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Dan Mousley the one bright spot on gloomy day for Warwickshire

David Hopps27-Apr-2023How revered will Kemar Roach be when the next history of great West Indies fast bowlers is written? Not quite in the pantheon perhaps, but worth considerably more than an afterthought. At a time when county cricket is more vulnerable than ever to a rapidly-changing landscape, his presence for Surrey provides encouragement that all is not lost. A player who insists county cricket should value what it has, not yearn for what is now unachievable.Late-career Roach is a long way removed from the original bat out of hell fast bowler (less Meatloaf, more using his loaf). He is a handful on days like this, his natural inswing given more venom by movement off the pitch.He is fifth on West Indies’ all-time Test wicket-taking list now, ahead of acknowledged greats such as Garner, Holding, Roberts and Hall and, if his average is a little higher, and if he has never won the same acclaim, he has had to contend with an era when Test cricket no longer absorbs West Indies in the way it once did. He has often found himself playing a lone hand in a hopeless cause. It is a lot easier to hunt in a pack when the force is with you.Alongside him, Dan Worrall makes up the other half of a relentless Surrey new-ball partnership of impressive pedigree. Worrall never won an Australia Test cap, and, at 31, doubtless never will unless there is a mass incident of food poisoning on the eve of an Ashes Test (Stuart Broad’s fire-hit pub, the Tap and Run, has not quite reopened, but come to think of it that would be quite a Welcome Back night). But Worrall is a redoubtable campaigner for all that. His alliance with Roach is a formidable one.Three wickets for Roach, two for Worrall, one for Tom Lawes and, vitally, two-in-two for Jordan Clark just before bad light prematurely ended a rain-affected first day made up a day of Surrey superiority. Warwickshire, 143 for 8 in 51 overs, need equally grim Friday weather in the hope that Chris Woakes and co can respond in kind. “The toughest conditions we have faced this season,” their captain, Will Rhodes said.Surrey dispensed with Hampshire a fortnight ago and if they do the same to Warwickshire at Edgbaston, two of their likeliest challengers would be put in their place by the end of the month. There is an awful lot of poetry written about how divine April is, but that’s poetry for you – you just can’t trust it. As Lee Anderson might say one day.One Warwickshire batter was steadfast in his resistance, however. Dan Mousley, a 21-year-old leftie, looks as judicious as any young batter in the country. This is the county where Sam Hain has been frequently lauded but never selected, but Mousley is definitely worthy of attention from an ECB apparatchik. He emerged unscathed from a highly difficult day with an unbeaten 55 from 125 balls, and assessed conditions with great maturity. He struck an unselfish 94 against Kent at Edgbaston earlier in the season, with a declaration looming, so he appears to have a flexible mindset.Ian Bell, as loyal as anyone to the Bears’ cause, named the emerging talent of young players like Mousley as a good reason for him to retire and, in a neat passing of the flame between generations, they combined in a memorable stand together in Bell’s farewell innings.Jonathan Trott felt exactly the same as he, too, stood down, the only difference being that Trott stayed on as part of the Warwickshire coaching staff and kept breaking Mousley’s fingers in fielding routines: three breaks in two seasons were an unfortunate introduction to the hazards of a cricketer’s lot.If Mousley wondered whether his fingers were vulnerable, he can find relief in the fact that he has now withstood a clank on the helmet with no ill effects. He was struck when 20 as he failed to crouch under a short ball from Lawes, who can be more waspish than he first appears. After passing concussion protocols, he played subsequent bouncers with equanimity, including the predictable, leery one in the following over from Clark.He also gave a chance on 16 – a fast catch to third slip off Lawes, put down by Ryan Patel. His square driving was particularly well-honed; his riskiest shot perhaps when he stole a yard down the pitch to whip Roach through midwicket soon after lunch even though the ball left him off the pitch.”He has a very different technique to what I am accustomed to and is a very busy cricketer who looks good,” Roach said. “Well played to him.”There was a time early in his career when Roach looked out-of-sorts against left-handers, but now he swings the ball away from them without a care in the world. As Surrey’s bowling day began, it took him eight balls to remove Rob Yates for nought, leaving him off the pitch to force a catch at fourth slip.There was nothing special in Rhodes’ edge to slip off Worrall, just a ball angled across. Roach then struck again three balls later. Alex Davies had batted with great deliberation, but then his true self announced itself and he was late on a pull and sliced it high to the wicketkeeper. Ollie Pope at slip, Ben Foakes behind the stumps: two England players fed and watered early.That Warwickshire were resolved to prove their worth was also apparent in Hain’s stubborn 10 from 42 balls, but he played around a full inswinger from Lawes. Ed Barnard and Mark Burgess went their way soon after lunch as Roach and Worrall returned for seconds – Barnard surrendering to Worrall’s insistent length and edging to second slip, and Burgess athletically picked up in his follow-through by Roach. There are not many fast bowlers at 34, nearly a decade after a serious car accident, who could pluck the ball, one-handed, from the turf while executing a forward roll.Then, as the groundstaff hovered by the covers, two successive leg-befores for Clark – Chris Woakes and Hasan Ali – to confirm it was Surrey’s day.The previous evening, Warwickshire’s coach, Mark Robinson, had proclaimed: “The overriding emotion for me and the players is excitement; we want to take on the best and test ourselves.” A day later, the overriding emotion was concern. One part of the country wants this lousy April weather to continue a little longer.

