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| Wednesday, 3 December 2003 |
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Lanka squander chance as Giles strikes Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from Galle Galle, Tuesday - England left-arm spinner Ashley Giles once again proved to be Sri Lanka's nemesis when he had them in a spin on the opening day of the first cricket Test at the Galle International Stadium here today. Giles who achieved the initial breakthrough in his second over by dismissing Sanath Jayasuriya for 48, returned for a deadly second spell of two for one in five overs (4 maidens) to ensnare Mahela Jayawardene for 17 and skipper Hashan Tillakaratne for a duck. Giles finished the rain restricted opening day with figures of three for 13 off 10 overs as Sri Lanka winning the toss and batting first were left groggy on 138 for four wickets by the close. Having opted to play only six frontline batsmen and five bowlers, Sri Lanka now find themselves short of runs to make full use of their three spinners unless they run up a total in excess of 300 runs. At the wickets were Kumar Sangakkara (39) and Thilan Samaraweera (1), who represent the last of Sri Lanka's recognised batsmen. Sri Lanka's top order once again failed with Jayasuriya's innings of 48 off 110 balls (8 fours) being the highest. His opening stand of 76 with Marvan Atapattu who made an unsteady 29 in 156 minutes was the only partnership of substance, after which there was a regular fall of wickets as Sri Lanka squandered the advantage of winning the toss on a pitch which was still good for batting. Jayasuriya and Jayawardene were both out to bad-pad catches which were questionable after television replays showed that none of the balls they received came off the bat. The captain Tillakaratne and his deputy Atapattu were both guilty of bad shots. Atapattu attempting to pull off Flintoff only succeeded in gloving a catch to wicket-keeper Chris Read and Tillakaratne who scored a 14-ball duck played a dreadful cut shot close upon stumps which Read did well to hold onto. Sangakkara using his feet well and playing often off the backfoot batted confidently to strike six fours in his 121 minutes stay at the wicket. Samaraweera who has come into the side as the sixth batman will need to give him adequate support tomorrow if Sri Lanka hope to put up a reasonable total. England started the day on an inauspicious note when former captain and experienced middle order batsman Nasser Hussain was force to pull out of the Test when he went down with a viral infection a few hours before the start of play. His 11th hour departure, forced England to give all-rounder Paul Collingwood his first Test cap. Then skipper Michael Vaughan lost an all-important toss, which meant that Sri Lanka took first use of a pitch that hardly offered any movement or pace to the quick bowlers. England played safe by sticking to the traditional two spinners although there was much excitement in the few days leading to the Test about playing three following skipper Vaughan's Pre-Test comments. Sri Lanka stuck to their usual plan and played three spinners giving fast bowler Dinusha Fernando his first Test cap. He became Sri Lanka's 97th Test player. But the most interesting change was that the sixth batting slot went to batsman Thilan Samaraweera, thus relegating wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana to the reserves rank. Sangakkara took over the gloves for the first time in a Test for nearly a year. The last occasion being at Centurion against South Africa. A wet outfield delayed the start by half an hour and then rain in the afternoon robbed 22 overs of play. Overall 30 overs were lost when bad light ended play 30 minutes before the scheduled close. A satisfying day says Giles "We showed a lot of fight in the two sessions we played today. We have to come and do the same again tomorrow and the next day," said Giles at the end of a successful day for England. "A couple of balls turned but this is the best of the wicket to make use of. It is very satisfying to have them at 132-4," he said. Giles who underwent an operation on a troubled heel and straightened his run up said: "I had a tough few months but I am working hard at what I am doing. I am in good nick and I think I have come out of it very well. "I am getting my mind to know where I am bowling, where I am landing the ball, where my feet are landing and where my hands are. I have tactics to different batters. Against this quality of opposition on home turf it's a bonus," said Giles. "They haven't swept a lot but I am not one to tell them how to play on their wickets. All of their guys have great records on home pitches. Even Samaraweera is averaging about 80 or so. They are very good at what they do. It's upto me and Bat (Gareth Batty) to wear them down and wrinkle them out," he said. "I think after our last experience here we are hoping to win the Test this time around. The last series I played here is probably the toughest. I expect this to be the same. For a young off-spinner I expect it to be equally tough. He did bowl well today," Giles said. On the last tour here England lost the Galle Test by an innings and 28 runs. SRI LANKA - 1ST INNINGS M.S. Atapattu c Reid b Flintoff
29 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-76 (Jayasuriya), 2-88 (Atapattu), 3-132 (Jayawardene), 4-132 (Tillakaratne). TO BAT: U.D.U. Chandana, W.P.U.J.C. Vaas, H.D.P.K. Dharmasena, K.A.D.M. Fernando, M. Muralitharan. BOWLING: Hoggard 12-3-32-0, Johnson 12-4-33-0 (1-w), Flintoff 10-3-16-1, Collingwood 2-0-9-0 (1-nb), Batty 14-4-33-0, Giles 10-4-13-3. ENGLAND: M.P. Vaughan, M.E. Trescothick, M.A. Butcher, G.P. Thorpe, A. Flintoff, P.D. Collingwood, C.M.W. Read, A.F. Giles, R.L. Johnson, G.J. Batty, M.J. Hoggard. |
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