Sri Lanka v England, 2011-12
Wisden's review of the first tour match, Sri Lanka v England, 2011-12
Dean Wilson
15-Apr-2012
At Colombo (RPS), March 15-17, 2012. England XI won by an innings and 15 runs. Toss: Sri Lanka
Board XI.
England's preparations began with a comfortable victory, although they suffered a scare: Stuart Broad tripped over the boundary rope during fielding practice before the start, damaging his left ankle, and sat out the game as a precaution. In his absence, the other bowlers did a fine job. Anderson took the first four wickets, then Panesar - after failing to strike in 14 overs - produced a spell of five for 14. Cook batted throughout the 100 overs allowed for the first innings, before the bowlers got to work again to complete a convincing victory. It was marred a little by some dissent towards the end, notably when Strauss claimed a slip catch but Dilruwan Perera stood his ground; the umpires said
they were unsighted. Swann later upset the locals by claiming - tongue in cheek - that he "wanted to kill" Perera.
Close of play: First day, England XI 6-0 (Strauss 6, Cook 0); Second day, England XI 303-8
(Cook 163, Anderson 12).