Honours even despite Flintoff's fireworks

Close England 259 for 8 (Flintoff 77, Trescothick 70) v Sri Lanka
Scorecard

This series has so far been battled out tit for tat, and today was no exception. In another closely fought day, England finished with 259 for 8. Andrew Flintoff, and, Marcus Trescothick briefly threatened to take the game away from Sri Lanka with some aggressive batting, but the bowlers never gave up and ensured that play ended with honours even.

England will have mixed feelings about their final total. It could have been much worse had it not been for Flintoff and Gareth Batty's rescuing stand of 87 after they lost five wickets for only 61 runs. However, it also could also have been a lot better, firstly after Trescothick's rollicking start, but more so after Flintoff's fiery 77.

In the previous two Tests, Flintoff had looked so far out of his depth against the spinners that he needed armbands. Today, though, it was the Sri Lankan attack who which was left gasping for air as Flintoff launched a blistering assault with a string of meaty boundaries. Coming in with the score precariously balanced at 135 for 4, he was positive from the start. He belted Upul Chandana straight back down the ground and through extra cover for fours, and then carved Muttiah Muralitharan past point. Rather than playing back, Flintoff concentrated on stretching forward as much as possible, and with far better results.

Batty, promoted above Chris Read, dug in with his usual steely determination and he played the straight man while Flintoff provided the entertainment. Flintoff drilled Chaminda Vaas straight over the stumps at the non-striker's end and nearly took Aleem Dar's block off. He posted his half-century in only 69 balls, and in some style too. He crunched Vaas way over square leg, and smeared him through the covers two balls later. Then came the best of them all - two towering straight sixes off Chandana.

Batty has shown throughout the series that he puts a heavy price on his wicket, but after all his hard work, he gave it away for an absolute bargain here. He shanked a Chandana long-hop to Marvan Atapattu at midwicket, and he couldn't hide his disappointment as he left for a gritty 14 from 101 balls (226 for 6).

Flintoff continued to play his shots, but on 68, he was put down by Chandana off his own bowling. Relief for Flintoff, but it was a sign of things to come. In the next over, Flintoff checked a back-foot drive and patted it back to Murali, who took a diving catch in front of him. Flintoff stood his ground and waited for the replay, but it was a clean take - and a big blow for England (236 for 7).

Read and Ashley Giles put on a handy 22 before Giles was run out for 10 after calling for a single and being sent back. Read, though, hung on to reach 13 not out and help England through to a respectable position, but it was still a case of what might have been after Trescothick's flying start. He produced his most dominant form at precisely the right moment. After John Dyson's puzzling comments about England's defensive approach at Galle and Kandy, Trescothick and Michael Vaughan showed that England have what it takes to seize the initiative as well.

Trescothick immediately stamped his authority on the recalled Dilhara Fernando who replaced his namesake Dinusha, by cracking him for two fours in his first over. Vaas's figures didn't stay pretty for long either, as Trescothick eased him through the covers before taking full toll of two uncharacteristically wide deliveries. Vaughan made a quiet start before he was caught at slip (78 for 1), but Trescothick marched on regardless, bruising Murali for a brace of boundaries in the same over, and with Mark Butcher settling in nicely at the other end, England looked on course for a commanding total.

But Murali quickly exacted revenge, with a sharp offbreak that took the edge of Trescothick's bat and flew comfortably to slip (108 for 2). That dismissal to the final ball of the morning session provided Sri Lanka with the opening they desperately needed. Butcher looked to carry on the high tempo of the innings after lunch, but he nicked Fernando to Sangakkara for 23 (114 for 3).

Play then slowed down dramatically as Murali, who bowled 37 overs for 38 runs todaty and Vaas applied the breaks and Vaas soon trapped Nasser Hussain lbw. The ball nipped back and hit Hussain in front of middle and off for 8 (135 for 4). And things got worse for England when Graham Thorpe played back to a Murali doosra and was hit in front (139 for 5). England had surrendered their advantage, and suddenly it was all down to Flintoff and Batty to rebuild the ruins, and they didn't do a bad job.