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First Test: England forced to follow on as Sri Lanka expose old flaws

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It was a jolly good thing that England picked a wise, experienced side with the stated objective of winning the First npower Test and ensuring a flying start to the summer. Had the selectors put their trust in callow youth, as everybody else suggested, the upshot might have been calamitous.

As it was, matters turned out merely to be disastrous yesterday. The side, who were unfairly and misguidedly dubbed Dad's Army after the recall of three players ­ but in truth were never as organised as that ­ plumbed depths not seen in this country since, well, since last summer.

Then, Australia poured humiliation on indignity. But the opposition now are Sri Lanka, officially the third best side in the world but minus their wizard, Muttiah Muralitharan, and therefore presumed to be as efficient as the sorcerer's apprentice. If Mr Mainwaring doesn't panic, somebody else might like to start.

One name that springs to mind in this regard is David Graveney, the chairman of selectors. He might only be the front- man for teams that take the field, but this is not the first time in his tenure that England have come apart at the seams while simultaneously collapsing in a heap.

They were forced to follow on 280 runs behind Sri Lanka's formidable total of 555. By the close they had reached 53 for 0, which left them another 227 adrift with two full days left. The pitch is still good to firm, as they might say in racing circles, but there are signs of uneven bounce.

England must bat about five times as well as they did for most of yesterday when they succumbed to Sri Lanka's chorus-line seamers, whose threat was deemed to be innocuous, but only if they performed at their peak. In the event, they were disciplined, rotated expertly and exploited both the vagaries of the surface and England's grotesque performance.

Only the questions over the legality of the action of the left-arm fourth seamer, Ruchira Perera, can have removed the gilt from the tourists' gingerbread. They will certainly be raised again this summer. He was warned during his spell for running on the pitch, but the evidence was there for everybody's eyes that this may be the least of his problems. It should not, however, have ruined a wonderful exhibition of team play, one that contrasted starkly with that of the home side.

On the first day, England bowled poorly in the face of some brilliant Sri Lankan batting, but their batsmanship in response merely compounded previous follies. They were as impatient as they were shoddy in execution.

Under the leadership of Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher, England have improved markedly. But throughout this match they have simply not been good enough, and never mind that they are against a team with nine consecutive Test victories.

It has been the most inept and lethargic exhibition since Hussain assumed the captaincy. He will be having words, but words alone may not be enough. As for Fletcher, he is renowned for his calmness in adversity, but sang-froid has its limits.

The trouble was that those batsmen who got in, got out when they should not have done. England seemed to have been over-egging the pudding by selecting eight batsmen, all with Test hundreds, for this match. As it turned out, 11 might not have done.

Sri Lanka's deceptively gentle attack had a moderate start to the day but gradually they found their line and remained patient. If Perera's action was dubious it had no effect on England's approach to their task. The fielding was adept and keen. Crucially, the Sri Lankans held on to their catches.

In every department of the game, England have been outplayed here. Had they picked a side with an eye to the future instead of choosing short-term pragmatism, forgiveness might have been a factor. As it is, only blame can be apportioned ­ on players and selectors in about equal measure.

From the start of the third day, it was an occasion for consolidation. A game for which a team had been specifically chosen to win was now there to be saved. England needed 356 merely to make the tourists bat again.

The initial quality of the Sri Lankan bowling suggested that this was eminently within England's grasp, but there could be no question of proceeding with unbridled panache. Care not flair had to be the motif which guided England's innings.

Much had been made of the statistic that Sri Lanka had made more than 500 in seven first innings in winning their last nine Tests. This was seven more times than England had managed during their last nine. Not to worry. At least they had twice surpassed 356. One down overnight, theyneeded to reach lunch intact.

Not even the delay of 20 minutes in starting could help them. Mark Butcher had played an attractive shot or two, as is his wont, when he essayed a drive at Buddika Fernando and was well caught by Mahela Jayawardene, thrusting both hands sharply to his right at third slip.

But England now dug in. It seemed for a while, long enough to grow almost complacent, that Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain would see England out of the woods. Vaughan played some corking shots, the odd leg-glide, a pull or two and two lovely cover-drives. Hussain, shaky early on, was soon assertive, pulling with particular venom. The ball was growing older. The Sri Lankans would surely grow weary of this.

Early in the afternoon Hussain pushed at one going across him and Kumar Sangakkara plunged to his right to hold on. It was up to Vaughan now to anchor the innings. Surely this was still no big deal for England.

Despite Vaughan's obvious class, the big breakthrough has eluded him. He has a couple of box-office hits behind him and vast star potential, but he remains on the B list. This is a big summer for him.

Bigger now. He had batted four hours and faced 148 balls for 64, figures which state categorically that he was booking in for bed and breakfast when he checked out early in a moment of madness. A hook resulted in a limp-looking top edge.

To the next ball, the batsmen having crossed, Graham Thorpe was leg before, maybe misjudging the length and partly undone by the low bounce. Suddenly there was big trouble, suddenly perky Perera was on a hat-trick.

Alec Stewart coped assuredly with the hat-trick ball but was not around for long. John Crawley pushed one on the off-side and called for a quick single. Did the man realise how old the fellow at the other end is? Stewart was not in the frame for the run-out slo-mo.

Inevitability was now in the air. Andrew Flintoff feathered a drive behind and Dominic Cork prodded at his third ball. Andrew Caddick was also caught behind when Perera returned. Crawley, who was crazily turning down singles, was also caught behind to give Sangakkara his fifth catch.

Marcus Trescothick and Vaughan survived the 16.5 overs to the close, but that could not disguise a dreadful day for the side and the men who selected them.