Caught in two minds

In the build-up to this match, England were visibly torn between attack and defence. Could they afford to play five bowlers and risk losing the toss? Dare they attack with the spin of Robert Croft, at the expense of Gareth Batty's grit in the lower-middle order? Could they possibly forfeit Nasser Hussain's aggression in favour of Paul Collingwood's cool?

By the end of a flummoxing day's play, those dilemmas were still plain for all to see. When you think back to Marcus Trescothick's rumbustious first hour, and Freddie Flintoff's effortless spreading of the field in the afternoon session, it seems absurd that the close-of-play total could be so meagre. But then again, there is no legislating for Muttiah Muralitharan, who bowled nearly half the overs and conceded next to nothing. Taking on Murali is like trying to tweak a cobra's tail. It's all very well to think positively about doing it, but putting those thoughts into practice requires the sort of confidence that borders on insanity.

England certainly began confidently enough - even the simple pleasure of winning the toss felt like the end of a seven-year itch. But that confidence was shattered by Trescothick's dismissal on the stroke of lunch. He had batted with simple brutality for the first 39 balls of his innings, but once Murali had made his fashionably late appearance in the attack, England's tempo was irretrievably altered. At 108 for 2, there was a whiff of Chandigarh 2001-02 in the air, where England crumbled to Harbhajan Singh after a similarly breakneck start to their innings.

Out of the confusion, however, stepped Flintoff - to immense rejoicing from the remainder of England's touring support. Let's be honest. No-one really believed that Freddie could crack it as a batsman on the subcontinent. He may have obtained cult status for his heroics against South Africa, and his indefatigable efforts with the ball have won him universal admiration, but he has been a muddle against spinners, not least at Galle and Kandy, where runs counted for nothing.

But here, at last, was a crisis that required a positive response, and Flintoff delivered with a typically frills-free demolition. He played forward with confidence, and rocked back with skill, and he put hardly a foot wrong until that over-eager push back to Murali, when a century was his for the taking. It was a disappointing end, but given the tribulations he has been put through on his Asian travels, it still felt like a new beginning.

But as the shadows lengthened and Flintoff left the limelight, England's confusion returned to haunt them. One the one hand, it was Galle revisited, as Ashley Giles batted out time with grim defiance. On the other, there was the sight of Chris Read thumping straight sixes in the 90th over of the day. And as for that run-out...

Attack or defend? England knew what they wanted to do, but didn't know quite how to do it.