ENG vs SL, 2nd Test, Day 5

England declared their second innings on 335-7 to set Sri Lanka an unlikely 343 to win the second Test at Lord's or, more realistically, 58 overs to survive for a draw.

Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan was unable to open the batting due to the broken thumb he suffered making his first-innings 193, so Kumar Sangakkara was promoted to open the innings.

Dilshan will only bat if "absolutely necessary".

Earlier, Alastair Cook completed his third century in his last four Test innings, sixth in his last 12 and 18th in total before a quickfire 57 not out from Ian Bell allowed Andrew Strauss to declare and go for another memorable last-day victory in a game that seemed, like Cardiff before Sri Lanka's astonishing collapse, to have been ruined by the weather.

LUNCH REPORT

Kevin Pietersen fell short of an overdue home hundred as he and Alastair Cook tried to jockey a position for an unlikely victory on the final day .

Pietersen (72) and Cook shared a stand of 127 to help England move from a start-of-play 149 for two to 260 for three, and an overall lead of 267, by lunch at Lord's.

The prospect of an individual century was especially notable for each player, for contrasting reasons.

But Pietersen, who has not made a century on home soil since 2008 against South Africa at The Oval in his first match as captain, eventually fell yet again to left-arm spin.

It required a fine delivery from Rangana Herath - turning one sharply from leg stump to beat a forward-defensive lunge, hit off and complete Pietersen's 20th Test dismissal to the same style of bowling.

Cook, meanwhile, is enjoying years of plenty - and another hundred at Lord's would be his third in four Test innings, a sequence interrupted only by his mere 96 here four days ago.

It seemed for a time that both, or at least one, of England's third-wicket pair would be celebrating by lunch as they set out with initial intent on a tempo which might aid a declaration before tea.

The strokeplay came principally from Pietersen, but Cook was on message too with some urgency between the wickets at least.

Successive driven fours, past mid-off and then back past the bowler, were the most memorable of six boundaries in Pietersen's 85-ball 50.

There were minor moments of fortune for each player, Pietersen edging a four down the leg-side through wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene's fingertips on 54 off Dilhara Fernando and Cook then nicking one from Herath for another lucky boundary past leg-stump in the next over.

In between, the century stand came up, and there was a suggestion of desperation when Sri Lanka reviewed a highly optimistic lbw/bat-pad appeal by Herath against Pietersen on 64.

As hundreds began to loom for both players, a caution - which was at odds with the match situation - appeared to creep in.

Sri Lanka's bowlers increasingly gave little away; the run rate slowed, and the chances of England pressing seriously for victory receded.

Pietersen's departure shortly before the end of the session was a personal setback but did not significantly hinder his team, because Ian Bell came in and hit three of his first seven balls for four.

Click here for Day Four report

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ENG vs SL, 2nd Test, Day 4:

Rain prevented any play in the morning session on Day Four of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord's, with the umpires taking an early lunch.

That means if there is no further rain, play could start immediately after the break pending a further inspection from the umpires.

An improving forecast for the afternoon suggests plenty of play could still be possible but, because the teams were also kept off the field by bad weather for almost two full sessions on Sunday, the prospect of a positive result is diminishing.

Sri Lanka have reached 372 for three in their first-innings reply to England's 486 - and with under two days' play remaining, it was increasingly hard to see either team forcing a result.

England currently lead the three-match npower series 1-0.
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Dilshan misses double ton at Lord's

ENG vs SL, 2nd Test, Day 3

Tillakaratne Dilshan ploughed on towards a maiden double-century as Sri Lanka begins to close in on England's 486 on Day 3 of the second Test at Lord's.

Dilshan (187no), showing no signs of discomfort from the thumb injury he suffered yesterday, began on an overnight 127 and was still in situ in a lunchtime 344 for two.
The Lankan skipper was accompanied first by Kumar Sangakkara and then Mahela Jayawardene as England managed just one wicket in the session, despite the advantages of today's cloudier skies and a second new ball.
Sangakkara steadfastly reprised the anchor role played so long by Tharanga Paranavitana.
Doubtless anxious to improve his Test record in England, which is nowhere near as impressive as elsewhere over the past decade, the former captain left all the strokeplay to Dilshan.
He mustered only four fours and eventually fell to the second new ball, edging Chris Tremlett behind as he pushed forward, having registered a strike rate of under 28 from 93 deliveries.
As long as Dilshan was there, though, it did not matter if runs came slowly at the other end.
With Sangakkara just gone, he passed his previous career-best of 168 with a crunching pull for four off Stuart Broad.
There appeared to be a little more in the pitch than yesterday, and a suspicion of swing too.
England's pace attack beat the bat regularly but were struggling for the required consistency, dropping on to the pads too often and testing wicketkeeper Matt Prior with their faulty lines too.
Dilshan left especially well against Broad from the nursery end and kept on carving his runs, mainly through the off-side, whenever England gave him the opportunity.
Jayawardene did well to ride some extra bounce from Broad to keep the ball short of Graeme Swann at second slip, and kept pace with Dilshan in another unbroken 50 stand.
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Dilshan leads Sri Lanka's fightback

ENG vs SL, 2nd Test, Day One

Sri Lanka have won the toss and will bowl first against England in the second Test at Lord's on Friday.

Steven Finn returned for his first Test of the year, on his home ground, as England predictably selected the tallest pace attack in history against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

Finn was preferred to the uncapped Jade Dernbach for this second of three matches in the npower series, which England lead 1-0 after their innings victory in Cardiff.

England found themselves batting first, though, after Sri Lanka surprisingly chose to bowl on a glorious morning but on a pitch still tinged with green.

The tourists persisted, as they had promised, with a five-man attack - bringing in a fit-again Dilhara Fernando and left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara in place of spinner Ajantha Mendis and bowling all-rounder Thisara Perera.
TEAMS
England: AJ Strauss (captain), AN Cook, IJL Trott, KP Pietersen, IR Bell, EJG Morgan, MJ Prior†, SCJ Broad, GP Swann, CT Tremlett, ST Finn
   
Sri Lanka: NT Paranavitana, TM Dilshan (captain), KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene, TT Samaraweera, HAPW Jayawardene†, MF Maharoof, UWMBCA Welegedara, HMRKB Herath, CRD Fernando, RAS Lakmal