Long wait for Panesar and England
ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the third day of the first Test in Galle
Andrew McGlashan in Galle
28-Mar-2012
Monty Panesar was made to wait until his 60th over in Galle for his first wicket on the ground • AFP
Belated success of the day
Monty Panesar took wickets for fun on his return to the Test side in the UAE but found life harder in Galle. In fact, he was probably getting quite fed up with the venue. In the 2007 Test he went wicketless as Sri Lanka piled up nearly 500. Finally, though, he opened his account in the 60th over he had bowled at the ground when Dinesh Chandimal played his second poor shot of the match and lofted a catch to mid-off.
Monty Panesar took wickets for fun on his return to the Test side in the UAE but found life harder in Galle. In fact, he was probably getting quite fed up with the venue. In the 2007 Test he went wicketless as Sri Lanka piled up nearly 500. Finally, though, he opened his account in the 60th over he had bowled at the ground when Dinesh Chandimal played his second poor shot of the match and lofted a catch to mid-off.
No-ball of the day
The lead was already 293 - very healthy but still below the psychological 300-mark - when Prasanna Jayawardene top-edged a pull which looped back to Stuart Broad who took the return catch easily. All the players were making their way off, but umpire Rod Tucker wanted to check the front line and replays showed Broad had overstepped by a long way - his eighth no-ball of the match. Jayawardene had a life and made England pay.
The lead was already 293 - very healthy but still below the psychological 300-mark - when Prasanna Jayawardene top-edged a pull which looped back to Stuart Broad who took the return catch easily. All the players were making their way off, but umpire Rod Tucker wanted to check the front line and replays showed Broad had overstepped by a long way - his eighth no-ball of the match. Jayawardene had a life and made England pay.
Wagging of the day
England have a very productive lower order - and it played its part again in the first innings - but they have also been on the receiving end. In the first innings the last two wickets added 65 and this time it amounted to a spirit-crushing 87. For Jayawardene to score runs is one thing, but to see Chanaka Welegedera and Suranga Lakmal make 26 from 82 deliveries between them will have really hurt.
England have a very productive lower order - and it played its part again in the first innings - but they have also been on the receiving end. In the first innings the last two wickets added 65 and this time it amounted to a spirit-crushing 87. For Jayawardene to score runs is one thing, but to see Chanaka Welegedera and Suranga Lakmal make 26 from 82 deliveries between them will have really hurt.
Vain attempt of the day
Samit Patel is certainly no like-for-like replacement in the field for Eoin Morgan, but he has not let England down on his debut. He has dived around at backward point and sprinted hard in the outfield. For a moment it looked like he would take the catch to finally end Sri Lanka's second innings as he steadied himself under a slog-sweep from Jayawardene. However, the rope was always very close and as Patel took the catch he stepped on the boundary. He tried to toss the ball away to at least save the six but it was too late.
Samit Patel is certainly no like-for-like replacement in the field for Eoin Morgan, but he has not let England down on his debut. He has dived around at backward point and sprinted hard in the outfield. For a moment it looked like he would take the catch to finally end Sri Lanka's second innings as he steadied himself under a slog-sweep from Jayawardene. However, the rope was always very close and as Patel took the catch he stepped on the boundary. He tried to toss the ball away to at least save the six but it was too late.
Debate of the day
Yes, it is the DRS again. Firstly Suraj Randiv was given lbw on the field and the decision was upheld with the ball feathering the bails. Such margins will give ICC food for thought at their next meeting where the DRS is due to be discussed. Then came Alastair Cook's dismissal, given not out on the field and overturned when the third umpire said he could see a deviation. There is no HotSpot for this series, but audio is available. Cook, although disappointed to be out, did not look overly annoyed at the decision.
Yes, it is the DRS again. Firstly Suraj Randiv was given lbw on the field and the decision was upheld with the ball feathering the bails. Such margins will give ICC food for thought at their next meeting where the DRS is due to be discussed. Then came Alastair Cook's dismissal, given not out on the field and overturned when the third umpire said he could see a deviation. There is no HotSpot for this series, but audio is available. Cook, although disappointed to be out, did not look overly annoyed at the decision.
Field of the day
Sri Lanka have done their homework on England's struggling batsmen. This was never more apparent than the field to Jonathan Trott when he was surrounded by a short leg, leg slip and two short midwickets facing Tillakaratne Dilshan. No one was catching on the off side with only two men patrolling the covers. Mahela Jayawardene was basically saying to Trott that he thought the batsman had one scoring area against the spin and would wait for him to crack.
Sri Lanka have done their homework on England's struggling batsmen. This was never more apparent than the field to Jonathan Trott when he was surrounded by a short leg, leg slip and two short midwickets facing Tillakaratne Dilshan. No one was catching on the off side with only two men patrolling the covers. Mahela Jayawardene was basically saying to Trott that he thought the batsman had one scoring area against the spin and would wait for him to crack.
Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo