The Shorter Wisden 2013 (54 page)
Read The Shorter Wisden 2013 Online
Authors: John Wisden,Co
Cheered on by a crowd of predominantly white faces on the third day – though some were by now rather red, a combination of the sun and anger at Sri Lanka Cricket’s on-the-hoof
ticketing policy – England began to believe. And when Swann bowled Herath to pick up his sixth wicket, Sri Lanka were in effect 252 for eight. But Welagedara kept Prasanna Jayawardene company
for over an hour before he was caught in the gully off Panesar, and England were further frustrated when – five deliveries later – Broad bounced out Jayawardene, caught at short leg,
only for replays to reveal a no-ball. It was one of eight bowled in the match by the usually disciplined Broad; no one else overstepped all game. The 46 runs added thereafter by Jayawardene and
Lakmal set England 340, eight more than they had ever made in the fourth innings to win a Test, and 87 more than any side had then managed batting fourth at Galle.
England lost Cook, given out caught behind by third umpire Bruce Oxenford after Rod Tucker had turned down Herath’s appeal, and Strauss on the third evening, then Pietersen, chipping
carelessly to short midwicket early on the fourth day. When Bell fell on the sweep to Herath, despite claiming a bottom edge, England were 152 for four – and tottering.
But Trott was playing his own game, mixing stoical defence with an unexpected reverse sweep or two, and Prior – batting at No. 6 ahead of the debutant Samit Patel – knuckled down.
Sri Lanka went on the defensive; anything seemed possible. But four balls after Trott had reached his seventh Test hundred (it would become his first in defeat), and with England now only 107 short
of their target, Prior’s slog-sweep somehow lodged in Thirimanne’s grasp at short leg. The innings unravelled with indecent haste: the last five tumbled for 12, and England were
suddenly one result away from losing their No. 1 ranking. The upside-down flag felt about right.
Man of the Match:
H. M. R. K. B. Herath.
Anderson 20.3–5–72–5; Broad 21–3–71–1; Panesar 23–11–42–0; Swann 23–3–92–0; Patel
9–1–27–2.
Second innings
—Anderson 10.3–2–26–0; Broad 11–2–33–1; Swann 30–5–82–6; Panesar
24–6–59–2; Patel 9–4–9–0.
Welagedara 11–2–46–1; Lakmal 9–2–45–1; Herath 19–5–74–6; Randiv 7.4–0–26–2.
Second
innings
—Welagedara 13–2–40–0; Lakmal 10–5–22–0; Herath 38–9–97–6; Dilshan 12–1–25–0; Randiv
26–2–74–4.
Umpires: Asad Rauf and R. J. Tucker. Third umpire: B. N. J. Oxenford.
SRI LANKA v ENGLAND
V
IC
M
ARKS
At Colombo (PSS), April 3–7, 2012. England won by eight wickets. Toss: Sri Lanka.
In the last game of a chastening winter, England finally demonstrated they were capable of winning a Test in Asia. Not before time, their batsmen gave proper support to the valiant band of
bowlers who had sweated buckets from Dubai to Galle via Abu Dhabi without reward. England romped to victory by eight wickets, having won by seven on their previous visit to the cosy Saravanamuttu
stadium for Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test 30 years earlier. And they clung to their No. 1 ranking, just ahead of South Africa.
It all seemed so simple again. Anderson was incisive with the new ball, Swann gradually asserted himself on a slow, turning pitch and, in unrelenting heat, the commitment in the field never
wavered. That had been the pattern of the winter. But now the batsmen also functioned according to the textbook. Cook and Strauss blunted a modest Sri Lankan attack with the help of Trott. Then
Pietersen, suddenly free as a bird, shredded the bowlers in an audacious innings of 151 from 165 balls – England’s highest Test score in Sri Lanka. This was the Pietersen of old, before
the burden of captaincy and the disappointment of losing it. He trusted his instincts, and the ball kept disappearing over the short boundaries. He also unfurled his switch hit, causing delight and
controversy in equal measure.
Despite yet more Herculean efforts from Mahela Jayawardene – though there is not a rippling muscle to be seen upon him – England ended up as comfortable victors. If there had been a
Third and decisive Test, there was a good chance they would have prevailed, but the impending IPL denied them that luxury. Within three days, Jayawardene and Pietersen were Delhi Daredevils
team-mates.
Before the match, Strauss in particular was unusually edgy. He gave what, by his standards, was a brusque press conference, in which – despite many invitations – he declined to
speculate on his future. For the first time since he took over from Pietersen in January 2009, there had been rumblings about his hold on the England captaincy, not merely because of the sequence
of four defeats, but also because of his own lack of runs.
Strauss also had some ticklish selections to make. With Stuart Broad now back home because of a calf injury, Finn returned for his first Test in ten. More surprisingly, Bresnan replaced Monty
Panesar, so ending England’s experiment of playing two specialist spinners. Perhaps Strauss was swayed more by the stats than the conditions: in seven Tests together, Swann and Panesar had
never experienced victory, while Bresnan could boast wins in all ten previous Test appearances. By mid-afternoon on the fifth day, it was 11 out of 11.
