
and Tharanga
Upul Tharanga
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga , commonly known as Upul Tharanga, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman and wicketkeeper.-Early life:Upul Tharanga had his education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda...
. However, Mubarak quickly went back, after he was bowled by Hoggard without a run scored by any of the batsmen. Tharanga went five overs later, though with a more successful partnership of 21, the same amount of runs the third Sri Lankan, Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
, managed to make before caught off Sajid Mahmood
Sajid Mahmood
Sajid "Saj" Iqbal Mahmood is an English cricketer of Pakistani descent...
, his first Test dismissal. At this time, they were 81 for two: fifteen minutes later, the scoreboard read 85 for six, with three batsmen out for duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
s including debutant Kapugedera
Chamara Kapugedera
Chamara Kantha Kapugedera is a Sri Lankan cricketer.Kapugedera made his first-class debut in a match for Sri Lanka A and in domestic cricket, he plays for Colombo Cricket Club....
who fell on his first Test ball. The day's play was curtailed by bad light, which left Sri Lanka at 91 for six, fourteen of which came off English extras, while Mahmood's debut figures read three for nine.
The third day started with the clement weather of the last few days overshadowed by clouds and the forecast of rain. With Mahmood unable to add to his tally from yesterday, conceding 41 runs on the day. Sri Lanka batted through ten overs, but Farveez Maharoof
Farveez Maharoof
Mohamed Farveez Maharoof is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He first made his impression in the 2004 U19 World Cup in which he captained the Sri Lankan team. He enjoyed a prolific school career for Wesley College, with a highest score of 243 and best bowling figures of 8 for 20. An all-rounder, he made...
gave a return catch to Hoggard, and two overs later Flintoff makes a breakthrough, getting Jayawardene out with a catch by wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
Geraint Jones
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose...
. However, the ninth-wicket stand between Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara
Nuwan Kulasekara
Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He was educated at the Bandaranayake College-Gampaha. He is principally a fast-medium bowler....
gave the most runs of the entire innings, as the two add 62 in just over an hour. After lunch, however, they were out in the space of three deliveries, and Sri Lanka were all out for 192.
Flintoff enforced the follow on, and once again Mubarak was out in single figures to Hoggard, the total 10 for one. However, Tharanga and Sangakkara built Sri Lanka's largest partnership of the match thus far, both making half-centuries and sharing a stand of 109. Eventually both batsmen were caught by Jones off spinner Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
, with Sangakkara's innings lasting four and a half hours for 65 runs, but at this point England required seven wickets and had two days to do it in.
However, nightwatchman Farveez Maharoof
Farveez Maharoof
Mohamed Farveez Maharoof is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He first made his impression in the 2004 U19 World Cup in which he captained the Sri Lankan team. He enjoyed a prolific school career for Wesley College, with a highest score of 243 and best bowling figures of 8 for 20. An all-rounder, he made...
frustrated the England bowlers. He was dropped on 30 by Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
, and went on to bat through 40 overs and 166 minutes, as Sri Lanka went through the entire morning session without loss. England then got two wickets in five overs, both courtesy of Sajid Mahmood
Sajid Mahmood
Sajid "Saj" Iqbal Mahmood is an English cricketer of Pakistani descent...
, but that only brought in Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan born October 14, 1976 in Kalutara, Sri Lanka is a Sri Lankan cricketer and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team since April 2011. He has been a member of the team since November 1999, and was also known as Tuwan Mohammad Dilshan prior to his conversion...
. Another 20 overs followed without a wicket, with Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
completing his century, before being caught behind for 119 four overs before the close of play on day four, as 24 overs were cut due to bad light.
Sri Lanka then lost both their last specialist batsmen, Kapugedera and Dilshan, but were leading by 62 runs at that time. The ninth-wicket partners Vaas and Kulasekara, however, had already showed their batting skills by having the highest partnership of the first innings, and they were eight runs away from achieving that again in the second. Batting through 189 minutes, the pair secured the draw for Sri Lanka, with Kulasekara even hitting a couple of sixes as he ended with 64 when Pietersen held a catch off Hoggard's bowling. However, by then it was too late, as Sri Lanka led by 167 runs and there was only half an hour left to score those runs in. Indeed, the tenth-wicket stand frustrated England until stumps: Muralitharan faced out that half-hour, scoring one run, while Vaas got his half-century before the close of play.
