ENGLAND V SRI LANKA IST TEST DEC 1ST TO DEC 5TH 2007

The boys are back in white and the series kicks off in Kandy, Sri Lanka which just happens to be Muttiah Muralitharans home ground as he attempts to break the Test wickets record.

Day 1 England bowl superbly to restrict Sri Lanka to 188. Matthew Hoggard is his usual dogged self as he takes 4 for 29 and is ably backed up by Monty.It could have been even better as the Sri Lankans were 42 for 5.

Day 2 England stutter after being 107 for 1, they end the day 186 for 6 still 2 behind Sri Lanka, Ian Bell once again shows he is becoming a World class batsmen by top scoring, Matt Priors place in the team must be under some scrutiny though. Heavy rain stops proceedings early.

Day 3 England fight back as Collingwood and Sidebottom dig in but the day belongs to Muralitharan as he becomes the leading Test wicket taker of all time and in another twist Jayasuriya announces his retirement from Test Cricket.

Day 4 Sri Lanka basically bat England out of the game and Day 5 is definitely going to be a struggle, add to this, Matthew Hoggards injury which could spell bad news for the rest of the tour.

Day 5 England once again come up short, its left to Bell and Prior to stave off defeat but although they both bat very well, they agonisingly fail to see out the overs. First blood to the Sri Lankans, but all in all a very interesting Test. Just worth a note about the amazing menagerie of animals involved in this test, dogs, Monkeys and a swarm of insects.