da gbg bet： Regardless of the positives that England claim to have carried with them from the first Test at Kandy, they remain 1-0 down in the series and in serious danger of losing their exalted status as the second-best side in the world
Andrew Miller in Colombo08-Dec-2007
The smart money is on Steve Harmison, not Stuart Broad, to replace Matthew Hoggard © Getty Images
Michael Vaughan has mixed memories of his two Tests at the SinhaleseSports Club. On his first visit in 2000-01, he fought his way backinto the side at the expense of Graeme Hick, and played a supportingrole in a famous series-sealing win. Three years later, however, onhis first tour as captain, Vaughan experienced cricket’s emotionalflip-side, as Sri Lanka routed his new charges by the record margin ofan innings and 215 runs.There’s no room for a repeat of such a scoreline on this visit.Regardless of the positives that England claim to have carried withthem from Kandy, they remain 1-0 down in the series and in seriousdanger of losing their exalted status as the second-best side in theworld. Since the tour of Pakistan in December 2005, England have lostnine Tests out of 12 on foreign soil, with just one win to show fortheir efforts – Andrew Flintoff’s Ring of Fire-inspired triumph at Mumbai in March 2006.Vaughan personally can take very little of the blame for that record,having been injured for all but three of those contests, but asEngland’s most successful captain of all time, he knows full well it’sa record that needs redressing, and fast. Unfortunately, the SSC isnot the most hospitable venue for visiting sides. Since England’svictory in 2000-01, Sri Lanka have won 10 out of 12 matches – six byan innings and one by 10 wickets. Only the Australians, in a classiccontest in 2003-04, have had the better of them, and even theycouldn’t prevent Muttiah Muralitharan picking up eight wickets alongthe way.”We need to start playing some good cricket,” said Vaughan, as Englandcompleted their final practice session before Saturday’s 10am start.”We have to learn from our experiences at Kandy, move on from that,and react in a positive way. First and foremost, one of the buildingblocks of a good side is: can they show that inner fight? But you needto have that expertise as well, and that’s the one area we have toimprove.”England fought hard at Kandy, without any question, but they were ateam gripped by naivety at critical stages of the first Test. Theywere paralysed by Murali’s menace in the first innings, and thencollapsed to the seamers second-time around just when it seemed they’dcome to terms with the conditions. And in between whiles, of course,they missed crucial opportunities in the field – not least where KumarSangakkara was concerned. “We got ourselves into some greatpositions,” said Vaughan. “We got enough out of that game to suggestSri Lanka are very beatable on their home shore.”The hasty turnaround between Tests is not too much of a hindrance,according to Vaughan. The cool hilly conditions at Kandy were notremotely as sapping as the sticky humidity that has greeted them inthe past at Galle. But the match did take its toll in one respect.Matthew Hoggard, the best of England’s seamers by a distance, has beenruled out because of his back injury, which leaves a very significantexperience void to be filled.The smart money suggests it will be Steve Harmison who fills it.He has not played a Test since the West Indies series in June, and onthis tour he has looked indifferent as well as insipid in his variousappearances at the nets and in the middle. But in England’s finalpractice he galloped to the crease with his enthusiasm reignited, andgave all the batsmen – especially Ian Bell – a serious hurry-up.Opportunities must surely be running out for a man who has contributednext to nothing to Peter Moores’ new regime, but now is not the timeto give up on a character who was once ranked as the best bowler inthe world.
‘If you ask any opposition player inthe world who they don’t want to face in the England set-up, it’susually Steve Harmison’s name that crops up’ © Getty Images
When discussing his maverick team-mate, Vaughan had the look of a manwho was fed up of waiting for the inspiration to return to his game,but he hid it well in his words. “I’ve had a lot of great days withSteve Harmison,” said Vaughan. “If you ask any opposition player inthe world who they don’t want to face in the England set-up, it’susually Steve Harmison’s name that crops up. He knows he’s close to aTest match and very close to getting into an eleven, so I fully expecthim to bowl the way he did today. He’s running in full of gas, andSteve at his best has to bowl at a rate of knots. I look forward, ifhe’s selected, to standing at mid-off and watching him bowl.”For all that England were undone in the first Test, Vaughan’sassertion that Sri Lanka are vulnerable is not without foundation. InSangakkara and Muralitharan, they possess the top-ranked batsman andbowler in all of Test cricket – an incredible achievement for acountry so small – but beyond those two, Sri Lanka’s quality and formis not so thick on the ground. “Take those two out of their attack,and [Chaminda] Vaas, and they are a very inexperienced team,” saidVaughan. “That’s what we’ve got to try to get into. If we get thosesenior players out quickly, and play Murali and Vaas well, we can tryto exploit their inexperience.”That is especially true at the top of the order, where there will beno Sanath Jayasuriya to torment the English bowlers. The last timeHarmison encountered the Sri Lankans, at Headingley in the fifth ODIin 2006, Jayasuriya lacerated him for 97 runs in ten overs, flinginghis forearms at his short wide offerings en route to 152 from 99deliveries. Sanath’s sidekick that day was one Upul Tharanga, who willnow partner Michael Vandort in his first Test since the visit ofBangladesh in July, but the memories of his own century at Headingleywill not compensate for the undoubted nerves he will be feeling.Further down the batting card, Jehan Mubarak is in need of runs, aftermaking 0 and 9 in the first Test, and Chamara Silva failed to convincewith his form either. But England’s struggles are every bit as acute.Ian Bell produced two stylish but ultimately insubstantial innings atKandy, but he was a lone success among the top six. Vaughan, KevinPietersen and Paul Collingwood each made starts without a singlehalf-century between them, while Alastair Cook was suckered twice inseven balls by Vaas’s subtle swingers.Vaughan, however, was adamant that the best remedy for the Kandyexperience was to get straight back and do it all again. “It wasmentally draining, especially losing, but physically we’re fine,” hesaid. That includes James Anderson, who has been labouring with anankle problem since the warm-ups and has at times looked every bit ashangdog as Harmison. There’s no room for moping in the next five days,however. The fate of the series depends on England’sbouncebackability.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Michael Vandort, 3Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Chamara Silva, 6Jehan Mubarak, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 DilharaFernando, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 MattPrior (wk), 8 Ryan Sidebottom, 9 Steve Harmison, 10 James Anderson, 11Monty Panesar.