England A squander advantage

England A 118 for 5 (Shah 27*, Dawson 0*) trail Sri Lanka 145 (Bell 4-18) by 27 runs
Scorecard

Fifteen wickets tumbled on an absorbing first day of the second unofficial Test between England A and Sri Lanka A at the Nondescripts' Cricket Club ground in Colombo. By the close, England still held the upper hand, but their position was considerably less secure than it ought to have been.

By bundling the Sri Lankans out for 145, with the captain, Ian Bell, taking the lead with 4 for 18 from nine overs of medium pace, England had a golden opportunity to stamp their authority on the match and push for a 2-0 clean sweep. Instead, they themselves slipped to 118 for 5 in reply. Owais Shah was 27 not out at stumps, but had Sri Lanka's captain, Jehan Mubarak, held on at leg slip in the closing overs, England's position would have been all the more precarious.

The day began well for England. Despite losing the toss for the second match running, England's bowlers took advantage of some slap-dash batting, on a juicy track that was offering assistance from the earliest overs. Rikki Clarke made the first breakthrough, having Ian Daniel caught behind for 9, and though Sri Lanka recovered to 79 for 2, Sajid Mahmood made two important breakthroughs in the middle order, including Mubarak for 11.

Bell then swept through the tail, with assistance from the two spinners, Richard Dawson and Graeme Swann. The last seven wickets fell for 48 runs, and only a quickfire 21 from Suraj Mohamed added a sheen of respectability.

Sri Lanka's efforts, however, were soon put into context. Vikram Solanki was caught and bowled for 15 by Nandika Ranjith, but from 77 for 1, England themselves had a dose of the wobbles. Malinga Bandara and Mubarak combined on three occasions to remove Alistair Cook, Michael Powell and Clarke, while Bell was stumped off Suraj for 31. The upshot was that a fascinating second day lies in store.