Thorpe may hold the key in evenly balanced game

It should come as no surprise that the second day of this Colombo Test Match was yet another gripping affair, with fortunes fluctuating throughout the day and controversy an ever-present bed fellow. It will come as even less of a surprise that the match remains evenly poised with both sides still harnessing realistic hopes of winning the game.

England dominated the morning as they efficiently brushed aside the Sri Lankan tail in the first half and then batted until lunch without loss, but Sri Lanka's spinners then swung the initiative their way as they took four wickets between lunch and tea. Finally, Graham Thorpe rescued the innings in the evening, adding 84 runs with Michael Vaughan, to leave England 66 runs behind Sri Lanka.

England's position would appear to be the strongest, especially with Graham Thorpe still at the wicket. The Surrey left-hander played a key role in Kandy scoring 59 in the first innings and an invaluable 46 in the second. Today too, he rescued the innings, defying the Sri Lankan spinners with an organised combination of thrusting pad play and tempered aggression, to score an unbeaten 71 at a time when England looked as if they were going fold.

He was well supported by Vaughan, who scored a disciplined 26 from 126 balls. He stroked two boundaries that betrayed his rich promise; a powerful sweep off the left arm of Dinuk Hettiarachchi and an exquisite cover drive off the beguiling Muralitharan.

He will have been further boosted by the news that he has been added to the one-day squad, partly as cover for Nasser Hussain, who is unlikely to play, and partly because he offers an additional spin option on the slow Sri Lankan wickets.

The Sri Lankan spinners proved a real handful after Chaminda Vaas had ended a 45-run opening stand when he dismissed Michael Atherton for the fifth time in five innings.

Dinuk Hettiarachchi, a stocky left arm spinner making his debut, added greater potency to the attack as he offered the ball air and extracted considerable turn. He finished the day with creditable figures (19-4-33-2) and took the next two wickets to fall, as England slipped from 45 without loss to 66 for three.

Marcus Trescothick was freakishly dismissed for 23 as he slog-swept straight into the shirt sleeve of Russel Arnold at short leg, and then a limping Hussain, who was granted a runner by Sri Lanka after pulling his hamstring yesterday, was beaten in the air and drove straight to Sanath Jayasuriya at short extra cover.

Hussain had already been given out once in bizarre circumstances after he had edged Hettiarachchi to Mahela Jayawardene at slip. The Sri Lankans immediately appealed, but Jayawardene informed Sri Lankan umpire, Asoka de Silva, that he was unsure as to whether the catch had been taken cleanly. De Silva conferred with David Orchard, who adjudged that the catch had been taken cleanly and Asoka de Silva raised his finger, much to the horror of Hussain.

England's dumbfounded captain walked slowly off as television replays clearly showed the ball had bounced. Asoka de Silva finally referred the decision to the television umpire, B.C. Cooray, who confirmed that the ball had bounced.

In the event it proved irrelevant, as Hussain added only four more runs. Following the dismissal of Hussain, Alec Stewart and Thorpe added 25 runs before Stewart was deceived by a straighter ball from Muralitharan to be bowled.

Both the Sri Lankan and England coaches believe that match to be evenly poised and realise that tomorrow morning will be especially important. The pitch is starting to wear and batting is becoming increasingly difficult. A lead of 70-90 runs would be very useful.