There should be much relief at Flower Towers after England ended their losing streak of four matches and therefore clung on to their number one position in the ICC Test rankings. The defeat at Galle left the tourists with a number of headaches, particularly the issue of the top batsmen dealing with Herath and Randiv. Strauss and Pietersen were all allegedly playing for their positions but England's first innings performance allayed many fears.
A rare century stand between the captain and Cook got them off to a great start, while Trott and Pietersen extended the lead. Poor Ian Bell. His fourth wicket partnership with KP reached 94, yet the Warwickshire man contributed a mere 18 of them. Pieteren was in one of his determined yet skittish moods, plundering a century in boundaries alone, finally falling for 151. With a 185-run lead, Sri Lanka desperately needed a similar response from their top order but yet again they failed to deliver. Only Mahela Jayawardene showed the way with another century and, while Angelo Mathews provided some typical late order steel in both innings, the team failed to set a three-figure target. I suppose it was inevitable that Pietersen would wrap up the game with another six, with eight wickets to spare.
So an encouraging response from England. Anderson and Swann have again demonstrated they are world class bowlers, and the top four batsmen all look secure for the Windies series. Bell, after a prolific 2011, looks very scratchy and the jury is out on Bopara and Patel. Tim Bresnan should be in the team if only as a lucky mascot. In eleven Tests England have a 100% record, regardless of whether he scores runs or takes wickets!
As for Sri Lanka, they have now failed to win a series since 2009 against New Zealand. Without Mahela's runs, their batting looked unusually frail, even at home, and the spinners also spared their side's blushes. I can't see them repeating their success outside the subcontinent so there is work to be done. For all Jayawardene's appetite for runs against England, his record away from home is mediocre. Thirimanne is the only leading batsman under the age of thirty and he has just one 50 from 14 innings so far.
Maybe some of the players on show here had the IPL on their minds. Whether that is true of Kevin Pietersen I can't say, but the way he dominated the Sri Lankan attack suggests he has an eye on a place in the Delhi Daredevils side. Trouble is, he will be in competition with a certain Mr Jayawardene....
