Andy Pakes looks at the emergence of Australia's James Pattinson and compares him to his England-capped brother Darren.
Sam Holloway looks at why test match cricket is not going to become extinct just yet
Manraj Bahra looks at the subtle differences between the forms of cricket and how teams shouldn't look to pick the same players in all forms.
Sports Editor James Tompkinson looks at the continuing problem of corruption within cricket as the cases of three Pakistani cricketers accused of spot fixing comes to an end
The game had seemingly been heading into a dull draw, with rain ensuring Sri Lanka had only to bat 50 overs in reasonable conditions to see out the game. But after a superb opening spell saw Chris Tremlett claim both openers, Sri Lanka panicked and their innings capitulated. Even the experienced heads of Mahela Jayawardene (15) and Kumar Sangakkara (14) fell foul, and with the rocks of their batting line-up dismissed Sri Lanka succumbed to a disastrous defeat in front of an almost empty stadium.
Credit should not be taken away from England’s bowlers, who having lost James Anderson to injury in the first innings were given no hope of victory by the time Sri Lanka’s 2nd innings began shortly after 3.00pm. Tremlett (40-4) was particularly impressive, ripping through the top order to set up victory, and Graeme Swann bowled superbly too with figures of 16-4.
Remarkably, England’s win by an innings and 14 runs is the fifth time in the last seven matches that they have claimed an innings victory and is testament to the ruthlessness and sheer dominance of the current team. Even with victory apparently impossible, their confidence was such that they delivered, with a winning mentality that English cricket has not had for decades.
The batting line up too looked very strong, with Alistair Cook (133) and Ian Bell (103) both posting centuries. Again though it was Jonathan Trott who amassed the most runs, scoring 203 to bring his test average up to a huge 67, bettered only by the great Don Bradman. Trott has been an invaluable find for England, possessing both the technique and mental toughness to bat for hours on end without ever offering his wicket.
Without the recently retired pair Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s attack was toothless, allowing England to make a domineering 496. Although bad weather meant that little time was left for England to press home their advantage, as it turned out little time was enough to claim the first test of the series.
I would argue that this was one of England's greatest wins in recent years. While it may not have compared with the significance of some of the Ashes wins last winter, it shows that England never give up or stop fighting for victories, even when it seems impossible.
To be honest it's what the great Australian sides of the past used to do, gain victories from seemingly impossible positions. I can remember in Adelaide in the 2006/07 Ashes when England were nailed on certainties to win that game and we ended up losing. You just don't seem to see that sort of thing from England under Strauss and Flower, and I think that all the ingredients are there for England to have another good year and become the best Test match team in the world.
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