Top 5 From 2016

OK, now all this has been fairly poorly updated, so here's something to make up for all that, a top five games from the 2016 season. The 2016 season was a particularly good one for us Middlesex supporters with a first county championship since 1993 and I also spent the year trying to go to as much as possible, from championship cricket at Scarborough and the women's ODI at Taunton through to Womens T20 at Beckenham and KSL Finals day at Chelmsford, here are my (totally biased) highlights.

A few notes before I list stuff - this is based off what I saw with my own eyes, if we win the Championship the day after I've been there, it doesn't count as a great game solely for that reason, also this is a list of fun and interesting games to me, with no real bearing on sense or neutrality. This means that Gubbins' 200 > Bresnan's 140 for example as Middlesex are superior to Yorkshire in my totally made up system.

Since the 2017 season starts in the UK this week, let's get on with the list

5 - KSL Finals day

I quite like witnessing history, so new cricket history is particularly good. The first finals day of the Women's Super League (sponsored by Kia so KSL...) took place this year at Chelmsford. Not only was it the first franchise based tournament in the UK, it was the first major headline grabbing women's domestic cricket tournament in the country.

The finals day included a semi final eliminator between the 2nd and 3rd teams where the winner then played the 1st placed team for the trophy. The Western Storm chased down the total set by Loughborough Lightning with relative ease. Ellyse Perry was the only Lightning player to fire, and the combined power of the Storm brought then victory.

The final against the Southern Vipers followed the semi, with the Storm batting first and making 130, with the Vipers gunning down the target to take the inaugural title.

4 - Taunton

Another women's cricket game on the list, I hadn't been to a women's international for a couple of years, so a trip to Taunton was a must for the final ODI between England and Pakistan.

England batted first on a sunny day and then went for it. Despite the early loss of Lauren Winfield, Tammy Beaumont and Georgia Elwiss made Pakistan pay for an appalling performance in the field as several dropped catches and flopped misfields but England in record threatening mood.

Having slammed a record 378-5 the previous week, this was a more measured fours and two approach, but Beaumont batted through the innings to make a humongous 168 not out. Elwiss (77) and Nat Sciver (48 off 22) launched England to 366-4.

It was pretty clear from the outset that Pakistan were playing to improve their net run rate, and being 3 down in eight overs it wasn't going to be any closer than that. Sidra Nawaz made 47, but Laura Marsh (3-29) worked through the middle order before Katherine Brunt bowled out each of the last four to finish with 5-30 as England sealed an emphatic win by 202 runs.

Personally in was good to see Alex Hartley's international debut, even through she went wicketless as it meant I'd now seen her play for three teams (Middlesex, Academy and England and later in the summer add the Surrey Stars to that).

3 - Essex One Day Cup

Having only gone to two one day cup games in the season, both of them were crackers, Essex made the trip to Middlesex and put the hosts in on what was an old pitch,

Middlesex started solidly enough with Sam Robson making 41 before a quick collapse to Dan Lawrence's spin (3-35) nabbed 3 wickets in 11 balls. This brought skipper James Franklin to the crease and he revived the innings with a handy 50 with partnership with Simpson and Higgins dragged Middlesex past 200 to an eventual 219-8 which looked too few even given the difficulty of batting.

Essex started well, with Nic Browne and Tom Westley not fussing around to raise the 50 stand before Middlesex slowly dried up the runs after the powerplay, Browne still looked steady to lead them home, but was bowled by Franklin for 79, even then 94 in 20 overs should've been easy. The middle order however, got horribly stuck as Roland-Jones (4-40) struck when the panicked batsmen were forced into bad shots giving some easy wickets. It came down to 11 needed from the final over with two wickets left, Franklin then dismissed the dangerous Ashar Zaidi first ball and held on to finish with 3-25 from 9 overs (later revealing he had a broken finger) as Middlesex pulled off a heist by four runs.

This game kept alive Middlesex's slim chances of making the knockouts and was a win they really had no business in making with 20 overs to go.

2 - Tie at Chelmsford

The other one-day cup game I went to, Essex vs Somerset on a damp day in June, Essex won the toss and fielded, but the match was reduced to 47 overs per side before play began because rain... So we get 3 overs, then more rain and another long delay with Somerset 12-1, and finally get clear skies and actual play with 29 overs per side. With a damp outfield timing the ball was a bit of a problem, with runs only really coming once you got in. This showed heavily as Adam Hose (77) and Jim Allenby (62) added 141 out of Somerset's eventual 179-8. They played the Essex bowlers with relative ease as 200 looked on with four overs to go, but the late slog by the middle order and canny bowling (and fielding) from Ravi Bopara (3-49) brought about 6-24 in the final four overs.

Thanks to DLS, Essex were set 177 to win from 29 overs, and they suffered their own horrible collapse and crashed to 36-5 against Groenewald and Gregory. Zaidi and Bopara doubled the score but both fell caught to Jamie Overton to leave Essex needing 94 from 69 balls with three wickets left.

James Foster was the only Essex batsman to look comfortable as perhaps Somerset took their foot off the gas a touch and dumped Jamie Overton for consecutive sixes to bring up the 100. He lost Napier and Masters to Gregory leaving him with only Matt Quinn for company showed skill in retaining the stroke as he faced all but one ball of the last four overs. A fifty came from 34 balls, but 24 were needed from 8 with rain falling again, when a boundary was followed by a wide and a pull into the gap at fine leg saw them bring in three more to set up a final over with 16 required.

Gregory beat Foster first ball, but keeper Barrow snatched at the ball and it ran clear of him for four byes. The next ball was short and Foster edged fine of Barrow away for four more, 8 off four. Foster nailed the thirs ball of the over to the square leg fielder and rejects the single. The fourth followed a similar pattern, perfectly timed but straight to the fielder on the square leg fence, dot ball. The rain really pouring down now, but we fight on and Gregory bowls a length ball, which Foster sends high and way over midwicket into the marquee beyond the boundary, an extraordinary hit in the circumstances to leave us with one ball, two runs. Field in for the final ball, Gregory bowls short and slow outside off, Foster waits, swings, and misses, but charges off for the single, the throw from Barrow misses the stumps as Quinn dives and makes it in! They'd stolen the tie out of nothing and a 37 run partnership for the last wicket that left Foster 75 not out and cursing that he couldn't quite have seen Essex over the line.

1 - Scarborough

An away trip into the far north as the two best teams in the country took on each other in what was seen as a potential title decider. Yorkshire won the toss and batted, only for Adam Lyth to mess up a leave and edge Murtagh to Simpson from the first ball of the game. Yorkshire recovered fairly well throughout the rest of the day, with Garry Ballance making a 202 ball hundred and a pair of 63s from Lees and Bresnan left them 291-5 with Murtagh grabbing two more wickets.

