England vs Sri Lanka, Third Test, The Rose Bowl: Day One Review

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Dan in Tests

 

Sri Lanka 81/4 (Samaraweera 24*, P Jayawardene 10*, Tremlett 2-17)

In a sentence

What was always going to be a bowler’s day, if a foreshortened one, proved to be exactly that.

Player of the day

Chris Tremlett. Hostile, economical and wicket-taking. You really can’t argue with figures of 11-5-17-2.  The only argument would be that he should be taking the new ball ahead of Stuart Broad.

Moment of the day

Kumar Sangakkara’s loose, ill-advised push at a wide Anderson ball which led to his removal from the crease.  How is such a sublime player struggling so much with the bat?  With him needing to lead a bedraggled team, it was irresponsible at best and more than anything, out of character.  He was angry with himself afterwards and rightly so.

Outlook for tomorrow

Rain.  Plenty of it.  However, if we do get much in the way of play, Sri Lanka are down to their last recognised batsman before a ball even gets bowled; Thisara Perera is at least two places too high at seven and he’s the next man in.  In the brief intervals between the showers, England must attack and attempt to dismiss this brittle batting line-up for under 150 if possible as further inclement weather is forecast for the weekend.