Cook revives England in 2nd Test

Hosts recover from poor start on the opening day.

LONDON:

Alastair Cook was dismissed four runs short of his sixth hundred in nine Tests but England recovered well from a poor start to post 222 for five with 25 overs remaining on the opening day of the second Test.

Sri Lanka, 1-0 down in this three-match series after an innings and 14-run loss in the first Test in Cardiff, where Cook made 133, enjoyed a sensational start at the ‘home of cricket’ after winning the toss.

They reduced England to 22 for three, with captain Andrew Strauss (four) and Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen (both two) all out in single figures.

Cook and Ian Bell, who also made a hundred in Cardiff, staunched the flow of wickets with a fourth-wicket partnership of 108 before the Warwickshire right-hander fell for 52.

Morgan, one of three men in England’s line-up playing on their Middlesex home ground, added typical impetus by lofting left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for the first six of the match.

Cook, whose 766 runs at 127.66 with three hundreds made him the rock of England’s batting during their 3-1 Ashes series win in Australia, carried on in typically unfussy style.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2011.