Day two and runs and wickets came about more quickly as Yorkshire slipped to 371-9 before some hitting from Patterson and Brooks meant they finished at lunch on 406, Ballance 132. Yorkshire then put Middlesex under pressure, but couldn't take many wickets, Gubbins and Robson adding 87 before both fell quickly only for Bailey and Eskinazi saw them to 130-2 at close.

Day three and Middlesex set about the Yorkshire total as the attack toiled away without much success with Eskinazi and Bailey completed 50s and took the total past 200. Bailey eventually fell to Will Rhodes and Simpson soon after but Franklin joined Eskinazi in grinding through the afternoon, taking 47 balls to get into double figures and Eskinazi reaching his 2nd hundred in 2 weeks in the next over. Runs then flowed off Bresnan and Rafiq as Middlesex went along easily at 4 an over to get to 400 and into the lead in the 126th over, Eskinazi passing 150. Trying to up the rate in the closing overs of the day meant Middlesex lost 4-26 in 33 balls as Esknazi went for 157 and Franklin for 99 to give Jack Brooks a deserved 5-for. Roland-Jones and Murtagh saw Middlesex to the close 470-8 a lead of 64.

The final day looked like the game would end a dull draw as the pitch hadn't had too many demons nor proved conducive to quick scoring, but funny things happen sometimes which make any dull play worthwhile. Middlesex started fairly normally for the first 3 overs and Roland-Jones hooked Brooks straight to Patterson on the fine leg fence, but the catch went down and ball rolled over the fence for 4, that drop proved to cost 98 runs in seven overs as the next ball went for four and Murtsgh carted a couple of boundaries off Bresnan in the next over. Roland Jones took advantage of the short boundary on the sea side of the ground to hit Brooks for six just over the fielder. Maybe spin would do the trick? Roland-Jones stuck Rafiq into the back row of seats towards Peasholme Park, Murtagh then hit the last two balls of the over towards midwicket for a couple more huge sixes. Roland-Jones took Brooks for 2 more sixes over midwicket and one straight down the ground. Roland-Jones had 79 off 51 and Murtagh 47 off 38 when Lyth removed Murtagh and Finn with consecutive balls to finish off Middlesex for 577, 107 runs in 10 overs that morning and a handy lead of 171.

Yorkshire saw off Finn and Murtagh's opening spell, but Lyth edged Roland-Jones's first ball to Frankliin at 3rd slip. Roland-Jones then blasted through Williamson, caught behind a couple of overs later to keep things interesting. Rayner was finding some turn and used his height to get some uneven bounce as Lees pulled out a sweep into the body of short leg, with the ball rebounding back towards the diving Simpson. Finn celebrated by bouncing out Ballance for a tortuous 3, Yorkshire now 63-4. Bresnan was the only batsman to find batting easy, Gale giving Rayner another wicket and having figures of 2-5 from 13 overs at one point. Into the final session and Rhodes and Bresnan could still save the game, but Finn and Murtagh shifted them in quick succession and it was a matter of time until the end. Hodd and Patterson were both caught by Rayner at 2nd slip, and when Jack Brooks fished one from Murtagh to Robson at first slip, Yorkshire had crashed to 167 all out and suffered their first Championship innings defeat at Scarborough. Nine of the wickets ended up caght between keeper and third slip as Middlesex went top of table on the way to eventually winning the title.

Watson Wallops, Australia Splutter

The 2nd day of the England Lions vs Australia tour match at Northampton began with England declaring on 269-7, leaving Australia with a day to bat and (really) Hughes and Khawaja to push their cases for inclusion in the final test. Ed Cowan and Dave Warner opened the batting. James Harris and Keith Barker bowled with spirit, but didn't find a breakthrough in their opening spell with Warner scoring easy runs as the 50 came up in the 13th over. Simon Kerrigan's spin arrived, and Warner charged, missed and was easily stumped by Buttler for 35, 52-1. Liam Plunkett then fairly easily picked up the wicket of Cowan, caught behind by Buttler for 17. Shane Watson then took a liking to the bowling of Kerrigan, announcing himself with 3 fours in the 23rd over, slamming the ball over midwicket and through cover with ease. another four soon followed, then the biggest hit of the day, Kerrigan slog-swept over midwicket for a massive six, but on 45 the adventure came to an end. Watson went for another heave off James Harris, but found fine leg where Liam Plunkett took a good catch, 117-3. Steve Smith came in and looked at ease against spin, but was yorked by Ben Stokes for 18, 144-4. Stokes had his 2nd in two overs as Khawaja, edging to Buttler for four. Keith Barker returned to finally shift Hughes, bowling him for 30 as Australia slumped to 160-6 in 46 overs.
Matt Wade and James Faulkner decided to grind it out for as long as they could, whilst pinging boundaries off Plunkett and Stokes as they batted up to tea, and then onwards, bringing up the 50 partnership. At 227-6, the light and rain closed in and play was abandoned, match drawn (as it always would be). Australis not really looking in any better shape for the final test as they managed to all get in, then get out without any of them spendint some serious time in the middle.

A Ballanced Attack

Thanks to Northants making it to finals day, an England Lions XI was selected to take on Australia in a 2 day game in Northampton. Early morning rain delayed the start for an hour. The Lions won the toss and elected to bat first, with Alex Lees and Luke Wells opening. Wells soon fell for 10, edging to Wade off James Faulkner for 10, 17-1. Moeen Ali then came along and the pair played nicely, the main unusual sight from the morning session was Dave Warner bowling seam up, though with limited success. Nathan Lyon picked up the other two wickets to fall before lunch, Alex Lees caught by Shane Watson at slip for 33 and captain Eoin Morgan also caught Watson for 5.
After lunch, Moeen Ali completed a comfy 85 ball 50 and progressed onto 61 before giving Steve Smith an easy catch off Mitchell Starc, 164-4. Gary Ballance's 8th four brought up his 50 shorty after, from 90 balls. Australia were never out of the day for long, as Ben Stokes (19) was the third victim to the Lyon-Watson slip catching combination, 195-5. Ballance carried on, and with Jos Buttler blocking up one end on the fairly slow pitch, he moved fairly untroubled into the 90s. Buttler then fell for 7 to Steve Smith, before Ballance carted the 4th ball of his next over for six over midwicket to go to his century from 153 balls. He then tried to repeat the dose next ball and was LBW for 104, the highlight of an otherwise slow day.
The Lions finished the day on 269-7 from 77 overs, a pretty decent showing on a slow pitch against a good attack.