Tour Match: Sri Lanka v Sussex (18–21 May)
Sri Lanka 521-5 (dec) & 5-1 drew with Sussex 262Second Test (25–29 May)
Sri LankaSri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
won the toss and skipper Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
chose to bat; it seemed that they made the wrong choice as England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
crippled them to 82/8 with the help of a swinging wicket, before Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
and Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga"...
put up a half century partnership and the team were all out for 141. Matthew Hoggard's
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of...
swinging and cult-hero Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
put on impressive shows but regular ODI player, Liam Plunkett
Liam Plunkett
Liam Edward Plunkett is an English cricketer, who plays for Durham and England. In the 2005 season he was Durham's leading first-class wicket-taker, with 51 wickets at a bowling average of 30.84, including eight for 88 in his first game of the season against Leicestershire.-Test cricket:Plunkett...
, was the real boon of the side. Before the end of the first day, England had all but closed the deficit as stumps was called at 138/3, Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
and Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
putting on a 56 partnership before Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
came out, soon followed by big-hitter Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
who was 30 at stumps aided by a 6, and went on to score another Test century the next day - the only batsmen in the first innings to hit more than 30. Despite the hot-headed player's skills, England were not fully confident at the slip, Cook being saved by a dropped ball by the Sri Lanka skipper and Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
proved quite a threat.
Pietersen opened the second day, 80 minutes late thanks to rain, with nightwatchmen Hoggard, the latter putting on his normal single figures, this time 3 runs, but holding the line for 36 balls. Once normal play resumed with Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
England continued to dominate, setting their targets high with a 69 partnership before Collingwood gloved Murali to short leg for 238/5 and was replaced by skipper Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
who was surprisingly tame. Pietersen went on to hit three 4s in as many balls before hitting a reverse-sweeper 6 but then being bowled lbw by Murali, achieving three Test centuries in consecutive Tests. After the departure of their number four, England crumbled hopelessly from 290/6 to 295 all out just before tea. The mood in the English camp was swiftly revitalised by the hot drinks as Hoggard bowled Upul Tharanga
Upul Tharanga
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga , commonly known as Upul Tharanga, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman and wicketkeeper.-Early life:Upul Tharanga had his education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda...
for a golden duck, having been bowled for nothing in the first innings. Two more men went to see the tourists at 43/3 with a 111 run deficit and before the close of play Geraint Jones
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose...
redeemed his missed catch to Thilan Samaraweera
Thilan Samaraweera
Thilan Thusara Samaraweera is a Sri Lankan cricketer, born September 22, 1976 in Colombo. Samaraweera plays international cricket for Sri Lanka and is in the side primarily for his solid right-handed batting but is also a capable Off spinner.-Personal life:...
by stumping soon after, unbeaten opener Michael Vandort
Michael Vandort
Michael Graydon Vandort is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. He is one of the tallest batsman ever to play test cricket and stands at 6 feet 5 inches....
remained at the crease for 30 when play closed at 7:30 due to the missed play earlier. After persistent rain over Birmingham, play was started at 4:45 and the fifth wicket held up for 125, helping them take the lead. Both batsmen fought off good efforts by Panesar and Plunkett but eventually it was Hoggard who made the only breakthrough on a day where Sri Lanka stood tall for a short day at 194/5.
With the new ball due six overs into the fourth day Sri Lankan wickets fell thick and fast, half the team falling before lunch, the last of which being opener Michael Vandort who narrowly missed out on being the fifth batsmen ever to hold his wicket throughout an entire innings. England took to the crease just before lunch with a very slow run rate that came only from Strauss - Trescothick fell after nine runs, none of them contributed by him. The third man, Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
held out for the rest of the innings though achieving 34 not out; during this time Strauss fell to a controversial catch, replays showed it popped off his pads. Pietersen, wanting to end the Test quickly, took the wicket with his usual speed, taking 13 runs off 25 balls his confidence assured by a catch by the tourists' skipper to be called a no ball, and a further two no balls which he took boundaries off. However, his cockiness proved his downfall as he lashed out at a ball from Murali, the only bowler to take wickets in the second innings, and was caught plumb. Collingwood soon fell for 3 and it seemed as if the easy target of 78 was going to be more of a struggle but Cook, remaining from the second partnership, took two runs and two byes and skipper Flintoff, who done nothing with his first three balls, drove Murali down the ground to long on for four on his fourth ball to win the match, and his third in a row as English skipper.
