Finn pickings as England miss absent friends

Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?

Well, no. Not always. Until burglars ‘liberated’ them a few weeks ago, I knew full well that I had lots of CDs, DVDs and a TV. But you know how it is with artists: you have to give them some license and, had Joni Mitchell sung, ‘Don’t it quite often seem to be the case, that you’ve not made an inventory of everything for insurance purposes just when you need it’ she’d probably never have had a hit.

Besides, it does say much about England’s bowling on the second day of the second Test that the man who enhanced their reputation most was James Anderson.

It wasn’t just his swing that was missed. It was his fuller length and control. While Broad’s first spell was excellent, Tremlett and Finn struggled for line and length and allowed Sri Lanka’s openers to play themselves in much more easily than should have been the case. As @Ginerrob tweeted: “England’s attack looks Finn without Anderson.”

The pitch is flat, for sure. But, when the ball was new, there was enough assistance to encourage the seamers for a few overs. But, Broad aside, England squandered their narrow window of opportunity.

Paul Collingwood was missed, too. Not for his batting, of course. But his excellent fielding has certainly yet to be replaced in this England side. It’s hard to believe that Collingwood would have dropped Paranavitana – as Cook, at third slip did off Finn – when the batsman had just 13. Cook, for all his excellence with the bat, is yet to look comfortable ‘in the cordon.’ He was far from impressive in the field in Cardiff and, by the standards of Test cricket, this was a pretty easy effort.

Prior also missed Dilshan, off Swann, when the batsman had 80. Prior has enjoyed an excellent game with the bat and, standing back at least, is now a world-class keeper. But this was a straightforward chance and suggested, once again, that he has some work to do in standing-up to the stumps.

Still, Prior could be forgiven for the odd error. It was, partially anyway, his batting that earned England a solid platform in this match. From the depths of 22 for three, England could be well pleased with a total approaching 500 and Prior’s fifth Test century was a typically selfless, positive contribution.

He has some fortune, too. At one stage, in the 80s, he might have been dismissed three balls in succession. Instead two edges off the luckless Lakmal flew through the slips – or past the keeper – for four, while Mahela Jayawardene, at second slip, then put down a relatively simple chance of Welegedara. “I knew it was my day then,” Prior said ruefully afterwards. “He’s just about the best slip fielder I’ve ever seen.”

The manner in which England’s tail thrashed Sri Lanka’s bowling all over Lord’s was enjoyable but should also have served as a warning. If Tremlett and Finn can bat with freedom, it suggested that Sri Lanka’s top-order might also enjoy themselves.

Had Trott batted for much of the afternoon – as Sri Lanka’s openers did in establishing a record opening stand for the country – some buffoon in the media box would have accused him of being boring.

But there’s no danger of that with Dilshan. The start of his innings bordered on the reckless as he attempted a series of foot-less swipes but, as he settled down, he demonstrated his class. This was the 12th Test century of his career and, though he lost his partner, Paranavitana, when he lost patience and flashed at a wide one, he had long-buried any demons from Cardiff by the time England trooped off the pitch after their hardest day’s cricket since Perth. The only cloud on Sri Lanka’s horizon was the news that he’d gone to hospital for a scan at the close of play following a horrid blow on the thumb from a lifting delivery from Tremlett.

There was good news, too, for a fellow in the crowd who was unfortunate to be on the receiving end of one of Dilshan’s two sixes. The man took a fearful blow to the head after the batsman skipped down the wicket and drove Swann over long-on but, after treatment, the spectator was left with nothing more than a large bruise and an amusing anecdote.

“We didn’t bowl or field as well as we could have done,” Prior admitted afterwards. “Why? Because we’re human. We can’t bowl a side out in 25 overs every time. This is a very good wicket [for batting] at the moment. But we’ll come back tomorrow even harder and better prepared.”

A full house at Lord’s seemed a bit frustrated by England’s lack of success in the field. But England supporters have become spoiled in recent times. This is what Test cricket used to be like: played on flat wickets and against world-class batsmen. And, whatever the evidence of Cardiff, Sri Lanka didn’t become the second ranked Test team in the world by collapsing often. That was the aberration; this is the real thing.

Perfect Sri Lanka bowling sweeps Windies away in World T20 semi

Sri Lanka crushed the West Indies by 57 runs in the ICC World T20 semi-final – and now face Pakistan in the final on Sunday.

The victory came on the back of another mighty innings from Tillekeratne Dilshan – tonight he batted through the 20 overs for 96 off 57 balls – and a sensational first over from the apparently innocuous medium-pacer Angelo Mathews (3/16).

With the Sirils defending a total of just 158/5, skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s throwing the ball to Mathews to kick-off the West Indies innings proved to be an inspired hunch.

Mathews’ first over saw three wickets fall – all bowled, all played on – to leave West Indies 1/3, with Xavier Marshall, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo all back on the bench without scoring. The dismissals suggested that the pitch, unusually for the Oval, lacked pace and left batsmen confused about the best way to attack the ball, which was not coming onto the bat.

Chris Gayle (63 off 50) batted through to the end, unbeaten, but received no support at all. No-one else hit more than Denesh Ramdin’s nine runs and though Shiv Chanderpaul stuck around for half an hour, his 7 from 15 balls – filled with pre-meditated (and generally failed) trick shots – did little to advance the cause.

With the innings already in disarray, Ajantha Mendis (2/9 off four overs) and Murali (3/29) applied the killer blows, mid-innings. The Sri Lankan attack is the most varied in the tournament, but the West Indies did not help themselves with their shot selection; their inability to get Gayle, their No 1 danger man, on strike was a major failing. Instead, he waited at the non-strikers end while a procession of batsmen came and went, going for glory trying to hit sixes themselves.

Dilshan had also fought a lone battle in the Sirils’ innings, though he had help early on from Sanath Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya’s 24 off 37 balls was, though, a very a typical innings from the Sirils’ veteran, who is 40 next week. Visibly frustrated with his inability to time the ball, he changed his bat several times before holing out in the 11th over and leaving Dilshan to carry the innings.

No-one else scored more than Angelo Mathews’ 12 runs, hit off four balls at the death.

Dilshan’s innings included 12 fours and two sixes and left him just short of completing the second-ever international T20 century. It was another versatile display from the tournament’s leading run-scorer, full of sweet timing, clever placement and ever-adaptable stroke play including his now trademark flip over the keeper’s head, this time off a Jerome Taylor slower ball.

Dilshan’s innings earned him the man of the match award – though the killer blows really came from Sri Lanka’s bowlers, and that remarkable first over from Mathews, in particular.