A Broad Bombing

The fourth day of the fourth test of the Ashes began with England 202 runs ahead at 234-5 with Ian Bell  on 105 and joined by Tim Bresnan. England moved on to 250 before the new ball was taken and Ryan Harris found some late sharp movement to destroy Bell's middle stump for 113, and then took Matt Prior's off stump first ball to complete a well earn five wicket haul. This triggered Bresnan and Broad to start going for quick runs as boundaries were crunched through mid on and square leg and edged over third man before Harris found some bounce which Broad could only fend on the jump to gully for a seven ball 13, 275-8.
Jackson Bird then flew off the bat of Bresnan with three fours in the over as 14 came off it to push the lead past 250 and towards something England could feel happy defending. Graeme Swann decided on the same plan and smacked a couple of fours off Siddle to bring up the 300 before Bresnan chipped a catch back to Harris to go for 45, 317-9. Steve Smith dropped a skier at long on, but it only cost 13 runs (3 fours by Swann) before Anderson edged behind off Lyon for a duck, England 330 all out leaving Australia 5 sessions to score 299. Harris the pick of the bowlers with 7-117.
Australia managed 11 in 5 overs (Cook blowing a review for an LBW pitching outside leg) before a sudden downpour brought an early lunch. Australia started well after lunch, as England looked a bit clueless as to what they were supposed to be doing as Rogers and Warner feasted on some off line bowling. Even when Rogers was caught behind the DRS actually worked and he was given not out (+1 for hotspot). Australia pushed the rate up to around 4 an over as they looked to get the job done in a hurry as every time England got a couple of dot balls, they'd push one down off or leg and it would be helped away for four. Their intent became even clearer when Swann's third ball to Warner was launched inside out over extra cover for a huge six. The 100 partnership came up in the 27th over and soon Warner passed 50 from 74 balls, but England then got a wicket as Rogers was squared up by Swann and the edge flew to Trott at slip to go for 49, 109-1. Australia made it to tea 120-1.
Post tea, Australia cruised to 147 when Khawaja misread the line against Swann and was given LBW for 21, but Clarke and Warner carried on, until Warner nicked behind off Bresnan for 74, 168-3. England then blew their second review with Broad trying to shift Smith, but no more wickets until drinks. First ball after drinks, Broad gets some seam movement to detonate Clarke's off stump for 21, England back on top with what followed being an extraordinary spell from both Broad and Bresnan. Steve Smith (2) hooked one off the bottom edge onto his stumps to Broad, Watson (2) is struck in front of middle stump, given LBW, reviews, umpire's call, out next over. Then next over Haddin (4) is LBW to Broad, reviews, clipping the top of the leg bail, out! Ryan Harris was next to out, also LBW to Broad for 11 and Nathan Lyon who was dropped one, then inside edge an inswinger into his stumps for Broad to get his 2nd five-for and complete 10 in the match.
One wicket left, but the light was getting bad, so on came Swann and Joe Root for five overs as England took the extra half hour, then the sun peeked through, just long enough for Broad to get Siddle to swing the ball straight to mid off where Anderson completed the catch to give a 74 run win and take the series. Broad was awarded man of the match for his 11-121 in the match.

Rooting Around

The 2nd test in the Ashes had pretty much already been decided by the third day, thanks to Australia being bowled out in just over a session on the 2nd afternoon, as England looked to press home their advantage for the rest of the series and secure a 2-0 lead.

Joe Root and nightwatchman Tim Bresnan resumed with England 31-3, and batted like England were having a net, and the Australians were happy to give it to them. Back to back fours from Bresnan soon brought up the 50 with back to back boundaries off Siddle. Soon the lead passed 300 as it quickly became clear that Australia were happy to wait for England to declare. To 50 partnership for the 4th wicket was soon followed by Root reaching 50 from 122 balls, and then the 100 with Bresnan smacking a four through point. The England pair had little trouble lasting through to lunch against the bowling of Steve Smith and Ashton Agar as England went in on 114-3, light years ahead of Australia. After lunch, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson tried to make a difference with what was an old ball in friendly batting conditions, it was not an easy task as all England had to do was accumulate.
But finally a wicket came, with the partnership on 99, Bresnan went for a flaccid pull against Pattinson which lobbed off the face to Chris Rogers at square leg to go for 38, 129-4. Australia bowled well as only 17 runs came in the first hour after lunch, but the game had really gone from them. After a change of ball Ryan Harris got some movement and Ian Bell edged low to Smith at slip who took the catch and celebrated but after review by the third umpire, not out was the call even though it looked as though the catch was clean and everyone was surprised when the call came though. After that, Root and Bell settled down to score some easy runs, Siddle disappearing for consecutive fours and Root then drilling him straight for four to move within 10 of his hundred. Root then flicked Smith for four to bring up the 400 lead on the stroke of tea which he went to on 97 and soon after he cut Agar to the cover boundary to reach his 2nd test hundred from 247 balls.
Runs then appeared quickly as Australia had given up and were now waiting for the declaration, Pattinson came back and sprayed the ball everywhere, going for 18 in two overs as England passed 200 and then Bell to 50 from 82 balls as Smith and Agar served up some free runs. Bell was turning on the jets to get to his century, but cracked a long hop from Smith straight to Rogers at midwicket to fall for 74, 282-5. That didn't stop Root reaching 150 and then the 300 before taking Smith downtown in his last over of the day swinging one ball into the Tavern Stand then repeating the dose two balls later as 17 came from the over. England closed on 333-5, Root on 178, Bairstow on 11 and England 566 ahead.

Club Against Country

As a warm up for the Ashes, England played a warm up four day game against Essex at Chelmsford, with Sky broadcasting the game and a full house present. Essex won the toss and in an obviously planned move Ravi Bopara decided to bowl first, saying something like "It looks like the sort of pitch to score lots of runs on, but we've got to take 20 wickets, so we'll bowl first".
England began quite quickly, scoring 33 off the first seven overs, before Alistair Cook edged Tymal Mills to keeper Ben Foakes for 18. Mills had some early hustle, getting Cook out with a 92 mph ball and following it up with one that was over 94 mph in the resulting maiden. The incoming Trott and Root began to tame the Essex attack, adding 40 in 10 overs, before Root edged to Tom Westley for 41, 73-2. This brought Kevin Pietersen to the crease and he treated the bowlers with some early disdain hammering 16 off his first 9 balls as the 100 came up on the 22nd over. Trott was the next to fall, edging a rocket from Mills to Foakes to go for 32, and it was fairly obvious by now that England weren't taking this game particularly seriously at this stage.
Pietersen came out attacking after lunch, hitting more boundaries, and greeting Tom Craddock's spin with a straight driven four first ball, but then he drove the ball back to Craddock next ball, who grassed the chance, but he wouldn't have to wait much longer for another chance. KP repeated the shot first ball of his next over, where Craddock took the return catch (49 off 58), England 163-4. Craddock soon had his 2nd, Ian Bell going for a sweep shot, Jaik Mickleburgh at short leg anticipated the shot, moved to his right and flung himself at the ball to take a great reaction catch, 172-5. This brought together Prior and Bairstow to bring up the 200 in the 51st over, but England failed to build any consistency as Prior edged behind for 20 to give Craddock a third. It was soon 212-7 as Saj Mahmood blasted one though Bairstow to bowl him for 23.
This left the unlikely pair of Bresnan and Swann to put together the partnership that would enable England to make a decent score. They didn't try anything stupid and steadily accumulated runs off the bowlers before attacking the bad balls, Swann taking 4 fours off the over against Craddock. Swann was first to 50, from 67 ball (also bringing up the 100 partnership) with 3 consecutive fours off Mills. Bresnan soon followed, his 50 coming from 114 balls. That was pretty much it for the day as England finished 332-7 from 90 overs, Bresnan 55 and Swann 62, Craddock with 3-63 being the pick of the bowlers