Third Test (2–5 June)
Sri Lanka came into the third test looking to level the series, and Mahela JayawardeneMahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
won the toss and again chose to bat. Nuwan Kulasekara
Nuwan Kulasekara
Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He was educated at the Bandaranayake College-Gampaha. He is principally a fast-medium bowler....
and Thilan Samaraweera
Thilan Samaraweera
Thilan Thusara Samaraweera is a Sri Lankan cricketer, born September 22, 1976 in Colombo. Samaraweera plays international cricket for Sri Lanka and is in the side primarily for his solid right-handed batting but is also a capable Off spinner.-Personal life:...
were dropped from the side, and Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
and Chamara Kapugedera
Chamara Kapugedera
Chamara Kantha Kapugedera is a Sri Lankan cricketer.Kapugedera made his first-class debut in a match for Sri Lanka A and in domestic cricket, he plays for Colombo Cricket Club....
came in. This was a return to test cricket for Jayasuriya following a previously announced retirement.
As at Edgbaston, Sri Lanka struggled batting first and Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
and Jon Lewis
Jon Lewis
Jonathan "Jon" Lewis is an English cricketer. He was brought up in Swindon where he went to Churchfields School and Swindon College. He played for Swindon CC and, in Minor Counties cricket, for Wiltshire County Cricket Club in 1993. He joined Northamptonshire in 1994 and played for its Second XI...
(who was in the side on debut replacing Sajid Mahmood
Sajid Mahmood
Sajid "Saj" Iqbal Mahmood is an English cricketer of Pakistani descent...
) took 5 wickets between them to leave Sri Lanka on 139/8. However, England were unable to finish things off and Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
, who had shown resistance batting throughout the series, added 92 runs with the last two wickets. Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
hit 3 fours and 1 six in a very useful cameo, which included some remarkable shots. This late flurry of runs would prove critical in the match.
England’s openers began the reply tentatively, and by the end of the first day, England were 53/2 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 231.
Sri Lanka came out on the second day with a very positive approach, which was noticeable from the start of the day’s play. Their body language was positive, and Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
displayed good strategic application with the field placings he set, and frustrated England’s batsmen in the process. A key point was the dismissal of Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
for 41, given that he had scored big centuries in the first innings of the previous two tests. Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
was dismissed cheaply and Sri Lanka had gained momentum in reducing England to 118/5.
The remaining batsmen struggled, with Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
taking nearly 4 hours to score the innings highest score of 48. Jon Lewis hit a quickfire 20 to boost the score to almost parity with Sri Lanka as England were bowled out for 229. Although Sri Lanka lost Michael Vandort
Michael Vandort
Michael Graydon Vandort is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. He is one of the tallest batsman ever to play test cricket and stands at 6 feet 5 inches....
in the first over of their second innings, they reached 45/1 by the close of play on the second day.
On day 3, Sri Lanka showed application in their approach to batting, knowing that they did not need to score at a quick rate given the amount of time remaining in the match. Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
and Chamara Kapugedera
Chamara Kapugedera
Chamara Kantha Kapugedera is a Sri Lankan cricketer.Kapugedera made his first-class debut in a match for Sri Lanka A and in domestic cricket, he plays for Colombo Cricket Club....
both scored 50s, and Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga
Upul Tharanga
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga , commonly known as Upul Tharanga, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman and wicketkeeper.-Early life:Upul Tharanga had his education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda...
scored 45 and 46 respectively. By the end of the day, their score had progressed to 286/7, a lead of 288.
At the start of day 4, England took the final three Sri Lankan wickets, but not without their score progressing to 322 – thanks to the efforts of Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga"...