He returned figures of 4 for 12 in nine overs as India’s hit-the-deck bustle trumped West Indies

Deivarayan Muthu09-Feb-20221:15

Aakash Chopra: ‘Last 12 months have shown Prasidh Krishna in a different light’

India’s hit-the-deck bustle trumped West Indies as the hosts defended 237 to wrap up the ODI series, with one game left. Prasidh Krishna led the way for India, returning extraordinary figures of 4 for 12 in nine overs and reminding everyone why he was picked ahead of Deepak Chahar once again.On an Ahmedabad track that offered extra bounce and zip throughout the game, Prasidh relentlessly dug the ball into it and discomfited a Kieron Pollard-less West Indies line-up. Thirty-six of the 54 balls he bowled were short or short of a good length, according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs.Shardul Thakur, too, regularly pounded the deck and was rewarded with the wicket of Jason Holder. Holder spliced a shoulder-high short ball from Thakur, which left West Indies at 76 for 5 in the 22nd over.

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Akeal Hosein and Fabian Allen rallied briefly with a 42-run stand and then Odean Smith gave India a mini-scare at the death before Prasidh, fittingly, sealed the deal for India with a wicket-maiden.The final exchange was a game of cat and mouse. Smith, who is amongst the biggest hitters in the CPL, muscled Thakur for back-to-back sixes and shovelled a full toss from Siraj for four. He took the chase deep, with at least two overs from either Washington Sundar or Deepak Hooda yet to come.When Washington returned to the attack for the 45th over, West Indies needed 48 from 36 balls with two wickets in hand. Washington bowled a nerveless three-run over while also having Smith caught at deep midwicket. He bowled into the pitch and hid the ball away from the swinging arc of Smith.Prasidh Krishna reacts after dismissing Brandon King•BCCI

The start, too, had been fairly positive for West Indies. Brandon King and Shai Hope hit four boundaries in six balls off Thakur and Siraj to take them to 31 for 0 in seven overs. Prasidh came into the attack in the next over and struck with his third ball when he gleaned extra bounce to have King nicking off for 18 off 20 balls. In his next over, he got a length ball to kick up and seam away to also have Darren Bravo edging behind. He then returned to the attack to hit an in-between length and have stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran caught by Rohit at wide slip for 9.Prasidh also bothered Shamarh Brooks with a sequence of prancing deliveries. Brooks, however, weathered that hostile spell and was more fluent against spin, taking Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington for 34 runs off 37 balls. Brooks looked to line up Hooda too but ended up holing out to long-on to give him his first international wicket.Earlier in the afternoon, India’s batters were given similar treatment by the West Indies seamers. Kemar Roach, who sprayed the ball around in the first ODI, tightened up in the second, using the crease and seam movement on offer to his advantage. He also found substantial extra bounce, having Rohit nicking off for 5 in his second over. Smith, who got a game in the niggle-enforced absence of captain Pollard, seized his opportunity by dismissing both Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli in the same over.The returning KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, who made his second ODI half-century, then struck up a 91-run fourth-wicket partnership to drag India to a total they could defend.With Rahul returning to the team after missing the series opener because of a family commitment, India rejigged their batting line-up. While Rahul slotted in at No. 4, Pant was bumped up to open with Rohit. After surviving potent opening spells from Roach and Alzarri Joseph, Pant tried to swing his way out of trouble against Smith. After carving a short ball for four, he took on another short ball, only to sky a pull to Holder who snagged it near square leg.Related