England Left Feeling a Bit Guptill

The first ODI of a 3 match warm up before the Champion's Trophy took place between England and New Zealand at Lord's, New Zealand won the toss and fielded, handing a New Zealand debut to the former Australian international Luke Ronchi, England playing Chris Woakes and Jade Dernbach. Kyle Mills and Mitchell McClenaghan began well, keeping England to 23 off the first six, Cook and Ian Bell finding boundaries hard to come by. After the first powerplay, England had 45 but then Southee found some swing and Bell edged behind for 18. And soon after, the same thing happened again, Cook edging to Ronchi off Southee for 30 and England were rocked back at 50-2. Jonathan Trott and Joe Root began the rebuilding operation, taking their time against some tight bowling, and only a couple of boundaries came in the next 10 overs, so at halfway it was 104-2, Nathan McCullum going for 20 off his first five overs. Then it began to unravel a bit, as Root was bowled by McCullum reverse sweeping a quicker ball for 30. Then it was 2 in 6 for McCullum as Trott picked out Taylor on the midwicket boundary for 37, and there was enough time for Morgan (6) to freeze on a bouncer from McClenaghan next over, with the ball looping off the bat and going straight up in the air for Ronchi to get an easy catch, 126-6 in the 30th over. Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler struggled to score, and apart from a McCullum slip that led to an all run four, there wasn't much coming as New Zealand kept the ball away from the boundary. The pressure finally got to Buttler, as a nice friendly off break from Kane Williamson was reverse swept by Buttler straight to McClenaghan at point, 159-6.
Woakes then became the fourth to fall in the 30s, holing out to the cover sweeper off Mills for 36 and England crawled past 200 with 23 balls to go and could only finish 227-9, Bresnan and Swann falling, Southee the pick of the bowlers with 3-37.
England needed a quick start, and they got it, Jimmy Anderson having Ronchi smartly held by Swann at 2nd slip, and Williamson taken by a diving Buttler as New Zealand 1-2 at the end of the first over. Unfortunately Jade Dernbach then served up 2 wides and 9 runs straight away easing Ross Taylor into the game. Martin Guptill watched the carnage at the other end, then let Taylor ease to 27 before deciding to target Woakes's first over, with the third ball disappearing to the Grand Stand fence and then going for the hook, which flew straight to Bresnan at fine leg, who went for the catch, only to parry it over the fence for six, 50 up in the 10th and England in need of some luck. More runs flowed freely as Woakes went for nine more in his next and (after a break), 12 off his third as Guptill got to fifty off 64 and the 100 (and 100 partnership) was up in the 23rd. Guptill then went about his business, swinging Swann over long off for six and Taylor was feeling a bit left out, so went to a 71 ball fifty in taking 7 off the hapless Woakes next over. Cook, turned back to Anderson, who picked up Taylor for 54 2nd ball, 120-3, New Zealand on top with only another 100 to win and plenty of batting left.
Dernbach looked to have Grant Elliot LBW, only for him to review and it overturned for the massive inside edge Aleem Dar had failed to notice. Elliot wouldn't last too much longer, bowled by Swann for 27, but it was Guptill's day, he launched Dernbach for his third six and even though Brendan McCullum was caught for 15, Guptill heaved another six into the Grand Stand before pulling the winning four through square leg to bring up a 123 ball hundred as New Zealand won with 19 balls to spare to go 1-0 up.

Impressive, Mr Anderson, but England Uprooted

The third day of the first test of the summer against New Zealand began with New Zealand 153-4, still 79 behind England. Stuart Broad struck immediately, Brendon McCullum caught behind by Matt Prior 2nd ball for two who blew a review in the process. New Zealand's hopes remained with Kane Williamson who reached a battling 50 from 158 balls, BJ Watling had some luck, dropped by Jonathan Trott at 3rd slip, then surviving an LBW review off Broad. But Williamson fell next over, strangled down the leg side off Anderson for 60. Steve Finn came into the attack and Tim Southee greeted him with a four over the slips, a four down the ground and another four smote over extra cover. But Southee went for one more hit which went straight up in the air to be caught by Joe Root just off the cut strip. The end came quickly, Bruce Martin was bowled off stump by a cracker from Anderson to bag his 5th, then Finn had Watling (17) caught behind and Trent Boult looped to gully (0) as New Zealand  were bowled out for 207.
Cook and Nick Compton eased along for eight overs before Boult found Cook's edge where Dean Brownlie took a flying catch at 3rd slip to go for 21, 36-1. Compton didn't last much longer, Neil Wagner splattering his off stump next over for 15, 36-2. Root and Trott then began the rebuilding operation as New Zealand began to lose their grip on the game, Root being particularly stylish in his dispatching of the attack, especially through cover and point. The 50 partnership came up in the 25th over as the 100 came up with a four through point. Then Root was nearly run out in a mix up with Trott, but Watling couldn't gather cleanly running up to the stumps, but landed heavily on his knee, and had to go off, with McCullum taking over keeping duties. Not that this fazed Root, who went to his 50 from 78 balls. The runs kept flowing and Martin then limped off injured as well, leaving Williamson to bowl along with seamers. Then Southee managed to rip one onto Root's stumps to go for 71 off the inside edge, 160-3. Trott went to fifty, but Bairstow gave Southee his 2nd of the day, bowled for 5.
Southee soon had three, Prior playing a lazy pull to substitute Martin Guptill and square leg to bag a pair. Williamson got in on the collapse as Trott (56) went for a big drive, only for the ball with turn past the edge and crash into the stumps, 171-6. This brought together nightwatchman Finn and Ian Bell, who'd been off ill most of the previous day. They saw out the last 3 over until close, 180-6, leading by 205, Southee with 3-34.

