Spinners bowl England into a position of strength

Just when England's players looked to be wilting under the oppressive wet heat of Colombo they once again displayed their new-found propensity to fight themselves out of tricky situations with a stirring comeback in the late evening sunshine. Now, after the first day of this crucial Third Test Match, an historic series victory remains a distinct possibility.

Sri Lanka, like they did in Kandy, batted themselves into a strong position only to frivolously surrender their hard-fought advantage, losing four wickets for 14 runs to finish the day on 221 for seven. With their tail weakened by the replacement of Kumar Dharmasena with left arm spinner, Dinuk Hettiarachchi, their immediate goal tomorrow will be to score 250.

So far in the Test series it has been the fast bowlers that have kept England's hopes alive, as they claimed 18 of the 25 Sri Lanka wickets to fall in the first two Test Matches. At the Sinhalese Sports Club today, however, the spinners finally played their part. Ashley Giles and Robert Croft bowled 58 of the 91 overs, both conceded less than two runs per over and took five precious wickets between them.

It was Giles, who only had one solitary wicket and a sore Achilles tendon to show for his efforts in the Test Matches before today, who started the Sri Lankan slide, when he had Aravinda de Silva smartly caught off bat and pad by Michael Vaughan for 38 to end a 97-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

The loss of de Silva was followed soon after by that of Russel Arnold, who once again padded up, only to be adjudged out leg before by umpire David Orchard without scoring.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was deceived in the air by Croft as he slogged across the line and, although he lingered like a man wronged, he can have no complaints about his decision.

Moments before the close England then added the prize scalp of Mahela Jayawardene to their late-evening pickings. Jayawardene scored yet another elegant half-century today, leaving him with a run of 61, 101 and 71 in the first innings in this three-Test series. Well as he batted, however, his dismissal - caught behind as he tried to square cut Croft - was casual and may cost Sri Lanka dear, for it has now exposed the Sri Lankan lower order to the new ball.

Earlier in the day Sanath Jayasuriya won his 16th toss in 18 innings. The only Buddhist cricket captain in world cricket is clearly on a different plane when it comes to this important job. Unfortunately, his team has generally failed to profit from his hand-spun advantage and they have only won three of those 16 Test Matches.

When Andrew Caddick ripped through the usually tight defences of Marvan Atapattu in just the second over of the day, Sri Lanka's cricketers may have feared the worst. However, they enjoyed an excellent morning as Sanath Jayasuriya returned to form with 45, his highest score in six Test matches, surpassing the 26 he made in Durban.

He was well supported by Kumar Sangakkara, the devil dressed in flannels, if you listen to the English players. Like Sangakkara or not, you could not deny the elegance of his stroke-play, as he flowed to 45, only to betray his inexperience again with a loose back foot drive immediately after the luncheon interval.

Jayasuriya and de Silva then added 20 runs before the Sri Lankan captain skewed a catch to backward point - not for the first time in the series - as he tried to loft Croft. Sri Lanka's innings was back in the balance on 108 for three. Jaywardene and de Silva then weathered the immediate danger, but failed to finish the job.