The Hindu : Sport : Rain comes to England’s rescue

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Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
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Rain comes to England’s rescue

Ted Corbett

GALLE: The weather came to England’s aid once it showed some fight on the fourth day of the third and final cricket Test here on Friday.

The day’s play was called off at 3 p.m. local time and when someone asked if that meant the day or the match, he was not entirely without logic as two huge showers had turned the green grass into a lake.

Winning has been out of question since Michael Vaughan sent Sri Lanka in and then found his attack could not prize the batsmen out on a pitch that ought to have resulted in a total of no more than 250.

All that is left for England is a draw and it looks as if the Sri Lankan weather may be helpful. When Sri Lanka made 499 and declared, it was sure that England was doomed to be out for a small total and we wondered if there might be a quick victory.

But the rain made its first intervention on day three so that England could find a new battle plan and for two-and-a-half hours on Friday morning, Vaughan, once again using the heavy roller to quieten the pitch, and Alastair Cook and Ian Bell put their heads down.

Vaughan is highly skilled, has that rod of steel like Michael Atherton where other men have a spine and he knows every trick in the book. And some tricks only in the minds of old Yorkshire players, men he consults on a daily basis. So we knew that, having shouldered arms in the first innings, he would put up a gigantic barrier in the second. He did too for an hour-and-a-half as he and Cook put together 67 in 20 overs of sweat and tears.

Sri Lanka was disadvantaged by Muttiah Muralitharan being injured and although he caused some panic, he could not find the ball to win a wicket, even when the new left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegadara had Vaughan caught in the slips.

Cook, we are still not sure about. My memory of Friday’s play will always include a vision of him, head down, killing it stone dead.

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka — 1st innings: 499 for eight decl.

England — 1st innings: 81.

England — 2nd innings: A. Cook (batting) 53, M. Vaughan c M. Jayawardene b Welegedara 24, I. Bell (batting) 17, Extras (b-2, nb-6): 8; Total (for one wkt. in 33.5 overs): 102.

Fall of wicket: 1-67.

Sri Lanka bowling: Muralitharan 9-1-22-0, Vaas 9-2-30-0, Malinga 6.5-1-10-0, Welegedera 7-1-30-1, Dilshan 2-0-8-0.

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