A Ginger Rescue

The 2nd day of the crucial third Test match between England and South Africa to decide the number one spot in the rankings. South Africa resumed 262-7, with England looking to keep them below 320, Vernon Philander quickly completed his maiden test 50, from 75 balls, having lost Dale Steyn, well caught by Graeme Swann at 2nd slip for 26 off Stuart Broad. Morne Morkel then thumped a couple of boundaries as South Africa passed 300 in the 100th over. Steve Finn then had Morkel well taken one handed to his left by Matt Prior in his first over of the morning for 25 from 36. Swann then wrapped up proceedings as Philander went for a massive heave, to be smartly stumped by Prior for 61, Prior's sixth dismissal in the innings South Africa 309 all out, a total that gave England a chance if they could see off the new ball.
Andrew Strauss received much ovation as he walked out for his 100th test and got underway immediately, flicking Morkel for a single, before helping take 13 off Philander's first over. The pair added 29 in 10 overs before Morkel snuck one onto Strauss's stumps for 20 with 3 balls left in the session, there was to be no 100 in 100th test for him.
After lunch, England struggled, and Jonathan Trott fell third over after lunch for 8, LBW to Dale Steyn, not saved by a review, the ball was clipping leg stump. Steyn then made it 2 in four balls as Cook sliced to Kallis at 2nd slip who gobbled (sorry, couldn't resist) the chance as he departed for a 40 ball 7, 39-3. Now it was the turn of James Taylor and  Ian Bell to rescue England, Taylor edged Steyn for 4 before crashing him past point for four more, before England tried to block their way to safety as South Africa bowled tightly and Taylor finally edged low to Graeme Smith at first slip for 10, 52-4 and England in a bit of trouble with Jonny Bairstow now in and plenty of work to do. The pair started slowly but then began to cash in on the loose balls and brought up the 50 partnership in the 42nd over with Bell smacking a four. The runs flowed more easily and Bairstow took 13 off an over from Tahir as the explosion (relatively) in runs raised the 150 and the 100 partnership in the 54th over which also included Bairstow's maiden test 50 from 86 balls, an encouraging performance against the experienced bowling attack of South Africa. Bell's 50 wasn't far behind, guiding Kallis through point for four, but he would fall soon after edging Philander to Alviro Petersen at third slip for 58, 178-5.
Baristow and Prior then played cautiously until the close at 6:30, as England finished 208-5, Bairstow 72 and Prior on 22 still 101 behind and reliant on some lower order hitting to get any sort of lead.

Raj's Charge Overpowers England

After winning the t20 series 2-0, England Women moved on to take on India Women in the first match of the ODI series at Lord's.
England won the toss and batted, and Charlotte Edwards fell LBW to Nagaranjan Niranjana for the 3rd game in a row for 1 in the 2nd over, 1-1. In form Sarah Taylor joined Tammy Beaumont and they looked to be taking England to a large total, after struggling to 18-1 after 10 overs, the 50 came up in the 17th over as Archarna Das went for 12 in her first over. Niranjana's 2nd spell got the breakthrough as Beaumont fell LBW playing across the line for 27. Taylor then charged Das, missed the inseamer, and was stumped by Sulakshana Naik for 38, 76-3 in the 22nd over with both set batsmen out.
Arran Brindle and Heather Knight began the rebuild, Brindle bringing up the 100 with a four off Amita Sharma in the 29th over. Veda Krishnamurthy then bowled Knight for 12 with only her 5th ball in ODIs, 114-4. Seeing off Niranjana was probably the plan, but Jenny Gunn was bowled from the final ball of an excellent spell as she finished with 3-28 from her 10 overs.
Brindle went on to her 50 from 66 balls as England reached 162-5 after 40 overs, ready for a final push.
Laura Marsh swiped Gouher Sultana for four, then edged behind for 19 from 21, 175-6. Next over, Das got the huge wicket of Brindle, well held caught and bowled smacked straight back at her for 58 from 73, 181-7. Katherine Brunt swung a massive six into the Tavern Stand, but skied Jhulan Goswami to Harmanpreet Kaur at deep square leg for 13. Danni Wyatt gave Das her third wicket caught by Niranjana for 20 from 16, and the innings ended in the final over, Danielle Hazell bowled Das (4-61) for 9, 229 all out, a below par total you felt as England never managed to get away from India.
India needed to bat sensibly and Mona Meshram and Poonam Raut started solidly against Brunt and Georgia Elwiss with runs coming slowly, and India's problem with running returned, Raut pushing to point and running through for the single, and Meshram being beaten out by Wyatt's throw to Taylor for 9, 21-1.
Captain Mithali Raj and Raut then made sure England didn't take any further wickets for a while with some solid strokeplay, seeing out Brunt and Elwiss's opening spell, 24-1 after 10 and then playing solidly against Marsh and Gunn, 59-1 after 20 overs. Raut then opened up, hitting 8 off Wyatt's 2nd over before combining with Raj to have 11 from a poor first over by Brindle, giving easy runs square of the wicket.
Raut passed 50 from 94 balls, before Hazell, the 7th bowler used, struck 2nd over, bowling Raut off stump for 60, 127-2 with 103 needed from 102 balls.
England needed to dismiss new batter Kaur and Raj fairly quickly from now on, but the bowling just wasn't effective, firstly Rak passed 50 from 76 balls then Kaur hit Marsh for four then six into the Tavern Stand as India needed 71 from the final 10 over with 8 wickets left. England tried to constrict the run rate, but Kaur found the Mound Stand boundary at square leg against Wyatt. Raj then chipped the ball just over Elwiss at midwicket, the last chance for England to win really. 18 from 18 and Kaur went to a run a ball 50 then top edged a massive sweep towards square leg where Brunt running round took a spectacular diving catch to give Hazell a deserved 2nd wicket.
Raj settled nerves by hitting the next ball for four to move into the 90s. Krishnamurthy swung at three in a row against Wyatt, scrambling back for the 2nd each time. With two needed to win and the field up Krishnamurthy's next heave went towards midwicket where Brunt (the only fielder outside the circle) took another great diving catch. This left Naik on strike for the final over from Hazell, and after swinging adn failing against the first two balls, the third was hit towards square leg and the batsmen charged through for the single, only for Gunn to pick up and hurl down the stumps at the bowlers end, Naik run out for nought. That got Raj on strike, and she dispatched the next ball over midwicket for four, to win by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare and finish with a player of the match winning 96 not out from 111 balls. Lord's now goes off limits due to the Olympics until August, an exciting game before the send off.

