Historic First Day Capped with Tremlett Flourish

Catch up on all the action from day one of England v Sri Lanka in the historic first ever Test match at The Rose Bowl

England v Sri Lanka
npower Test Series - Match Three
Thursday 16 June
The Rose Bowl

Match Summary: Play started at 12.15
Sri Lanka - 81/4 (38 ovs)
Click here for a full scorecard

Summary:

In a day when only 38 overs of play were possible England finished in the ascendancy having reduced Sri Lanka to 81 for 4. In a fairy tale return to The Rose Bowl Chris Tremlett took 2 wickets for 17.

Team News:

England named the returning James Anderson in their line-up instead of Steven Finn as they bid for a win which would secure a three-match Test series they currently lead 1-0. Andrew Strauss won the toss and England opted to bowl first.

Having being defeated at Cardiff in the first Test, Sri Lanka battled back to hold England to a draw at Lord's in the second - which means they can still square the series at The Rose Bowl.

The tourists' captaincy duties for the match belong to batsman Kumar Sangakkara as regular captain Tillakaratne Dilshan is unavailable due to a finger injury.

His absence means batsman Lahiru Thirimanne has made his Test debut opening the batting alongside Tharanga Paranavitana.

First session:

After a damp start to the day, the first session of Test match cricket at The Rose Bowl ended after 63 minutes with another dose of rain. The floodlights came on, the umpires dithered for a moment but in the end the players went off just before the deluge began.

Sri Lanka finished the session at 23 for 1, debutant Thirimanne having been caught by Strauss at first slip off Anderson in the last over before the break. Anderson had opened the bowling from the Northern End, looking threatening from the very start, and was unfortunate to have a strong appeal against Paranavitana on 6 denied on review. Tremlett bowled two miserly overs from the Pavilion End and stills looks perfectly at home at The Rose Bowl.

Second session:

After an extended lunch break the players came out again at 3:15pm. The damp conditions favoured the bowlers and Tremlett had Paranavitana plumb lbw with a ball that struck the bottom of his pads. Sri Lanka were 23 for 2 and struggling, and could have done without Sangakkara attempting some extravagant stroke play. It proved to be his undoing, and an over before the half hour session was curtailed by more rain he flung his bat at an Anderson delivery and was caught behind for 2. Sri Lanka went in on 29 for 3 and an early tea was called.

Third session:

Play eventually restarted at 6 o’clock, the floodlights redundant in the brightest sunshine of the day. Nevertheless, conditions were bowler-friendly to say the least and Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera struggled with Tremlett and Anderson’s movement, pace and bounce. It was only a matter of time before Tremlett struck again, forcing Jayawardene to edge one behind to Matt Prior for 4.

Sri Lanka’s fifty came up off 164 balls and Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene settled to the task of wicket preservation. At first, runs were chancy and unconvincing but Samaraweera, in particular, picked off the poorer balls and prospered so that Sri Lanka went in on 81 for 4. It was fitting that, at the end of The Rose Bowl’s first day of Test cricket, Hampshire born and bred Chris Tremlett was the pick of the bowlers after an unrelenting spell, finishing with figures of 11-5-17-2.

Check back tomorrow for match reports from the rosebowlplc.com team who are at the ground. For updates regarding weather and any potential delays in the cricket you can check our facebook and twitter pages, as well as calling our Match-Day Information Line on 02380 475 662.

The match is broadcasted live on Sky Sports 1 and ball-by-ball is available on several radio platforms. 

Tickets:

Tickets for this match's remaining days are still available to purchase on the gate and online (buy tickets here).

Words: Stuart Appleby / Jane Cable
Images: LMI Photography

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