Sri Lanka in 'driving seat'
From Julian Guyer in Nottingham
June 4, 2006

SRI Lanka left itself 47 runs ahead of England at stumps on the second day of the third and final Test at Trent Bridge overnight.

Upul Tharanga was unbeaten on 17 and Kumar Sangakkara 22 as Sri Lanka looked to give Muttiah Muralitharan enough runs to bowl at to em square the series at 1-1 after the off-spinner, in what could be his last Test in England, took 3-62 in the first innings.

Before stumps Sri Lanka, which closed on 1-45, lost Michael Vandort for five, the left-hander bowled off the inside edge by Matthew Hoggard.

In England's six-wicket second Test win at Edgbaston it lost four wickets, all to Muralitharan, chasing a modest 78 needed for victory.

And the prospect of having to pursue a bigger target, to seal its first series win since last year's Ashes, against Murali in the final innings, is not something England will relish.

"We're in the driving seat but we've still got a lot of work to do," said Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody.

"We need to bat well in the first session (on Sunday) and, if we're still batting at the end of the day, I will be very comfortable going into the fourth day," said the former Westerna Australia Test star.

England was earlier bowled out for 229, a first innings deficit of two runs, with Paul Collingwood top-scoring with 48.

Murali's spell between lunch and tea was an especially miserly 1-17 in 17 overs with nine maidens.

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Durham all rounder Collingwood, two runs short of his 50 at tea, failed to add to his score before he was plumb lbw, on the backfoot, to a full-length delivery from left-arm quick Chaminda Vaas.

He worked hard for his runs, facing 184 balls in more than three-and-a-half hours with one six.

"It was a tough day on a tough wicket that I never felt 'in' on," said Collingwood, who insisted England remains in the game.

"We're still confident. As a team we are focused on taking wickets. We just need partnerships in the second innings."

Collingwood's innings may have been inhibited by the fact that England lost its last five first innings wickets at Edgbaston for five runs.

But Jon Lewis, in his debut Test innings, hit four fours as England went past 200, and put on 33 for the ninth wicket with Hoggard, before he was last man out for 20.

It was another example of effective lower-order batting after Sri Lanka's 10th-wicket stand of 62 between Vaas and Muralitharan had seen them to 231.

Earlier, Collingwood and Geraint Jones eked out a stand of 33 before the wicketkeeper went down the pitch to drive Muralitharan, only to be stumped by Sangakkara for 19 to leave England 6-151.

Jones, whose batting had been a major reason for his England selection, has now scored just 43 runs in his last five completed Test innings.

Runs all but dried up before Collingwood on-drove Murali for six.

That was England's only boundary of a second session on a pitch which, although slightly slow, was far from a terror track.

England resumed overnight on 2-53 with Alastair Cook 12 not out and Kevin Pietersen, who made 142 at Edgbaston, unbeaten on six.

AFP Fast bowler Malinga, with his distinctive "slingshot" action, made the first breakthrough when a 90m/ph delivery bowled flat-footed left hander Cook off the inside edge for 24.

Pietersen's duel with Murali had been the central drama at Edgbaston. But two balls after seeing him hoist a six over mid-wicket, Murali had him checking a vertical-bat sweep out of the rough against the "doosra," giving an easy catch to Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene at short fine leg for 41, with one six and four fours.

Then. 4-117 became 5-118 when former captain and left-arm spinner Sanath Jayasuriya, in his first Test since ending his retirement from the five-day game, had hard-hitting England skipper Andrew Flintoff caught off a forcing shot at slip by Jayawardene for one.

Scoreboard (stumps second day):
Sri Lanka 1st innings 231
England 1st innings
M TRESCOTHICK run out 24
A STRAUSS b Vaas 7
A COOK b Malinga 24
K PIETERSEN c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 41
P COLLINGWOOD lbw b Vaas 48
A FLINTOFF c Jayawardene b Jayasuriya 1
G JONES st Sangakkara b Muralitharan 19
L PLUNKETT b Jayasuriya 9
M HOGGARD c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 10
J LEWIS c Dilshan b Malinga 20
M PANESAR not out 0
Sundries (2b, 13lb, 3w, 8nb) 26
Total 229
Overs: 91.1
Fall: 25, 39, 73, 117, 118, 151, 184, 196, 229, 229
Bowling: Vaas 26-5-71-2 (2nb, 1w); Malinga 23.1-3-62-2 (5nb, 1w); Muralitharan 31-10-62-3 (1nb); Jayasuriya 11-4-19-2;

Sri Lanka 2nd Innings
M VANDORT b Hoggard 5
U THARANGA not out 17
K SANGAKKARA not out 22
Sundries (1nb) 1


Agence France-Presse

Sometimes it can be VERY frustrating being an Engand supporter. :cry:

yep i understand that sentiment, i think its part of the turf for any supporter.

Third npower Test Match
Trent Bridge
Sri Lanka 231 & 322 (K C Sangakkara 66, C K Kapugedera 50, M S Panesar 5-78) v England 229 & 190 (A J Strauss 55, M Muralitharan 8-70)
Sri Lanka beat England by 134 runs

Muttiah Muralitharan inspired Sri Lanka to a 134-run victory over England at Trent Bridge as the tourists won the third Test to draw the npower Test series.

Murali took 8-70 as the hosts capitulated from 84-0 to 190 all out as they chased a record winning score on home soil of 325.

England will be left to rue their missed chances at Lord's when they forced Sri Lanka to follow-on and a sub-par batting performance in the first innings and now head into the one-day series with Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen's participation in doubt due to injury.

Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss gave the home side a promising start before the former departed for 31, bowled by the doosra, and the same delivery accounted for Alastair Cook lbw.

Andrew Strauss had batting confidently in making 55, his sixth Test half-century, before being caught at slip after an edge off the shoulder of the bat bounced off wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara's gloves.

Murali then removed star duo Pietersen and Flintoff in the 46th over to become only their second man in the modern era to take five wickets in an innings 100 times.

Both were caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan at short leg and then the same duo combined to remove Paul Collingwood on the stroke of tea after the Durham man unluckily hit the ball into his boot.

The English misery continued after the adjournemnt Geraint Jones bowled by a Murali doosra but his hopes of emulating Jim Laker and Anil Kumble by taking ten wickets in an innings were vanquished in the next over as Matthew Hoggard was run out by a direct hit from Chamara Kapugedera.

After trapping Jon Lewis lbw, Muralitharan was on course for his best Test figures before the unlikely figure of Monty Panesar, who had earlier taken his first five wicket haul in Test cricket, denied him by sweeping two boundaries and a six.

But Sanath Jayasuriya trapped Panesar lbw for 26 to earn Sri Lanka just their second victory on English soil.

Source:- Sky News