• Odean Smith makes a splash in his maiden outing in India

• Akeal Hosein vows to follow the Jadeja blueprint

• Suryakumar just wants to be Suryakumar

• Snub no deterrent for crafty Chahal

• Washington shows he can do more than dry up runs

Smith – and Joseph – had similarly tested Kohli with lifting deliveries, but the allrounder ultimately bested him with a length ball. Kohli went for a drive, lost his shape and nicked off for 18 off 30 balls. India were 43 for 3 in 12 overs at that stage.It could’ve been 64 for 4 had wicketkeeper Hope not dropped a regulation catch to reprieve Rahul, when he was on 4, in the 18th over. Rahul broke free when Hosein bowled a half-tracker first ball, which was clattered over midwicket for six. Rahul then charged at Hosein, pumping him over his head for six. From being on 7 off 23 balls, he moved to 49 off 47 balls before running himself out in the 30th over.As for Suryakumar, he kept milking the spinners and passed fifty. However, when he looked to hit a higher gear, he misjudged the length of an Allen dart and top-edged a sweep to short fine leg for 64 off 83 balls. Allen combined with Hosein to tighten the screws on India, despite a late cameo from Hooda (29 off 25 balls).Hosein and Allen bowled five overs between them in the last ten while giving away only 22 runs for the wicket of Washington.Washington, however, had the final say as India secured an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Appointment of white ex-cricketer comes after CSA announced affirmative action policy for consultants

Firdose Moonda08-Sep-2020Dillon du Preez, the former Knights’ allrounder, has been appointed assistant coach of the South African women’s team. He replaced Salieg Nackerdien, whose contract was not renewed, and will work under Hilton Moreeng, who was reappointed on a three-year contract in July.Du Preez is the first appointment CSA have made since they announced their affirmative action policy for consultants, which attracted a complaint from the Institute for Race relations, who wrote to the ICC alleging discrimination. Du Preez is not an ad-hoc consultant and has been contracted to CSA, but he is white which, suggests that the organisation will not employ entirely exclusionary policies. Acting CEO Kugandrie Govender had earlier indicated that CSA would strive for inclusion when she spoke to ESPNcricinfo last week and emphasised that CSA are “not saying we don’t want any white people.” Govender’s comment came even after CSA were chastised by the South African sports minister Nathi Mthethwa for having too many white men in senior positions.For now the proof is in the hiring and the statement CSA sent out on Tuesday in which it confirmed it “has not taken and will not take a decision to work exclusively with black consultants.” Du Preez has been identified as one of the former players CSA want to keep in the system. He has experience coaching at the Free State province and Knights franchise and was the assistant coach for the Coronation team in the South African Women’s T20 Super League.”I am really honoured. I have been relishing such an opportunity and can’t wait to get going,” du Preez said. “A lot has been going on behind the scenes for a little while and obviously with the break I’ve had to wait a little while before formally joining the team, but now it’s finally come and I’m really excited and can’t wait to get going with Hilton and the rest of the girls.”The South African Women’s team have had three series affected by the covid-19 pandemic and have yet to have any future fixtures confirmed. They were due to host Australia in March, to travel to West Indies in June and were on the brink of heading to England in September but were denied permission to travel by the South African government. While individuals are allowed to leave the country for business purposes, national teams are not. That means that those women who have been contracted to the WBBL will travel to Australia.South Africa are also expected to announce an under-19 coach and an A team coach in the next few weeks. Malibongwe Maketa, who worked as the national assistant coach under Ottis Gibson, is expected to be among the frontrunners for either of these positions.

