CRICKET:ENGLAND WENT flat out yesterday in an attempt to conjure from a rain-plagued match a second win of a similarly afflicted series.

A declaration in mid-afternoon, with a first-innings lead of 194 and following Ian Bell’s superb unbeaten 119, his 14th Test century, left Sri Lanka needing to bat through what proved to be 49 overs to the close, which they did but not without shipping some water.

The opener Tharanga Paranavitana went to Jimmy Anderson and the new ball, well caught by Graeme Swann low down at second slip, and following a stubborn second-wicket stand of 61 the promising left-hander Liharu Thirimanne edged Chris Tremlett – once again the most dangerous of England’s bowlers – to Andrew Strauss at first slip for a hard-earned 38.

There is less in the pitch than there had been at the start of the match, when the England bowlers failed to exploit it as well as they might, but given a clear run they would remain confident that they could settle things on the final day.

The forecast, however, is for rain, less cataclysmic than had first been suggested but rain nonetheless, and that being the case it looks as if the chance may have gone. Sri Lanka closed in bright sunshine at 112 for three, with Kumar Sangakkara, on 44, playing his first significant innings of the series.

The England pace bowlers looked a considerably better-organised unit than they had in the first innings. On that occasion, the day demanded a fuller length with judicious use of the short ball, rather than the other way round, a lesson that they might have learned from their experience in Perth last winter where for once in the series they were given a bowling lesson by the Australians.

This time they got their length right. Stuart Broad, deprived of the new ball, ran in with even more purpose than usual and claimed the wicket of Mahela Jaywardene as a consequence, shortly before the close. Anderson appeared more rhythmical than earlier in the game and pursued a relentless line outside off stump to the left handers, both from over and round the wicket. He does become over-reliant, however, on shaping the ball away consistently rather than employ the inswinger to them, which he bowls so well as his stock delivery to right-handers.

Dangling bait is all very well but sometimes there is a need to make the batsman go after it. As it was, all the Sri Lankan left-handers – Paranavitana, Thirimanne and Sangakkara – were able to exercise good judgment outside offstump. A year or so ago, Anderson’s almost total obsession with that delivery lost him the use of his outswinger and it took him a while to rediscover it.

Yet again though it was Tremlett who was the most dangerous. Allowing him to share the new ball with Anderson was a significant move by England, for there has been uncertainty in their ranks whether he has sufficient control of his line first thing to make best use of it.

A succession of what would have been excellent deliveries to right-handers rather reinforced the point, until gradually he adjusted the radar. Thereafter, hitting that awkward length that demands going forward but, because of the bounce he extracts, precludes it, he was consistently threatening to fingers, body and wicket.

The first part of the day belonged to Bell, who has his feet firmly planted at number five and will require a court order and bailiffs to shift him. Ever since the coach, Andy Flower, removed him from the team as his first unilateral statement that things within the England set-up needed to change, Bell’s response has been outstanding.

A technical glitch has been eradicated, whereby he was prone to hanging just fractionally inside the line, causing him to turn the blade and edge where he might have been playing to mid-off and mid-on.

Of equal importance though has been a shift in attitude: he has been made to grow up as a batsman.

The result has been an average close on 70 since his return to the side and one in excess of 100 in the dozen games since the start of the tour of Bangladesh in March last year. There is no more complete batsman, and certainly none more pleasing on the eye, in the England team, and few in the world now.

Guardian Service