Well, it looked at one point like England might actually win that one, but ultimately there’s a reason why sides don’t regularly chase down 300 plus in the fourth innings:

Justice in the end was done – forget getting out of jail, if England had won this match it would have been like the complete four series box-set of Prison Break. Apart from the bowlers, who, as we mentioned before, are pretty much immune from criticism on current form, England were poor overall. Sri Lanka were better in the field, particularly close in where they were quite brilliant, and ultimately England’s crap first innings cost them the match.
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The usual daily update for yesterday rather went the way of England’s batting line-up in the first innings – it didn’t show up. Now that we’ve had a bit more time to do the whole blogging thing, here’s a composite of yesterday and today for your delectation:

It’s time to stop sweeping, put the broom away for good and buy a vacuum cleaner instead… or something like that. Anyway, England’s batsmen need to understand that the pre-meditated sweep is a relatively high risk shot that should be used sparingly, instead of, as it would appear they think it to be, a get-off-strike-free card. Two players in particular should banish the sweep to the far reaches of their repertoire – Strauss and Broad. Strauss because he’s never played the sweep well, having got out to it more times than we care to remember (more often than not by comically bottom-edging the ball into his boot, whereupon it kindly loops up for a close fielder to grab); Broad because he seems to get out LBW far more than is healthy, and when he does he almost always fruitlessly wastes a DRS review, as though he is personally affronted that the umpires dare give him out in such a fashion. God help us when Broad actually gets to make DRS decisions as a fielding captain.
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Well we all need a cold shower after that day of cricket – absorbing stuff as expected:

Samit Patel cemented his status today as England’s No. 1 spinner. On the first day of his Test career, Patel took two wickets, whereas neither Swanny nor Monty took any – we’ll gloss over the fact that both of the wickets were pretty awful missed sweeps (Chandimal’s was particularly inexcusable) and probably due to the fact that the SL batsmen were trying to up the pace against England’s fifth bowler. On a day when the spinners were pretty well countered by Jayawardene et al, Monty may have been the pick of the bunch, but Patel got the rewards (plus Monty’s very definitely in the doghouse elsewhere).
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And we’re (nearly) off.

Well after a couple of months without being royally humiliated by spinners, England are off to Sri Lanka.

We get under way in Galle, where England’s record is frankly rather horrible, the best they ever get there is the worst of a rain-soaked draw. Put it this way, if it doesn’t tip it down midweek, history suggests England are doomed. With that cheerful thought in mind, here are a few points to whet the appetite for the frankly ungodly hour we’re getting underway tomorrow:
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