All the live action, analyses and chatter from the India v New Zealand game

Varun Shetty13-Jun-2019

The six-team tournament is slated for September; PCB to co-host Emerging Team’s Asia Cup with Sri Lanka in December

Umar Farooq10-Apr-2018The United Arab Emirates has been awarded the 2018 Asia Cup that was originally slated to be held in India. The tournament will be played between September 13 and 28, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.Political tensions between India and Pakistan has been cited as the reason for the change. “The ACC deliberated on the matter and decided that this was the best way forward,” Asian Cricket Council and PCB chairman Najam Sethi told ESPNcricinfo. “All decisions were unanimous. All participants agreed to support the return of international cricket to Pakistan subject to certain constraints. That’s why the ACC Annual General Meeting will he held in Lahore and the BCCI has pledged to participate in it like all other ACC members. That’s why a number of matches of the Emerging Asia Cup will be played in Pakistan.”The Asia Cup will feature 50-overs games between Full Members India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and a sixth team. The sixth team will be determined via a play-off that includes UAE, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and Oman. Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be the venues for the tournament, where India is to serve as the official host. The Emirates Cricket Board is renting out the stadiums.This will be the 14th edition of the Asia Cup. The first 12 were staged as ODI competitions, while the previous Asia Cup in 2016 was the first to be held as a T20I event, effectively as a warm-up event ahead of the World T20. India are the defending champions, having beaten Bangladesh in the final two years ago.The 2018 Emerging Teams’ Asia Cup, meanwhile, will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Originally slated for April, the tournament has been moved to December. Pakistan will also play host to the next ACC Annual General Meeting, which will be held later this year.

Shahid Afridi turned back the clock with a brisk 45 not out to take Peshawar Zalmi past Quetta Gladiators by two wickets and into first place on the PSL table

The Report by Danyal Rasool25-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshellFor a large number of people, this was the day the PSL finally fulfilled its purpose: giving Shahid Afridi the platform to win a game for his side once more. In a contest between two teams where it looked like neither wanted to win at times, Afridi scored a 23-ball 45 to give Peshawar Zalmi a last-over, two-wicket win over first-place Quetta Gladiators.The chase of 129 appeared comfortable for Peshawar near the halfway mark, whatever demons the pitch contained. But it was the demons in the mind that really frightened Darren Sammy’s men, and, as has been the theme of the competition over the last few days, Peshawar found a way to complicate a straightforward chase. Five wickets were lost for two runs over 12 balls as Quetta looked like they were about to do to Peshawar what Peshawar had done to Lahore on Friday.Then Afridi – yes, Afridi! – restored some sanity to proceedings in a crucial 37-run partnership with Mohammad Hafeez, before taking charge of the run chase. He threatened to run out of partners, and overs, but finished the match with two fours off the first two balls of the 20th.Peshawar had earlier kept the opposition down to 128 by exploiting the prodigious turn the surface provided, putting Quetta on the back foot immediately when Mohammad Asghar dismissed both openers in the second over. Rilee Rossouw and Kevin Pietersen then consolidated with a mature 86-run partnership, but superb death bowling by Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali meant Peshawar could never build on the good work earlier, and only 16 came off the last four overs as Quetta limped to the end of the innings to a total they couldn’t quite defend.Where the match was wonWhen a collapse of the magnitude that struck Peshawar today happens, it’s not unusual for a side to crumble altogether. So when 50 for 1 became 52 for 6, it was imperative for Peshawar to slow things down and take the sting out of the game so heads could be cleared and brains unscrambled.Hafeez and Afridi played a vital role for the 6.3 overs they were together. They might have added only 37 runs in that period, but in a small chase, the asking rate was never going to be as much of a problem as the wickets in hand. When Hafeez finally nicked Tymal Mills – who in his own right was also sensational – to Sarfraz Ahmed, the asking rate was still under ten. With Afridi there, the game was on.The men that won itThat it was a good pitch for the spinners was fairly obvious, but what most caught the eye were the bowling efforts of Wahab and Hasan, whose combined figures of 8-0-39-4 were testament to their excellence. Hasan was impressive at both top and tail of the innings, varying his pace intelligently and nailing the yorker almost on command, in addition to taking three catches. Wahab’s most impressive attribute was his raw pace and bounce in the death overs, which was simply too good for Peshawar’s middle order as they began to lose wickets in a heap. A perhaps unintentional contribution from Wahab came in the dismissal of Umar Gul, who went off rubbing his hand and didn’t bowl an over during Peshawar’s innings.Moment of the matchIn a game of small margins such as this one, Zulfiqar Babar will look back at his first over and think he might have done better. Defending 128, Quetta would have wanted a good start but Zulfiqar, mildly put, failed to provide them that. The first four balls of the innings all went for wides. One even escaped Sarfraz and cost Quetta a couple of extra runs, and it wasn’t until the fifth ball went down that a legitimate delivery had been bowled. The over included one more wide after that, and despite only four runs coming off the bat, Peshawar had eleven on the board at the end of their first over. It might not have been decisive, but it certainly wasn’t helpful.Where they standPeshawar take Quetta’s place at the top of the table with this win, with the Gladiators slipping to second. Both sides are on nine points, but Sammy’s side has a superior net run rate.

