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Plays of the day
Jayasuriya's bash and Cook's klutzy misfield
Andrew Miller in Kandy
December 3, 2007
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One that spun the other way - Collingwood was confounded by Murali's 709th
© AFP
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Ball of the day
There are no contenders bar Muttiah Muralitharan's record-breaking
delivery to Paul Collingwood. His sense of theatre seemed to have
deserted him at the start of play, when England fended him out of the
attack with an hour-and-a-half of the most defiant accumulation
imaginable. But four balls of his second spell were all that Murali
required to eclipse Shane Warne's landmark of 708 victims, and plant a
flag at the summit that may never be removed. It was a sizzling
delivery as well - according to the man itself, he meant to tweak it
one way, but turned it the other instead. No wonder Collingwood was
confounded.
Over of the day
Sanath Jayasuriya's Test career hangs in the balance, if the
speculation is to be believed, but if that is the case then he signed
off in style with his best performance for more than three years. When
James Anderson served him up six deliveries in the slot, he lambasted
the lot of them, and momentarily transformed the contest into one of
his favoured one-day internationals. He survived a screeching slash
that burst through Ian Bell's hands at slip, but his other five shots
were trademark brutality. Only once before in Tests has such treatment
been meted out to every ball of an over - Chris Gayle did the same to
Matthew Hoggard at The Oval in 2004.
Gesture of the day
It was an exit that brought to mind Mike Atherton's sheepish departure
at The Oval in 2001. No-one knows for sure that this is his last game,
but the way Jayasuriya shyly saluted his standing ovation was telling
in the extreme. As he reached the rope, he was met with a pat on the
shoulder and a semi-embrace by the incoming batsman, Kumar Sangakkara,
before Sri Lanka's uber-fan, Percy Abeysekera, chaperoned him to the
pavilion steps beneath a giant national flag. Watch this space, would
appear to be the message.
Chant of the day
The Barmy Army aren't often drowned out by the home support, but this
was no ordinary day. Murali's personal skiffle band were parked
beneath the Old Trinitians' clubhouse and sang hosannahs to their king
all day long, which meant the English contingent couldn't help but
sound muted in comparison. But they did find their voice briefly -
albeit in a less than complementary fashion - when their new batting
hero, Ryan Sidebottom, popped down to field in front of them at fine
leg. "He bats at No. 8 ..." was the polite half of the rhyme, as
Sidebottom, to his credit, responded with a broad grin and a tap of
applause.
Improbable innings of the day
Sidebottom's stickability turned out to be a sign of things to come
for England, as the pitch went flat and the Sri Lankan batsmen piled
on the runs in their second innings. But it was no less valuable for
that. His career-best 31 was the dominant share of a 57-run stand for
the seventh wicket with Collingwood, and helped to bely the crippling
weakness of England's tail. No shot all innings was sweeter than his
clip through midwicket off Murali, which was one of only four
boundaries he conceded in a marathon 35 overs.
Misfield of the day
Despite his youthful athleticism, Alastair Cook is not renowned as
England's best fielder - and he further dented his reputation with a
klutzish - and painful - effort in the gully. Jayasuriya went for one
of his favourite off-side clobbers off Anderson, and belted the ball
firmly into the turf. The ball reared up at pace, only for Cook to
stretch out his hand and deflect the ball straight into his cheek. It
looked nasty for a moment, but he was grinning sheepishly by the time
he was led from the field for a check-up by the physio.
Memento of the day
As if confirmation were needed that the current Murali-mania is not
confined to his home town, Sri Lanka's media-manager provided it
anyway shortly after the record had been broken. He passed through the
press box handing out sets of commemorative stamps, 12 to a set,
proclaiming their man as the new world-record holder. With all this
fate-tempting going on, it's incredible that the Gods kept their
interventions so low-key.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo
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