SL v England | 2nd Test | Columbo | 09/12/2007

[12thMan]

England won the toss and decided to bat

Umpires: Aleem Dar, D J Harper

Sri Lanka: Vandort, Tharanga, Sangakkara, M Jayawardene, Silva, Mubarak, P Jayawardene, Vaas, D Fernando, Malinga, Muralitharan

England: Cook, Vaughan, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bopara, Prior, Broad, Sidebottom, S Harmison, Panesar

Eng 7-0 after 6 overs

 

[12thMan]

50 up for Eng. Vaughan on 42
Eng 52-0 after 18 overs

 

[Oxy]

Why dont all those PAk fans who disowned their team yesterday come over to this thread and support England as they are winning at the moment....and when Murali takes a few quaick wkts, they can support the Lankans....and in general just 'flip-flop' from 1 side to the other?

That way you're always winning....

Sorted.

 

[12thMan]

50 for Vaughan. His 16th
Eng 60-0

 

[Rob H]

Vaughan hit 3 boundaries in that over from Fernando. The last one was a classic Vaughan pull over mid wicket. When he's in form he's a treat to watch so hopefully he can go on from his excellent start.

 

[Oxy]

Vaughan looking in supreme touch - what a sight when hes on song!

67* off 93 balls

 

[12thMan]

I am watching SL-Eng game for now because of Vaughan. After this Bell some and he not not bad to watch either and looks in form but I will be gone by then

 

[Oxy]

I am watching SL-Eng game for now because of Vaughan. After this Bell some and he not not bad to watch either and looks in form but I will be gone by then

I'm watching for Ali Cook who I am led to believe is indeed a Pakistani....an opener....and hes not out after 26 overs.

 

[12thMan]

Thoes 26 overs are filled with beastly hitting by Cook. he has reached 20 runs
Eng 91-0

 

[Rob H]

97/0 at lunch. A Vaughan masterclass this morning and a good platform to get back into the series.

 

[Rob H]

237/4 at the moment, Cook just given out lbw Malinga yorker for gritty 81. Bad decision by Harper as it was sliding down the legside.

 

[kablooee87]

Now Malinga gets Bopara with another yorker.

 

[Taurus]

Terrible umpiring from Dar, then Harper. Bad shot from Pietersen, but he never caught it, and now Cook given wrongly out lbw, to one pitching JUST on leg, then swinging in. How could that have been out, eh?

Chamara Silva was a bit dirty claiming that catch. Poor sportsmanship, but to be expected of a team harbouring Super Cheat Mark I within their team.

 

[inzidabest]

not sure if you guys have noticed...SL v ENG is looking a different level of cricket as comapred to Ind v Pak..lol

 

[Amjid Javed]

Eng 258/5

they need to get up to 350-400 here...

 

[James]

The position we're in is not great, but not bad. The wicket looks a sporting surface with something in it for bowlers and batsmen, so 400 should be a decent score. It's down to Collingwood, Prior, Broad and Sidebottom to finish the job with the bat.

Fantastic stuff from Vaughan all day - winning the toss and making a bold decision to bat, taking the bull by the horns with a superb innings of his own, then standing up for the team after the officiating today, which was a joke.

 

[Salman89]

England's Bowling Troubles

England is having the same problems as us and India in the Fast Bowling department.

Hoggard and Anderson are not participating in the current match and that brings the comeback of Harmison and the debut of Broad.

I dont think Harmison can make it big again....honestly he seems finished.

Broad is an excellent bowler, apart from being taken apart by Yuvraj, he has alot of talent should definitely be persisted with.

Hoggard is excellent and so is Panesar.

If you could pick England's current best bowling line-up not taking into account injuries who would you choose?

Hoggard
Broad
Tremlett
Panesar

 

[Saj]

Sri Lanka with the upper hand in my opinion as things stand.

 

[James]

Honours even. A few early wickets tomorrow and a handy first innings lead is in sight. Harmison was suprisingly decent today, though not in the class of the fantastic Ryan Sidebottom.

 

[12thMan]

Atleast the umpires referred a catch to 3rd umpire. It was Sidebottom batting. A short ball hit his shoulder and was taken very low in slips. Harper went to Daar and they chatted and referred to 3rd umpire. 3rd umpire ruled not out as the ball didn't touch the bat or glove but just the shoulder.

Pietersen was shown smiling. I think Daar had a smile too

Now if the catch was take higher up, I am guessing it would have been given out.

 

[Taurus]

Broad and Sidebottom bowled really well today, but the life's gone with the new ball, so it's looking like a long, hard day tomorrow. I can see Sri Lanka grabbing a first innings lead of fifty to a hundred, so how we bat will probably decide the match.

 

[James]

I dont think much to Sri Lanka's batting after the loss of five wickets. They managed another 140 runs after being 42-5 in the first game, which was punching above their weight. The best player is already gone - if we get Vandort and Mahela tomorrow morning, in the long run we have a chance of victory.

 

[James]

A neat performance today, nobody has stuck out particularly but it's been a team effort. It makes me even more disappointed to lose in Kandy to a few joke dismissals at the end, because we could have been heading to Galle with a chance of winning the series. If we could sneak a 1-1 tie in the series, coupled with a 3-2 win in the LOIs, it would make for a successful tour.

 

[invincible]

With the new ball available in a few overs, England need to be careful and come out with a definite plan. These two (Colly-Pietersen) need to negate the new ball presence. Bopara should up his game a bit here. His past performances donot really warrant his place in the team ahead of Owais Shah who was excellent in the ODI series. With Prior and Sidebottom to come, I see England successfully managing to draw this test.

A great achievement on a 5 day pitch against an attack having someone like Murali.

 

[invincible]

Collingwood seems to have a gone into a shell and is trying to be a bit too defensive. Not sure of this tactic though. He looked edgy against C.Silva as well but dealt Murali well on the backfoot at times.

 

[James]

No chance of a Sri Lankan win. Sri Lanka have 32 overs to take 7 wickets and score 100 runs, and it's now raining!

 

[Hash]

No chance of a Sri Lankan win. Sri Lanka have 32 overs to take 7 wickets and score 100 runs, and it's now raining!

long time no see whippy