Sri Lanka strike after posting huge total

Sri Lanka, fired by Marvan Atapattu's 185, amassed 555 for eight in the first Test against England before snapping up a quick wicket on Friday to leave the home side facing a marathon rearguard action to save the match.

Sri Lanka, ranked third in the world and chasing a 10th Test win in a row, left England with eight overs to negotiate after the declaration before removing Marcus Trescothick just before the close of the second day.

The left-handed opener had survived a loud lbw appeal from left-arm pace bowler Nuwan Zoysa and miscued a drive over gully before he prodded forward and was caught off the same bowler at slip as England closed on 27 for one.

Sri Lanka's batsmen had dominated most of the day, as they had on Thursday

It was the eighth time in their last 10 Tests that they had passed 500 in their first innings as an increasingly frustrated home team, their bowling short on variation, control and ideas, failed to break through.

The rock-solid Atapattu, 133 overnight out of a total of 314 for three, added 52 more runs before, hurried by swing bowler Dominic Cork, he hooked the ball straight to Trescothick at fine leg to make it 407 for four just before lunch.

He fell just short of a sixth Test double century after eight-and-a-quarter hours at the crease, during which he faced 351 balls and hit 96 in fours.

Atapattu, who put on 206 with the scintillating Mahela Jayawardene for the third wicket on Thursday, added 146 for the fourth with Aravinda de Silva, who made 88.

England, however, despite the favourable batting conditions, had themselves to blame for some of their problems.

TONE SET

Skipper Nasser Hussain had set the tone by dropping de Silva off an Andrew Flintoff no-ball.

Flintoff then spilled Atapattu on 163 off Matthew Hoggard as he dived across his captain from second slip before missing a head-high chance in the same position from de Silva, then on 43, off Andy Caddick.

England finally checked the innings as three wickets fell for 13 runs either side of tea.

Russel Arnold and de Silva, set to become the third century-maker of the innings, were both dismissed with the score on 492.

Arnold -- the only batsman in the top seven not to have made a Test double century -- scored 50 before top-edging a cut off Hoggard straight to Trescothick's at third man.

Veteran De Silva then gloved Cork behind down the leg side and Chaminda Vaas quickly mis-drove the same bowler to Trescothick in the slip cordon, giving Cork -- later to limp off with a groin problem -- his third wicket and the fielder his fourth catch.

The innings ended in strange circumstances, however, with Hashan Tillekaratne, their last recognised batsman, inexplicably taking two hours and 74 balls to cobble together 17 not out with the declaration expected.

England now face a long battle to avoid defeat, although a fine batting strip and the absence of Sri Lanka's injured off- spinner Muttiah Muralitharan suggest they could yet force a stalemate in the first match of the three-Test series.

Mail Cricket Editor