A Good Tayl(or)

The First half an afternoon of a t20 double header, England Women, already 1-0 up in their two match series, taking on India Women at Chelmsford.
India won the toss and batted, and were soon in a bit of trouble as Amita Sharma played and missed 3 of the first 5 balls from Katherine Brunt, before edging the sixth behind to Sarah Taylor for a duck. Poonam Raut and captain Mithali Raj then started a recovery, finding boundaries from Brunt and off spinners Danni Wyatt and Laura Marsh to take the score to 32-1 after the six over powerplay. Then a collapse ensued as Raj got in a tangle against Wyatt to thin edge to Taylor for an 18 ball 21. Then next over Harmanpreet Kaur played Holly Colvin into the covers and rejected the single with Raut halfway down, the throw from Susie Rowe was wide of the stumps, but Colvin managed to complete the run out whilst lying on the ground. This left India 38-3 and in danger of folding a low score.
Kaur and Mona Meshram scored fairly steadily though the middle overs, reaching 71-3 after 14 overs, with solid fielding from England keeping them down to mostly singles. Marsh, Colvin and Arran Brindle couldn't find the breakthrough and India looked to be stepping up the pace when Kaur got inside the line and swept Jenny Gunn high into the stands at square leg as nine came from the 15th over. Another big hit from Kaur off Colvin looked to be heading for six over midwicket, but Lydia Greenway dived, caught the ball, then threw it back onto the field before hitting the boundary, a fantastic bit of fielding that turned six into two and showed how well England were saving runs in the field. A wide from Brindle brought up the 50 partnership in the 17th over, but Meshram fell two balls for later for 17, skying high to Greenway at deep midwicket who took a good high catch, 89-4. Sulakshana Naik carted her first ball high for four, but was then run out for 8, failing to beat the throw from Charlotte Edwards to Taylor, 99-5 with two overs left.
Brunt then bowled an excellent final over, with Kaur trying to flick a yorker over fine leg from outside off, missing, and  being bowled for 34 from 38. only three more came from the over as Jhulan Goswami skied to Brindle and mid off for 2, Brunt finishing with 3-18 including a wicket maiden. Nagaranjan Niranjana hit four from Brindle, but the mad dash for runs brought three run outs to end the innings. Firstly Niranjana (8) hit to cover and was beaten by Marsh's throw to Taylor going for a 2nd run. Then Ekta Bisht (3) went after a good diving stop on the point boundary from Rowe was relayed by Wyatt to Taylor to beat out the attempted third run. Then Gouher Sultana's slap to long off was well fielded by Colvin to Brindle to run out Archana Das for 2, India finishing 114 all out.
England's reply began strongly as Edwards and Marsh looked to attack the bowling, but Edwards was almost out when Niranjana's strong appeal for caught behind was turned down, Edwards replied by smahing the next ball for four but was LBW next ball for 15 from 14, Niranjana leaping about wildly again in celebration this time. This brought in Taylor who, after hitting 60 in the first game, wanted more today, but had to wait before she could cut loose. England were 31-1 after the powerplay, fairly even with India and India would have felt they had a chance when Marsh (5) was run out by Bisht, who managed to deflect the return from Taylor onto the stumps, 32-2.
This brought in the other in form batter Greenway, who was promptly dropped by keeper Naik on 0, as she and Taylor started to take the game away from India as quick running between the wickets and a steady supply of boundaries sped the chase along. 58 came from the first 10 overs, and more came along quickly as Sultana's first two balls were powerfully smashed back over her head for four by Taylor. Another four from Greenway took the partnership past 50 from 41 balls in the 14th over. Taylor then reached her 2nd fifty of the series from 39 balls as the end came quickly. With the score on 113-2, Taylor flicked Das's medium pace high over midwicket for four to pull off an 8 wicket win with 17 balls to spare, Greenway 30 not out from 31 and Taylor 67 from 48 with nine fours, and she picked up the player of the match and series awards as England took the series 2-0.
Next up this evening was Essex taking on Sussex.

If a West Indies Team Bats Without Chanderpaul, Does It Score Any Runs?

The third day of the first test between England and the West Indies, England resuming overnight on 259-3, ahead by 16, with captain Strauss on 121 not out. Kemar Roach found some early movement, and had Strauss caught by Denesh Ramdin on review, which showed the inside edge. Jonny Bairstow then came in on debut to join Ian Bell, and played nicely for 16, though was nearly run out getting off the mark. He was LBW to Roach England wobbled, making a possible 450 much less likely. Matt Prior (19) then missed a drive to give Shannon Gabriel his first wicket in tests, charging off towards point to celebrate. Tim Bresnan (0) had a fatal waft outside off to be caught behind to give captain Darren Sammy his first wicket
Lunch then came at 341-7, but Stuart Broad was bowled by Fidel Edwards for 10 in the first over after lunch, 343-8. Bell finally found a reliable partner in Graeme Swann, and they added 55 in seven overs, Bell reaching fifty off 94 balls and Swann hitting six fours in a 25 ball 30, when Gabriel bowled him. Bell then was last out, looking to heave Gabriel into the Mound Stand, only to be well caught by Keiran Powell at deep square leg.
So 398 by England, a lead of 155 was good, but could have been much more, the pick of the bowlers being Gabriel (3-60) and Roach (3-108).
The West Indies reply started slowly, but saw off James Anderson and Broad without trouble, but the introduction of Bresnan started a slide, as Adrian Barath edged behind for 24, 36-1. Then 4 balls later, Powell pulled Broad straight to Bell at deep square leg, falling for an obvious ploy, 36-2. The chaos before tea was completed four balls later, as Darren Bravo played the ball to cover, Kirk Edwards set off for the single, Bravo didn't, the pair standing mid-pitch pointing and Edwards scramble back was wasted as Jonny Bairstow had picked up the ball and gunned down the middle stump, West Indies 36-3 and in chaos at tea.
After tea things got slightly better as Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Bravo looked to bat for some time in an effort to stop the slide, which they did, although Anderson dropped a flying chance at slip off Bresnan, the only chance Chanderpaul gave, as the intensity dropped with England scratching their heads as to how to prise them out. Swann eventually got the breakthrough, Bravo (21) leaving one that went down the slope and knocked back the off stump. 65-4, but Marlon Samuels and Chanderpaul managed to see out the rest of the day without any further trouble, 120-4, Chanderpaul 34 not out and Samuels 26 not out still trailing by 35.

Desert Dreams

Yes, I'm still about though not having any games to go to, I've written a preview of the Pakistan-England series.

So England begin their series against Pakistan tomorrow in the neutral UAE in what is the first test for their number one Test Ranking.

After hammering India 4-0 at home in the summer Andrew Strauss and co. are at first glance the favourites against Misbah-ul-Haq's men who are ranked 5th. But looking deeper into it Pakistan have been one of the most improved sides of the last year after the spot-fixing scandal and with the likes of Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal and all-round hero Mohammad Hafeez they have a strong spin attack and have played enough games in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to know that runs are their to be scored if you are prepared to wait for them.
England have looked shaky in their two warm-up games and have relied on 2nd innings runs and generous declarations to win. Alaistair Cook, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott have all been in great form for the past year but and it would be a surprise if they all failed to adapt to the conditions. That said, England have historically struggled in Asia and there is no better time than now to show they are truly the best team in the world.