, who scored 22, and Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
who was unbeaten on 34. England had only managed to dismiss him twice in the entire series.
For England, Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
took his first five wicket haul, recording figures of 5/78. This left England needing 325 to win, a record for Trent Bridge.
England started their chase confidently, albeit with some slices of luck. Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
and Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
progressed the score to 84 before the first wicket fell, to Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
. From that point on, Muralitharan assumed total control of the match, and of England’s batsman.
He proceeded to take the next 6 wickets, reducing England to 132/7, and at that point, would have harboured hopes of capturing all 10 wickets. However, the next wicket to fall was to a run out. But this did not deter him, and he took a further wicket – that of Jon Lewis
Jon Lewis
Jonathan "Jon" Lewis is an English cricketer. He was brought up in Swindon where he went to Churchfields School and Swindon College. He played for Swindon CC and, in Minor Counties cricket, for Wiltshire County Cricket Club in 1993. He joined Northamptonshire in 1994 and played for its Second XI...
to leave the score at 153/9. England were on the verge of defeat, still needing 172 to win with one wicket remaining.
All was left to do was for Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
to dispel the popular belief that he was incapable of batting – he proceeded to attack Muralitharan’s bowling – hitting 3 fours and one remarkable swept six on the way to a career best 26. In the end, Muralitharan did not claim his wicket – with Jayasuriya being the one to dismiss him lbw.
England had been bowled out for 190 – pretty much by one man. Muralitharan’s figures of 8/70 earned him man of the match, and were his second best bowling figures recorded. Sri Lanka won the match by 134 runs and squared the series. They would go on to carry this momentum into the one day series that followed.
Tour Match: Sri Lanka v Essex (9 June)
Essex 174-4 (38) beat Sri Lanka 172 (43.3) by 6 wickets.Tour Match: Sri Lanka v Somerset (11 June)
Somerset 332-6 (50) beat Sri Lanka 281 (46.3) by 51 runsTwenty20 Match (15 June)
First ODI (17 June)
Second ODI (20 June)
Third ODI (24 June)
Fourth ODI (28 June)
Fifth ODI (1 July)
Sri Lanka completed their 5-0 rout of England's underperforming one day side in a dramatic and brutal fashion. Although England had recorded their highest score of the series batting first - 321/7, the Sri Lankans were enjoying such a rich streak of success that this normally challenging total posed no real threat.England batted first having won the toss, and looked to be putting themselves in a strong position, guided by a century from Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
. Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
and Vikram Solanki
Vikram Solanki
Vikram Singh Solanki is an Indian-born English cricketer, who plays county cricket for Worcestershire. In 2007, he became the 24th Worcestershire batsman to pass 10,000 career runs for the county. He also captained Worcestershire from 2005 to 2010, before resigning mid-season...
also had scores in the 40s, and 321/7 seemed a reasonable total at the halfway stage.
However, any hopes that the 5-0 whitewash would be averted were quickly dispelled by Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
and Upul Tharanga
Upul Tharanga
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga , commonly known as Upul Tharanga, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman and wicketkeeper.-Early life:Upul Tharanga had his education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda...
, who both launched into the bowling attack which they knew had had its confidence already battered from the previous encounters of the series.
The first ten overs of the Sri Lankan reply yielded an amazing 133 runs. Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
kept turning to different bowlers, even calling on the spin of Jamie Dalrymple
Jamie Dalrymple
James William Murray "Jamie" Dalrymple is a Kenyan-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler....
as early as the 8th over in a futile attempt to stem the flow of runs. But Jayasuriya and Tharanga were unstoppable, and although their scoring rates tapered off slightly when fielding restrictions were lifted, they continued on their merry way and racked up an enormous partnership of 286, which was broken in the 32nd over - with only 36 more needed to win at this point.
Jayasuriya brought up his century in 72 balls, and Tharanga in 82. Tharanga was caught and bowled by Dalrymple for 109 with the score on 286/1, and Jayasuriya went 4 balls later for an outstanding 152 off just 99 balls.
Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had over 17 overs left to score the remaining 33 runs, and the victory was completed soon after. The target of 322 was chased down with 12.3 overs to spare, and the whitewash complete.