Test meanders to tame draw

England’s batsmen played out two sessions with negligible difficulty on a pitch which, for the fifth day in a row, refused to offer any significant assistance to bowlers of any kind. Even Muttiah Muralitharan could extract little turn or bounce, and Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen all stayed assertively through the morning and afternoon. The skies opened at tea, allowing the teams to put their feet up earlier than otherwise would have been possible.

Cook and Vaughan had shown admirable composure the previous evening after 187 overs in the field, and Vaughan started off where he had been sawn-off in the first-innings after his freak dismissal. Lasith Malinga struggled for line, and Vaughan raced to his half-century off 81 balls. The openers, in fact, crafted a century partnership for the second time in the match, the first time for England since 1971 (Geoff Boycott and Brian Luckhurst in the first-innings and Luckhurst and Richard Hutton in the second), and the first time between the same two opening-batsmen since 197071 (Boycott and John Edrich).

Vaughan was dismissed when he was deceived – for the 3rd time in his career and 2nd on this ground – by Dilhara Fernando’s slower-ball, when he played early on a drive. The bowler gratefully accepted the offering and the home side had their first breakthrough. Fernando, though, will not be stepping onto a cricket field again in the immediate future after it was revealed at the start of the day that he requires an operation on his ankle. He was unable to bowl with anything like his normal pace and sent down just 8 overs in the day.

Cook and Bell put to bed any worries of a repeat of the notorious collapse at Adelaide just over a year ago, surviving a further 18 overs. Cook brought-up his own half-century shortly after Vaughan’s dismissal, meaning both openers had scored half-centuries in both innings to boot. At lunch, England were 152 for 1 and already well on course to save the match.

Cook fell to the opening delivery of the second session, caught at slip by Mahela Jayawardene off Chamara Silva of all people, who had been tried as a part-time spinner after Jehan Mubarak and Jayawardene himself. Once again, however, Bell and Pietersen kept at arm’s length any fears of a collapse, adding a further 52. Bell handled Muralitharan superbly, but wasted some of his efforts when, after reaching 54, he lofted the bowler straight to Michael Vandort at long-on. Pietersen and Paul Collingwood played out the rest of the session. At tea England were 250 for 3, all but safe even with a full final session. The rain removed the last possibilities of that.

The teams now head to Galle, Sri Lanka retaining their 1-0 lead, for the stadium’s first Test since 2004, before the Boxing Day tsunami devastated the town. No-one has any real idea how the new surface might play, but bowlers will hope it offers them something more than this SSC wicket has.

England 351
Alastair Cook 81, Michael Vaughan 87, Paul Collingwood 52, Matthew Prior 79
Muttiah Muralitharan 5-116, Lasith Malinga 3-78

Sri Lanka 548 for 9 declared
Michael Vandort 138, Mahela Jayawardene 195, Chamara Silva 49, Prasanna Jayawardene 79

England 250 for 3
Alastair Cook 62, Michael Vaughan 61, Ian Bell 54, Kevin Pietersen 45*

Match drawn

Man of the Match: Mahela Jayawardene