The loss of Tim Bresnan for the whole series is a blow for England and has probably scuppered any immediate chance of Monty Panesar playing as a 2nd spinner with Graeme Swann, despite taking 5 against the PCB XI last week. Chris Tremlett will probably be the lucky bowler who gets in ahead of Steve Finn.

Both matches so far in Dubai have been fairly slow, low scoring affairs meaning that a patient start will be required and may not prove good for the likes of Strauss who hasn't scored a test hundred since Brisbane in 2010.

Umar Akmal is the future of Pakistan's batting and was one of the few stand out players from the disaster-thon of Pakistan's 2010 tour of England so ought to play ahead of Asad Shafiq.

England's fast bowlers won't be able to get away with bowling short on a slowish track so the likes of Anderson could prosper most. Umar Gul will lead the Pakistan bowling and his late swing could prove decisive with the older ball.

A draw may well be likely, but any small mistakes from either side could easily cost them the game and possibly the series.

First Test 17-21st January, Dubai
Second Test 25-29th January, Abu Dhabi
Third Test 3-7th February, Dubai.

Of Broad and The Wall

3rd day of the first Test between England and India at Lords. England had declared on 474-8 and India progressed along slowly from the England fast bowlers before Gautam Gambhir was bowled by Stuart Broad for 15. Abinhav Mukund then looked to force a ball from Broad to reach 50, only to chop it onto hit stumps for 49, leaving England 77-2. This left Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar batting together and they looked like they would tame the England attack and were 102-2 at lunch.
The pair brought up the 150 before Broad had Tendulkar well caught low down by Graeme Swann at slip. VVS Laxman came in and was dropped by Andrew Strauss at slip off Broad, then Dravid was dropped in the same over by Swann. These were the only real drops by England as Dravid then went to 50 before Laxman top edged to Trott at deep square leg. Suresh Raina then fell LBW to Swann for nought, 183-5. MS Dhoni then joined Dravid and took India to tea, 193-5.
After batting comfortably Dhoni then edged Chris Tremlett for Swann to take a diving catch to go for 28. Harbhajan Singh then edged to Matt Prior 2nd ball for nought, 240-7. Praveen Kumar started swinging merrily and reached 17 before he top edged Broad for Strauss to take a catch running back. Dravid then flicked to two, reached his hundred and let out a roar. Injured Zaheer Khan went for a duck to Anderson, then Ishant Sharma edged behind for the same score and India were 286 all out, Dravid finishing 103 not out. England saw off the final 5 overs without trouble.

Blackwell Blackout

The dry run for the Women's Quadrangular final at Lord's between England and Australia wasn't the spectacle it could have been as England folded and we were all done before the rain arrived at 4:30.
England won the toss, batted and were soon 18-1 as captain Charlotte Edwards was caught off Sarah Coyte for 2. Next over Laura Marsh also departed, caught at cover by Alex Blackwell after a juggle for 3. The 11th over brought the third wicketas Danielle Wyatt chipped to mid on off Clea Smith and Claire Taylor was bowled by Coyte for 0 to leave England 26-4.
Sarah Taylor and Lydia Greenway tried to steady the innings but Taylor fell LBW to Jess Cameron, the back-up keeper, for 11 to give her her first ODI wicket in her first spell. 54-5 after 18 made 200 look tough but Greenway and Arran Brindle batted well for 10 overs before Cameron made a diving catch at deep midwicket to get Brindle off Shelley Nitschke for 22. Nitschke then caught Greenway for the eventual top score of 34 to give Lisa Sthalekar an easy wicket. The third spinner, Erin Osborne then had Heather Knight caught behind for 13 leaving England 127-8 with 13 overs still to bat. Holly Colvin and Danielle Hazell added 34 for the ninth wicket before Sthalekar cleaned up with two wickets in two overs as Hazell(19) was caught by another diving catch from Cameron then Colvin was stumped by captain Jodie Fields for 29 to end the England innings for 168 with two overs left unbowled. The end would have been sooner had Meg Lanning not dropped a simple catch at cover, but other than that Australia fielded well and England's spinners would have to bowl as well if they were to have a chance.
England's demise was so quick that Australia had to bat for 30 minutes before lunch and after a couple of tight overs from Catherine Brunt and Brindle, all hell began to break loose. Nitschke and young prospect Meg Lanning surged to 42-0 after 10 overs with Lanning scoring 31.
Colvin bowled the first over after lunch from the Nursery end and had removed Lanning to a wild swing to the midwicket boundary where Brindle completed the catch. Lanning made 43 off 33 with 9 fours. This slowed the scoring and when Wyatt had Leah Poulton caught behind for a duck left Australia 59-2 and a possible collapse was on. The problem was that Nitschke and Blackwell are two of the most experienced players in the side and they took the game from England with a steady partnership that gradually sped up as England rotated seven bowlers with no effect. The 100 came up in the 23rd over and the 50 partnership 3 overs later.
Nitschke hit the only six of the match off Colvin into the Grand Stand in the 30th over soon followed by her 50 then Blackwell also passed the milestone. Nitschke couldn't quite last until the end as she was run out after a mix-up with Blackwell and Greenway, after a mis-field, managed to get the return to Sarah Taylor. 153-3 was a bit late and Cameron(10 not out) and Blackwell(54 not out) saw Australia home to win by 7 wickets with 15 overs remaining, just before the 4:30pm rain arrived.
Blackwell was given the match award in this one-sided hammering as the presentation took place in front of the pavilion with the crowd allowed on the outfield. Both these sides will meet again for the Quadrangular final on Thursday and England have to improve if it is to be a better contest.