Losing the toss was no great hindrance for Strauss, since Anderson snatched three early wickets, including Sangakkara, out first ball again. Jayawardene, as ever, rescued the situation with
another watchful, elegant century, and received dutiful support from Samaraweera and Mathews, back from injury in place of Dinesh Chandimal. Yet when Sri Lanka were all out for 275 before lunch on
the second day, England had their chance.
The upper order duly dug in. Their use of the sweep shot was much more sparing and adroit than at Galle, so much so that neither opener dusted off the stroke until the 39th over. Strauss’s
61 stopped some of the rumblings, while Cook and Trott gave a reminder of the rewards of self-denial. Then came Pietersen, who would later be almost at a loss to explain such a spectacular return
to form (his Test output over the winter had been far worse than his captain’s). “When I’m in nick, I like to play like that,” he said. “I’ve never been able to
explain how I do it. It’s just instinct. If the ball is there to hit, I hit it.”
Sometimes Pietersen smashed balls that were
not
there to hit. Straight sixes peppered the boxes of the VIPs, and he could not resist employing his trademark switch hit, which led to an
unexpected warning from umpire Asad Rauf. Three times in an over Dilshan, bowling off-breaks from round the wicket to a seven–two leg-side field, declined to release the ball because
Pietersen – who began the over on 86 and finished it on 104 – was busy changing into a left-hander. On the third occasion, Pietersen received his warning; another would have added five
penalty runs to Sri Lanka’s score.
In a rare but justifiable interpretation of the Laws, Pietersen was deemed to be time-wasting because he was causing the impasse that prevented the ball from being delivered. Dilshan was quite
entitled to refrain from bowling once he saw Pietersen moving. The only question was whether Pietersen had begun to do so
before
Dilshan had entered his delivery stride; even with the
benefit of replays, it was hard to say.
Whatever the precise sequence of events, the brief stand-off was in danger of overshadowing the fact that Pietersen’s century separated the teams. This was his 20th in Tests, and his 29th
in all international matches, taking him past Graham Gooch’s England record; now the batting coach, Gooch was watching with rare contentment from the pavilion. England’s lead of 185 was
sufficient.
Sri Lanka, who had sent in nightwatchman Prasad to face one over on the third evening, reached a healthy 215 for four on the fourth before Swann snatched two wickets in the penultimate over.
They closed with a lead of only 33. Swann would finish with six wickets in the innings – including the prize scalp of Mahela Jayawardene on the final morning – and, for the second time,
ten in the match. He also moved past Tony Lock (174 wickets) to become England’s third-most-productive Test spinner, finishing the series with 182: only Derek Underwood (297) and Jim Laker
(193) remained above him. Curiously, Swann appeared to bowl better without having Panesar at the other end.
England needed 94 to win and – despite the early loss of Strauss for a duck and Trott for five – they did not hang around. Pietersen wrapped things up with 42 from 28 balls and his
eighth six of the match, a mighty blow over square leg off his sparring partner Dilshan. It was a gem of a knock, bringing delight both to the England team and Delhi, who were eagerly awaiting his
arrival in India.
Man of the Match:
K. P. Pietersen.
Man of the Series:
D. P. M. D. Jayawardene.
Anderson 22–5–62–3; Finn 22–4–51–1; Bresnan 21–3–47–2; Patel 16–3–32–0; Swann
28.1–4–75–4; Pietersen 2–0–4–0.
Second innings
—Anderson 20–6–36–1; Finn 15.5–1–30–2; Swann
40–1–106–6; Bresnan 14–5–24–0; Patel 25–7–54–1; Pietersen 4–0–18–0.
Lakmal 22–4–81–0; Prasad 23–8–63–1; Herath 53–9–133–6; Dilshan 20–4–73–2; Randiv
34.3–4–107–1.
Second innings
—Dilshan 7.4–1–43–1; Herath 9–0–37–1; Randiv 3–0–16–0.
Umpires: Asad Rauf and B. N. J. Oxenford. Third umpire: R. J. Tucker.
Series referee: J. Srinath.
Test matches (3): England 2, West Indies 0
One-day internationals (3): England 2, West Indies 0
Twenty20 international (1): England 1, West Indies 0
Once upon a time, rather too long ago, the West Indians would roll into town with a swagger, and opponents would obligingly step aside. They had little choice. But if their
arrival in England was familiar in one respect – this was their third visit for a Test tour in six summers – the swagger was understandably absent. The decline in their Test fortunes,
previously the pride of the Caribbean – indeed the region’s only corporate representation, with the possible exception of the University of the West Indies – had been palpable.
And, while a testing early-season tour of England had its moments, they never lasted long enough to change the thrust of the narrative.