Twitter reactions to West Indies mankading for the final wicket against Zimbabwe at Under-19 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2016When West Indies’ Keemo Paul effected a mankad to claim the last Zimbabwe Under-19 wicket, it divided cricketing opinion. Many current and former players took to Twitter to condemn the act.

There were some voices of support for the mankading as well.

Rohit Sharma, the India batsman, has said his team’s victory against Sri Lanka in the tri-series final, despite the pressure of the last over, came as no surprise to the dressing room, as they always had confidence in captain MS Dhoni

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2013India batsman Rohit Sharma has said his team’s victory in the tri-series final against Sri Lanka came as no surprise to the dressing room, despite the pressure of the last over, as it always had confidence in captain MS Dhoni, who has “done it over and over for us”. Dhoni said that he wasn’t panicking either, using his “good cricketing sense” to deal with the situation.”I think I am blessed with a bit of good cricketing sense. I thought 15 runs was something that I could look for [in the final over], the reason being the opposition’s bowler was not someone who is very experienced,” Dhoni said after the match. “So I thought, rather than taking on a Malinga or a Mathews, I’d take it to the end, and it really worked in our favour.”India were on course in their chase of 202 while on 139 for 3 in the 32nd over. But Sri Lanka fought back with a flurry of wickets, mainly through Rangana Herath, leaving India tottering at 167 for 8. Dhoni, returning from a hamstring injury for this match, turned down a few singles, and was content to play out Mathews and Malinga. That left India needing 15 runs off Shaminda Eranga’s final over and Dhoni, after a change of bat, won it with two balls to spare.Dhoni said he was looking for a heavier bat to get those final hits away. “That was a 2kg bat, a very heavy bat, it was needed at that point of time. Apart from it being a very good bat, I think the weight of the bat was perfect also.”Rohit, who set up the innings with a battling 58, said the pitch was quite tricky: “The wicket was not easy to play shots on, so I just wanted to delay my shots [and] bat till the end, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. But it came out really well in the end.”Dhoni has done it over and over for us, so we were all positive in the dressing room. We’ve seen him doing it for many years now. This wasn’t any surprise.”Sri Lanka’s captain, Angelo Mathews, said his team did well to stretch India as much as they did. “Our bowlers showed a lot of character, especially Herath. He brought us back into the game [and] almost helped us defend 200.”Herath had dealt India a double-blow in the 38th over, trapping Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin lbw off consecutive deliveries. But, in the end, it was another loss for Sri Lanka in a one-day tournament final. Mathews said his batsmen should have done better, after being 171 for 2. “To get to the finals, once again we showed heart, played positive cricket, but once again we couldn’t cross the line.”After Sangakkara and Thirimanne got out, we just panicked and kept losing wickets. We didn’t have the momentum to go at the end. We kept taking wrong options. If we had batted through the 50 overs, we would have got to 230-240.”

Patrick Saddler will lead Scotland in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in August, with Matthew Cross as his deputy

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2012Patrick Sadler will lead Scotland in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in August. A fast bowler, Sadler had also lead Scotland in the Under-19 World Cup qualifiers, during the course of which Scotland lost only one game in 14, and finished in top spot in the global category.

Scotland’s squad for the U-19 World Cup

Patrick Sadler (capt), Mathew Cross (vice-capt), Aman Bailwal, Freddie Coleman, Henry Edwards, Nick Farrar, Gavin Main, Tom McBride, Scott McElnea, Ross McLean, Sam Page, Peter Ross, Kyle Smith, Ruaidhri Smith, Andrew Umeed

Top-order batsman Mathew Cross was named vice-captain of the 15-man squad announced by Cricket Scotland. Sadler and Cross have both impressed in the MCC Universities programme so far this season, for Cambridge and Loughborough respectively.Freddie Coleman, a batsman who has played in England’s domestic 40-overs tournament this season for Scotland, has also been included.”We are in an extremely fortunate position with this group, in that we have real strength in depth,” Scotland’s coach, Craig Wright, said. “In particular, some of the younger players have made real progress and forced their way into the squad.”The lads have earned the right to test themselves against the best age-group players in the world, and I believe they have the attributes to give a good account of themselves in the competition.”Scotland will fly to Australia on July 24, and have a week’s preparation in the lead-up to the tournament. Their first World Cup match is against New Zealand on August 12.

