England punished for sloppiness
With all the pre-match talk centred around the height of England's pace attack and the potential for hostility and bounce, there was always a danger they might just lose their focus with the ball observes Jonathan Agnew on BBC Sport
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
With all the pre-match talk centred around the height of England's pace attack and the potential for hostility and bounce, there was always a danger they might just lose their focus with the ball observes Jonathan Agnew on BBC Sport. And that is exactly what happened on the second day against Sri Lanka at Lord's.
It was a very inconsistent performance from the seamers, and Steven Finn in particular, who produced some uncharacteristically wayward deliveries. When you start firing the ball as wide as that down the leg side, there is a problem. You could see his wrist was tilting to the left and the ball was coming out of the side of the hand.
Once again, it was evident how much England are missing Paul Collingwood - they just lack someone who can come on and bowl a spell or two, offer a bit of variation and give the frontline attack a rest.
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo