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Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI v England XI, Colombo, 2nd day
Kapugedera and Kandamby make England sweat
Andrew Miller at Colombo CC
November 21, 2007
Sri Lanka Board President's XI 500 for 5 dec (Kapugedera 141, Tharanga 112, Kandamby 107*) v England
Scorecard
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Chamara Kapugedera put England to the sword with 141
© AFP
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Steve Harmison had to wait until the 119th over of the Sri Lankan innings to make his long-awaited tour debut, after a farcical kit delay scuppered his chances of a lengthy work-out at the Colombo Cricket Club. The situation typified another frustrating day for England's cricketers, who were made to toil for their breakthroughs as Chamara Kapugedera and Thilina Kandamby both emulated Upul Tharanga in reaching three figures.
The Sri Lankan Board President's XI eventually declared on 500 for 5, after Kandamby had brought up his century with a cut off James Anderson. Moments later the rains arrived with seasonal predictability to deny England the immediate prospect of a response with the bat. Instead, they were left to mull over a performance that had been several notches short of the intensity they will require when the first Test begins at Kandy on December 1.
The pick of the attack on the second day was Matthew Hoggard. Though he momentarily lost his run-up during the first day's play, he was back to his frugal and well-grooved best this time around, and made the only breakthrough of the morning session. Tharanga, who had been 92 not out overnight, brought up his hundred in the sixth over but then fell to Hoggard's fifth ball of the morning, as he steered a lifting delivery to Ravi Bopara in the gully.
That was as good as the day got for England, however. Kapugedera and Kandamby combined in a fourth-wicket stand of 142 in 29 overs, and took particular delight in wrecking the figures of the spinners Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann. Both batsmen enjoyed a stroke of good fortune - on 88, Kapugedera was dropped at deep midwicket by Swann off Panesar as he skied an attempted pull, while Kandamby, on 35, appeared to edge Stuart Broad through to the keeper, Phil Mustard, but the umpire turned down a vociferous appeal.
Kapugedera rushed to his century with consecutive slog-sweeps for four and six, although Swann belatedly had his revenge when Owais Shah clung on to a miscued pull at deep midwicket. At 2.30pm, an hour after the lunch break, Harmison's bowling boots finally arrived from the airport and he was instantly brought into the attack. His first over contained two no-balls, and he went on to bowl six in all, as well as a wide, in a performance that was intermittently hostile but all-too-often lacking in direction.
With the clouds looming and Kandamby moving inexorably towards his century, it seemed for a while that Harmison's stint would be curtailed by either rain or a declaration, but in the end there was time for him to send down a six-over spell that went for 48 runs, comfortably the least economical of the innings. There is plenty work still to be done before England's attack is ready for the Test series.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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