England v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Day 1 Review

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Site Admin in Tests

Close of Play

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat – rain prevented play until 3.30pm
Sri Lanka 133-2 (Paranavitana 58*, Dilshan 50)

In a sentence

Considering rain cut the day in half the tourists would probably have accepted 133-2 at the close, though with Sangakkara back in the hutch England won’t be disappointed.

Player of the day

Newly appointed skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan was classy and composed at the crease for his half-century before limply giving his wicket away misjudging a stock Swann delivery. Scored at a good clip by exploiting Broad’s lax control of line and length with a range of crisp offside play.

Moment of the day

Kumar Sangakkara falling victim to a combination of a superb delivery from Anderson and questionable umpiring from Rod Tucker up in the TV booth. Whilst it is true that there was a noise as the ball passed the edge, and indeed there was a fleck of heat on the hotspot image, to say it met the conclusive standard supposedly required to overturn a standing umpire’s decision is highly debatable. As ever, the DRS debate will run on and on.

Wickets

Dilshan b Swann 50 – bottom edge into the stumps trying to cut a ball slightly too full and straight
Sangakkara c Prior b Anderson 11 – jaffa of an inswinger pitching on the stumps induced the faintest of edges (given out on review)

Outlook for tomorrow

England will have to bowl with more discipline on a slow and steady pitch to dislodge the compact Paranavitana. If the Sri Lankan left-hander can continue at his own untroubled pace and let the flashier stroke players of the two Jayawardenes and Samaraweera to kick on around him then an imposing score could be in the offing.