Cook falls before rain returns

Lasith Malinga had Alastair Cook caught down
the leg side early on, England v Sri Lanka,
1st ODI, The Oval, June 28 2011

Tillakaratne Dilshan marked his return to action after a broken thumb by winning the toss for Sri Lanka, and choosing to bowl first in the opening ODI against England at The Oval. Alastair Cook, leading England for the first time since his appointment as full-time ODI captain, admitted he would have done the same on a juicy wicket and under grey skies.  


Alastair Cook's first innings as England's full-time captain lasted just three deliveries, as the first ODI against Sri Lanka at The Oval was interrupted by a thunderstorm after seven overs of the match. 

Cook's first appearance in a limited-overs international for 15 months started promisingly when he clipped Lasith Malinga for a single and a four off his pads in the opening over of the match. However, Malinga's very next delivery, his first of the third over, swung invitingly down the leg side, only for Cook to snick another attempted glance straight into the gloves of Kumar Sangakkara. 

Jonathan Trott struck two fours in three deliveries,the first from a free hit, to move along to 14 from 17 balls. Craig Kieswetter was defending doggedly alongside him on 13 from 23, with one firmly struck drive through the covers off Nuwan Kulasekara. 

Earlier, Tillakaratne Dilshan marked his return to action after a broken thumb by winning the toss for Sri Lanka. Cook admitted he would have done the same on a juicy wicket and under forbidding skies. The start was delayed by the first burst of rain, and the floodlights were in full operation before play was suspended at 2pm. 

As expected, England's team was much changed from the side that lost the one-off Twenty20 in Bristol on Saturday. Aside from Cook, who takes over the leadership from Stuart Broad, England made five other changes, most notable among them the inclusion of Tim Bresnan, who has recovered from a calf strain and slots into the No. 7 position in place of the second spinner, Samit Patel. 

James Anderson returns to his new-ball role at the expense of Chris Woakes, who looked short on incisiveness at Bristol, but Jade Dernbach is retained alongside Broad, and will be making his ODI debut on the ground where he plays his county cricket with Surrey. Ian Bell, a controversial omission in the Twenty20, is included as one of six specialist batsmen, with Ravi Bopara also slipping into the sidelines to make way for the prolific Jonathan Trott. 

Sri Lanka's team selection is a much simpler affair. Dilshan's return is the only notable alteration from the side that won in Bristol. The hard-hitting Jeevan Mendis retains his place at No. 7 at the expense of the seam-bowling option Thisara Perera, which suggests that Dilshan and Angelo Mathews will be fit enough to chip in with a few overs in the course of England's innings. 

The game is also notable for being the last of Sanath Jayasuriya's 20-year international career. He turns 42 at the end of the month, and is a controversial selection, having been out of the team for the past two years. However, he justified his inclusion in the Twenty20 with two key wickets, even though his explosive top-order batting did not come off in his brief innings. With 444 ODIs to his name already, he will be seeking to go out with a blaze of glory. Assuming the rain relents, of course. 

England 1 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 2 Alastair Cook (capt), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Jade Dernbach. 

Sri Lanka 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt) 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilina Kandamby, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Nuwan Kulasekera, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Lasith Malinga. 

Source : espncricinfo

Posted in: