da bet vitoria： Andrew Miller picks out the plays of the day from the opening exchanges between England and Sri Lanka in Kandy
da aviator aposta： Andrew Miller in Kandy01-Dec-2007
It was Matthew Hoggard’s day and he made sure his young baby back home wasn’t forgotten © Getty Images
Spell of the day
Matthew Hoggard’s incredible new-ball onslaught. His 5 for 25 in lastweek’s Colombo warm-up looked at the time like an anomaly. In fact, itwas a return to normal service for a fast bowler whose record on thesubcontinent (47 wickets at 26.11) now ranks up there with the very,very best. There was the merest hint of movement in the morning, butthat’s all he needed, as he nibbled away at that off stump and let SriLanka’s frailties do the rest.Dismissal of the day
Any of Hoggard’s might compete for the honour, but the best of thebunch was a perfect length delivery that drew Mahela Jayawardene intoa fateful dab. The ball deviated maybe half a bat’s width, but as thegreat Glenn McGrath always professed, infinitesimal movement is thebest movement of all. It turned a solid forward defensive into apanicky snick to the keeper, and Sri Lanka’s captain was on his way.Celebration of the day
Hoggard became a father for the first time back in May, andcoincidentally or not, his career has been in stasis ever since. Hewent lame midway through young Ernie’s birthday match at Lord’s, andfeatured in just one more Test that summer, at Chester-le-Street atthe end of June. Today he was back with a bang, and commemorated thefact by rocking his arms in a cradle fashion each time a wicket fell.Perhaps he felt he was taking Kandy from a baby.Batsman of the day
Kumar Sangakkara came into this match still buzzing from the inningsof his life – his 192 against Australia at Hobart last week – and onceagain he was the classiest cricketer on show. While others poked andgroped, he located the middle of the bat almost at will, and easedRyan Sidebottom out of the attack with two fours in his sixth over -the second, a sumptuous on-drive that scorched the turf and bisectedmidwicket and mid-on before either fielder could react.Premonition of the day
Monty Panesar’s ripper to dismiss Chaminda Vaas. The ball pitched agood foot outside the stumps, but gripped and bit sharply to clip thetop of off as Vaas backed away in an attempted cut. Earlier in hisspell, Panesar had given Sangakkara arguably his most uncomfortablemoment with an equally sharp tweaker and loud lbw shout. And yet, thiswas all taking place on only the second session of the match. Whatwould Muralitharan make of the conditions when his turn came?Pathos of the day
Steve Harmison getting the one-stump treatment that, in the DuncanFletcher regime, was so commonly associated with James Anderson. Thistime round it was Anderson who claimed the final spot in England’sline-up, and during the lunch interval Harmison emerged in histraining kit with Ottis Gibson for company, to send down a series ofdeliveries at a lone timber on the edge of the square. For the recordHarmy seemed straight and speedy, but his stooped-shoulder trudgeseemed wearier than ever.Stat of the day
With the wicket of Jayawardene, Hoggard became England’s leadingwicket-taker in Tests against Sri Lanka. But it’s possibly not themost auspicious list he’ll ever be a part of – the previousrecord-holder was Ashley Giles with 31 wickets, and only AndrewFlintoff (27) comes close. Two representatives of an earliergeneration, Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick, are next with 16 apiece,while Liam Plunkett, John Emburey, Ian Botham and Monty Panesar arethe odd bed-fellows to have scraped into double figures.
