England Concedes Defeat in First Test

On the fifth day of the first Test in Sri Lanka, England was forced to concede defeat on the heels of Ryan Sidebottom being sent on his way when he inside-edged a Muttiah Muralitharan delivery into his pad late in the day.

The final blow was delivered a few minutes later when Matthew Hoggard, hampered by a back injury that could potentially end his tour, was yorked by Lasith Malinga at a point when England was already deflated by a combination of Murali and serious misfortune.

One of the best innings of Ian Bell’s career and the best that Matt Prior has played for England brought them back into a match they really should have won after reducing Sri Lanka to 42 for five on the first day.  Until Murali returned to have the final word.

Without the spinner taking a single wicket England was reduced to 136 for six chasing their nominal target of 350 on a last-day pitch, only an hour from safety and with Murali using a new ball.

With the exception of the odd instance of variable bounce, to which Pietersen fell prey, the Kandy surface got easier for batting.  Murali revealed himself to be a mere mortal as he struggled, at first, to being England down.

To find fault with England one must look at their top order, with the exception of Bell, who failed to make an impact in either innings, ultimately costing them their 88-run defeat more so than Murali’s nine-wicket contribution.

Four years ago Michael Vaughan scored a century to earn England a fighting draw at Kandy, but this time he was unable to outlast Jimmy Anderson as Chaminda Vaas, in his 100th Test, struck a key blow by taking the England captain’s edge in the fourth over of the day.

Vaas quickly added Anderson and Fernando Dilhara produced his most aggressive spell of the match to account for Pietersen and Paul Collingwood as England faced crushing disappointment.

But the promising Ravi Bopara, followed by the combination of Bell and Prior, gave Mahela Jayawardene concerns about his team’s prospects.  Bopara had moved easily to 34 before he was given out on the front foot by Rauf to earn Sanath Jayasuriya his 98th and last Test wicket.  But Bell and Prior played with a calmness and quiet authority that bodes well for the two formidable battles head in Colombo and Galle.

“We fought really hard today,” Vaughan said.  “Belly and Matty Prior’s partnership was exceptional in the middle period.”

The pair added 109 for the seventh wicket and had taken their side to within sight of safety 45 minutes after tea before Murali bowled one over with the new ball and then switched to the end where he enjoyed his first-innings success.

He first bowled Prior with what Vaughan described as a doosra but which looked suspiciously straight, then Bell with another straight one that the batsman expected to turn a lot; the similarities between these and Murali’s record-breaking first-innings dismissal of Collingwood was striking.

Of his dismissal to Murali’s doosra, Prior said, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t pick it.

“But to make him bowl very hard and for a long time to get that wicket, we’ll take a lot from that.

“There were times when we were picking him.”

Just as Hoggard and Sidebottom looked as though they would stick around until dark crept over the ground at 5.15pm, Rauf provided the one blemish to his fine performance, Malinga proved too hot for an ailing Hoggard and England were left devastated with a maximum of nine overs but more realistically 20 minutes remaining.

After the Test Vaughan revealed that Hoggard “has got to be a doubt” for the second Test.  Though the seamer batted despite back injury sustained on the fourth day, he faces a battle to recover in time for the clash in the capital.

“Hoggard’s got a stiff back and has got to be a doubt for the next Test,” said Vaughan.