da 888casino： It turned out into a thrilling Test match but Sri Lanka departed fortressGalle without their now customary early series win
Wisden Cricinfo Staff09-Dec-2003It turned out into a thrilling Test match but Sri Lanka departed fortressGalle without their now customary early series win. England, understandably,were overjoyed and Sri Lanka’s sense of frustration and disappointment waspalpable. But there is no reason for them being so.© Getty ImagesAs new coach John Dyson has been at pains to point out, Sri Lanka dominatedthe match. England’s tenaciousness kept them within sight but they werealways behind the eight ball. Were it not for poor weather and some verypoor umpiring, Sri Lanka would be 1-0 up.Some pundits have criticised Sri Lanka for their slow batting on day four.The criticism is harsh. Scoring runs was never easy, as the England’sspinners did bowl well, and Mahela Jaywardene was under pressure after arelatively lean spell during the last 18 months.Moreover, if rain had not washed out 31 overs on the fourth afternoon therewould have been plenty of time to force a win. You can take account of theweather but only to an extent. It is an uncontrollable factor not easilypredicted in a tropical country like Sri Lanka.Even considering the loss of valuable time, Sri Lanka would surely havewrapped up an important victory had they not been at the receiving end ofthe bulk of the bad decisions. England suffered too, the most glaringmistake being Marcus Trescothick’s caught behind decision in the firstinnings, but Sri Lanka have every reason to be peeved.The last day was littered with umpiring blunders: Dinusha Fernando hadMichael Vaughan caught off glove first ball of the day, Gareth Batty wascaught at bat-pad off a thick edge early on in his important rearguardeffort, and Ashley Giles should have been send packing at twice whenpalpably lbw in the last session.The most bizarre decision though was third umpire Gamini Silva’s not outcall just before tea when Sri Lanka claimed a catch off Paul Collingwood,who then went onto bat for nearly three hours. Darryl Harper referred thedecision to double check whether it was a bump ball, which replays showed itwasn’t, but Silva pressed the green button.Replays proved less conclusive as to whether the ball hit the toe or bat (orboth), but that should not have been Silva’s concern. The playingregulations are crystal clear. The third umpire may decide on whether thecatch was taken clearly or whether it was a bump ball. The television umpireis not there to make a judgment on whether the ball touched the bat.Sri Lanka were seething afterwards and with good reason. They are in theprocess of making a full complaint to the ICC. The fear is that theone-sided nature of the decision-making has created the potential for anexplosive test match in Kandy. Don’t be surprised if there’s excessiveappealing by both sides.The important thing from Sri Lanka’s point of view is to focus on theupcoming match. The good news is that they appear upbeat and positive, happyto see their prize spinner back taking a hatful of wickets and pleased towatch Jayawardene bat himself into form. Expect another closely fought Testin Kandy – and the now normal dollop of hillcountry controversy.