Total Annihilation, Girl Style

To Chelmsford for the first of the T20 double header, the first game being England Women vs New Zealand Women for both teams first match in the Quadrangular series.
England won the toss and Charlotte Edwards decided to bowl first, with Arran Brindle making her comeback and the move looked good as New Zealand captain Amy Watkins was bowled for nought by Katherine Brunt in the first over, 1-1. Brindle bowled a tight over and after three NZ were only 8-1. Laura Marsh dropped a return catch from Amy Satterthwaite in the next over as she and Suzie Bates looked to be building a solid total. All that was about to end with Holly Colvin in the 8th over as Satterthwaite hit one to Danielle Wyatt for 14 and in her next over Bates was well caught at square leg by Claire Taylor for the top score of 23 to leave NZ 44-3 at the halfway point.
The innings then waned a bit and although Liz Perry was dropped at long-off, next ball Sara McGlashan chipped a catch back to Colvin and next over a mix-up allowed Colvin to throw from pont to keeper Sarah Taylor to run out Perry. Then 10 runs off the 15th over bowled by Jenny Gunn meant New Zealand might reach a good total but then Lucy Doolan was stumped by Sarah Taylor off Brindle for six and then Nicola Browne was lbw to Danielle Hazell for 13 three balls later to make it 67-7. Rachel Priest tried a bit hit and was brilliantly caught by a diving catch at deep midwicket by Lydia Greenway off Brindle. Hazell bagged her 2nd wicket and the innings ended when Sian Ruck was yorked by Brindle in the last over to leave New Zealand 83 all out, Colvin finishing with 3-17 and Brindle 3-11.
The difference between the sides was obvious as Browne, bowling the first over, went for 13 as Edwards and Marsh looked to get there quickly. Marsh was especially punishing was fours over midwicket and then a glorious smash over cover off Kate Broadmore. 42 came off 5 overs before Marsh gave the hard working Ruck her first wicket in an eventual wicket-maiden over. Edwards and Claire Taylor then took over the scoring and found the gaps off Ruck, Watkins and Bates as England were 67-1 after 10.
Taylor was unluckily run out backing up by some athletic fielding off her own bowling by Watkins, but it only delayed the inevitable as Edwards became the first woman to score 1000 international T20 runs and along with Greenway, they finished the came with a four off Bates in the 14th over to win by eight wickets. The pick of the bowlers was Ruck with 1-17 off her four overs.
Colvin was awarded with the match award for her bowling and fielding and for them it is off to Bristol for the 2nd matches in the Quadrangular series. For us it was Essex vs Hampshire up next.

The "Pane" of a Draw

Lord's- England vs Sri Lanka- fifth day- a possibly exciting if England could get a move on and score quickly to see if they could enduce another Cardiff-esqe collapse.
England resumed 149-2 with Alistair Cook and Kevin Pietersen batting. They started brightly enough mainly thanks to the continuous no-balling from Suranga Lakmal and Chanaka Welegedara. 48 runs came from the first eight overs and a big total and declaration looked likely. KP was scratchy but was scoring runs but these dried up with the introduction of Rangana Herath at the Nursery End who bowled a tight line.
The partnership passed 100 and then Herath stuck with an unplayable ball which gripped and spun from leg past Pietersen's forward jab and onto the off stump to bowl him for 72. This brought Ian Bell in who promptly smashed 15 off the last over before lunch bowled by Dilhara Fernando to leave England 260-3. Cook, mysteriously, had only scored 22 in the whole session which was odd given the position of the match.
After lunch, both batsmen started to go for more shots as the score raced past 300, helped out by poor fielding as Bell was dropped at long off. Cook then reached his 18th test 100 with a four before being stumped for the first time in first-class cricket for 106 off Herath. A collapse then ensued as quick runs were the order of the day as Eoin Morgan smacked one four before being caught at mid off. Matt Prior then came in and after a mix up with Bell was run out from a direct hit from Prasanna Jayawardene. Bell then reached his fifty off 40 balls before reverse paddling a four of Herath before Fernando got rid of Broad caught behind at which point the declaration came at 335-7, leaving Sri Lanka needing 343 off 59 overs, or just not to collapse to defeat.
With Dilshan injured, Sangakkara opened the batting with Tharanga Paranavitana. Sanga hit two fours off Chris Tremlett before carving one to point where Morgan took the catch, a collapse may ensue perhaps? Mahela Jayawardene saw things through to tea.
England came out on full attack but they failed to dislodge the pair, until Broad induced a poor shot from Jayawardene who was well caught by Pietersen to his left at fourth slip. This kept things interesting and England could have had another wicket but Thilan Samaraweera reviewed an lbw shout by Graeme Swann that wasn't ever going to hit the stumps.
Jonathon Trott proved an unlikely success when he came on to bowl and in his 2nd over, Paranavitana was stuck in line and after a long, pleading, appeal was given out, he reviewed it, but was sent packing for 44, a grittyeffort when the team needed it.
After that the game ground towards a draw and apart from a five wides ball from Steve Finn and a one-minute over from KP the draw was confirmed just after 6pm with Sri Lanka 127-3.
The unlikely moment of the day came after Prior was run out, he stormed into the dressing room and a few seconds later there was a crash of glass as a dressing room window was broken. Prior had to apologise to the members before England went out to field and an ECB statement first said it was his glove that broke the window before eventually admitting it was his bat.

Oh Lord, What a Day

So, to Lord's for the 2nd day of England vs Sri Lanka. There was almost a full house to greet Stuart Broad and Matt Prior as they resumed with England on 342/6. Almost immediately the pair set about frustrating the bowlers by launching two fours in the first over as runs arrived easily, showing that some of the England wickets were due to bad batting rather than good bowling. Broad reached 50 off 47 balls before Prior went to his hundred off 107 balls to a standing ovation, albeit slightly lucky, having been dropped by Mahela Jayawardene on 94 and again on 99. Finally a wicket came as Chanaka Welegedara trapped Broad LBW for 54. In the eight overs 68 had come off 49 balls. Graeme Swann fell in the same over, however, for four to leave England 414-8.
Chris Tremlett joined Prior and they hit their way along merrily and the 450 arrived then Prior attempted to mow Rangana Herath into the Tavern Stand, and was bowled for 126. The last wicket still eluded them as Steve Finn joined Tremlett and they hit England to 486 and on the stroke of lunch Finn went the same way as Prior for 19, leaving Tremleet unbeaten on 24, Welegedara finishing with 4-122.
After lunch it was Sri Lanka's turn and Paranavitana and captain Dilshan, led a responce with the help of a mis-firing England attack. Paranavitana blocked and Dilshan playing loosely, didn't quite find the edge, although a top edge just evaded the sub fielder and went for six. Nothing went England's way and this was summed up when Finn finally found an edge of Paranavitana, only for Cook to spill a simple catch at third slip. Dilshan went to 50 off 58 balls and the hundred was up at tea with Sri Lanka 101-0.
After tea, Dilshan then proceeded to smack Swann for his 2nd six into the pavilion, felling a spectator. More of the same as none of Broad, Tremlett, Finn, Swann or even Kevin Pietersen, couldn't find a way through the openers. The aerial bombing approach of three tall bowlers wasn't working at all due to a poor line and a lifeless pitch as Paranavitana reached his 50 off 141 balls. Then Dilshan smacked one through the covers off Finn as he went to his first hundred as captain off only 129 balls.
With England running out of ideas, Dilshan inside edged the ball past the stumps for four off Finn, but his luck would finally change. In the next over from the Nursery end Pranavitana, on 64, edged again, and this time it flew to Andrew Strauss who clung on for his 99th test catch to break the partnership at 207, a record for Sri Lanka against England.
Sangakkara and Dilshan saw out the last nine overs so that Sri Lanka closed on 231-1, still 255 behind, but with lots of batting still to come, the match could have an interesting finish.