Graeme Swann and Chris Tremlett bowled England to an extraordinary innings-and-14-run victory as Sri Lanka collapsed in a barely believable 24.4 overs on the final day in Cardiff

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan30-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss took a sharp catch to remove Tharanga Paranavitana and start Sri Lanka’s rapid demise•Getty Images

Graeme Swann and Chris Tremlett bowled England to an extraordinary innings-and-14-run victory as Sri Lanka collapsed in a barely believable 24.4 overs on the final day in Cardiff. The pair shared eight wickets before Stuart Broad bounced out the last two batsmen to secure one of more remarkable wins in recent memory considering the amount of time lost to rain. Sri Lanka were shell-shocked and couldn’t handle the pressure, losing eight wickets in the final session.When Andrew Strauss declared two overs into the day, having given Ian Bell chance to reach his hundred – after play was delayed until 3pm by heavy morning rain – the summit of England’s ambitions appeared to be taking some psychological points to Lord’s on Friday. However, Tremlett removed both openers before tea to set the nerves jangling, and when Mahela Jayawardene became his third at the start of the final session, panic was beginning to set in the Sri Lankan ranks.Only when they were eight down did the visitors try to erase England’s advantage with any haste as Thisara Perera and Ajantha Mendis put bat to ball, but wickets were never far away against a pumped-up bowling attack. It didn’t matter that Strauss only had three frontline options, with James Anderson suffering a side strain. Tremlett preyed on the batsmen’s insecurities against the short ball, Swann found turn to force frazzled minds into playing loose shots, and then Broad hustled through the final resistance with 26 overs still to play.The merits of Strauss allowing Bell to reach three figures would have been hotly debated had England run out of time at the end, but his bowlers ensured he didn’t have to worry. The door was pushed ajar by Tremlett’s new-ball burst, elevated to the role vacated by Anderson and one he’ll be reluctant to relinquish. He struck with the last ball of his first over when Tharanga Paranavitana edged a low chance to first slip that was well held by the captain.Tillakaratne Dilshan is a player who could have quickly erased the deficit and eased the pressure, but he got into a tangle against a shorter delivery from Tremlett and the chance lobbed back to the bowler. Dilshan was given out straight away but he went to the DRS and replays confirmed a glove. Mahela and Kumar Sangakkara survived until tea with Sri Lanka 33 for 2, yet they gave a false sense of security.Although Tremlett changed ends after the interval, he maintained a probing length which left doubt in the batsman’s mind as to whether to play forward to back. Mahela opted to come onto the front foot and Tremlett’s extra carry ensured another edge carried comfortably to Strauss. England began to sense something could happen.Swann then gave another example of why he’s the world’s best spin bowler. Thilan Samaraweera was caught playing back to one that didn’t bounce and dragged onto the stump. Next, from round the wicket, a beautiful piece of bowling lured Sangakkara into an edge and Strauss snaffled his third edge – this time in the unaccustomed position of slip to the spinner.There was no stopping England or Swann as Farveez Maharoof edged his third ball and again the DRS was fruitless as HotSpot showed a clear edge. However, TV evidence was less clear when Prasanna Jayawardene, the first-innings hero with 112, was given out off a gloved pull. This time it was England who called for the review and although HotSpot wasn’t conclusive, Rod Tucker, the third umpire, went on the noise as he had with Sangakkara’s first-innings dismissal. The subsequent use of Snicko proved he was right again.Sri Lanka aided in their own demise, none more so than Rangana Herath who played a horrid sweep at Swann to be caught in front, leaving the visitors 52 for 8. Perera and Mendis quickly worked out the only chance was to get in front of England and the next two overs brought 20 yet, amazingly for a match were 139 overs were lost to rain, there was plenty of time left.Broad was disappointing in the first innings but when Tremlett was rested he responded with a fierce spell to the lower order. He roughed up Perera who lobbed a chance between three fielders before being brilliantly caught, low down, by Bell at short leg. Two balls later Suranga Lakmal fended another short delivery into the slips. England, four months on from Sydney, were back in victory mode. In contrast, Sri Lanka’s dressing room was full of blank faces and this will take some getting over.