Atapattu eyes another double century

It probably took England just four balls and a couple of minutes to realise they were in trouble.

Sri Lankan opener Marvan Atapattu drove Andy Caddick for the first runs in the opening over of the first Test at Lord's on Thursday and English heads dropped a notch. It was clearly going to be a long day.

Atapattu, axed earlier this year because of his age before being recalled on a wave of public indignation, has a reputation of dealing in ducks or double centuries.

There has never been much middle ground for a 31-year-old who began his career with five noughts in six innings and who has since turned five of his nine previous Test centuries into doubles.

Sri Lanka ended Thursday on 314 for three. Atapattu, who put on 206 with Mahela Jayawardene (107) for the third wicket, was on 133 runs and 264 balls and six hours and 24 minutes not out, his bat looking as wide as a barn door.

As so often, Atapattu provided a prosaic counterpoint to the strokemakers around him.

Sanath Jayasuriya had scored two pretty boundaries before running himself out risking a third run on Michael Vaughan's arm to make it 38 for one and wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara, hesitating between a drive and a cut, departed cheaply, edging Matthew Hoggard to Flintoff in the slips.

The rest of the day was dominated by the third-wicket partnership.

LABOURING ATTACK

The pair looked in complete control against an increasingly labouring seam attack as the early movement through the air and off the pitch evaporated in the sunshine.

Atapattu, standing tall and hitting straight, shares the qualities of England's recently retired Michael Atherton.

Jayawardene plays with more wrist, hits later and does not look English at all.

With two centuries on tour before Lord's, he brought up his team's three figures by flicking Caddick to the square leg fence just before lunch.

He completed the century stand and his own 50 with a swivel and pull to the same boundary off Andrew Flintoff but paid for the audacity as the bowler cracked him on the hip bone.

Backed by a runner, however, he continued to score freely on one leg, favouring the pull, hook and drive before, exhausted, chipping Flintoff to short-midwicket.

Atapattu -- middle name Samson -- dug himself into the Lord's wicket at the other end. When you take seven years to establish yourself in a Test side, you tend to value every opportunity.

There had been one major scare.

On 46 he chanced a sharp single, only surviving because of inconclusive television pictures as Vaughan, patrolling the gully, threw down the stumps.

He ruined England's day on Thursday. Past evidence suggests he will ruin their Friday as well.

Also read:
- Atapattu, Jayawardene flay England attack

Mail Cricket Editor