da premier bet： Andrew Miller looks back at the plays of the day on the third day of the first Test in Kandy
da pinup bet： Andrew Miller in Kandy03-Dec-2007
One that spun the other way – Collingwood was confounded by Murali’s 709th © AFP
Ball of the day
There are no contenders bar Muttiah Muralitharan’s record-breakingdelivery to Paul Collingwood. His sense of theatre seemed to havedeserted him at the start of play, when England fended him out of theattack with an hour-and-a-half of the most defiant accumulationimaginable. But four balls of his second spell were all that Muralirequired to eclipse Shane Warne’s landmark of 708 victims, and plant aflag at the summit that may never be removed. It was a sizzlingdelivery as well – according to the man itself, he meant to tweak itone way, but turned it the other instead. No wonder Collingwood wasconfounded.Over of the day
Sanath Jayasuriya’s Test career hangs in the balance, if thespeculation is to be believed, but if that is the case then he signedoff in style with his best performance for more than three years. WhenJames Anderson served him up six deliveries in the slot, he lambastedthe lot of them, and momentarily transformed the contest into one ofhis favoured one-day internationals. He survived a screeching slashthat burst through Ian Bell’s hands at slip, but his other five shotswere trademark brutality. Only once before in Tests has such treatmentbeen meted out to every ball of an over – Chris Gayle did the same toMatthew Hoggard at The Oval in 2004.Gesture of the day
It was an exit that brought to mind Mike Atherton’s sheepish departureat The Oval in 2001. No-one knows for sure that this is his last game,but the way Jayasuriya shyly saluted his standing ovation was tellingin the extreme. As he reached the rope, he was met with a pat on theshoulder and a semi-embrace by the incoming batsman, Kumar Sangakkara,before Sri Lanka’s uber-fan, Percy Abeysekera, chaperoned him to thepavilion steps beneath a giant national flag. Watch this space, wouldappear to be the message.Chant of the day
The Barmy Army aren’t often drowned out by the home support, but thiswas no ordinary day. Murali’s personal skiffle band were parkedbeneath the Old Trinitians’ clubhouse and sang to their kingall day long, which meant the English contingent couldn’t help butsound muted in comparison. But they did find their voice briefly -albeit in a less than complementary fashion – when their new battinghero, Ryan Sidebottom, popped down to field in front of them at fineleg. “He bats at No. 8 …” was the polite half of the rhyme, asSidebottom, to his credit, responded with a broad grin and a tap ofapplause.Improbable innings of the day
Sidebottom’s stickability turned out to be a sign of things to comefor England, as the pitch went flat and the Sri Lankan batsmen piledon the runs in their second innings. But it was no less valuable forthat. His career-best 31 was the dominant share of a 57-run stand forthe seventh wicket with Collingwood, and helped to bely the cripplingweakness of England’s tail. No shot all innings was sweeter than hisclip through midwicket off Murali, which was one of only fourboundaries he conceded in a marathon 35 overs.Misfield of the day
Despite his youthful athleticism, Alastair Cook is not renowned asEngland’s best fielder – and he further dented his reputation with aklutzish – and painful – effort in the gully. Jayasuriya went for oneof his favourite off-side clobbers off Anderson, and belted the ballfirmly into the turf. The ball reared up at pace, only for Cook tostretch out his hand and deflect the ball straight into his cheek. Itlooked nasty for a moment, but he was grinning sheepishly by the timehe was led from the field for a check-up by the physio.Memento of the day
As if confirmation were needed that the current Murali-mania is notconfined to his home town, Sri Lanka’s media-manager provided itanyway shortly after the record had been broken. He passed through thepress box handing out sets of commemorative stamps, 12 to a set,proclaiming their man as the new world-record holder. With all thisfate-tempting going on, it’s incredible that the Gods kept theirinterventions so low-key.
