England lifted by impressive Rose Bowl comebacks for Anderson and Tremlett
ENGLAND seamer Chris Tremlett returned to the Rose Bowl yesterday and gave those fans who braved the elements reason to cheer as Sri Lanka’s batting wavered on a rain hit first day of the third Test.
The 6ft 7in quick in tandem with James Anderson, who was making his comeback from a side injury, took two wickets apiece reducing the tourists to 81-4 at the close.
Having won the toss England may feel they should have made further inroads on day that was ultra conducive to swing bowling.
But with only 38 overs completed due to rain Tremlett, who spent nearly a decade on the south coast with Hampshire, felt his side had already stamped a measure of control on proceedings.
“I played here for a long time and it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been back, so it was a nice reception and nice of the Hampshire fans to welcome me back,” said Tremlett.
“It was a nice reception and nice to see some familiar faces. The fans were loud and had a good day despite the rain. Me getting a couple of wickets will make them happier.
“I think at the end of the day we’re happy with four wickets. It’s been a bit frustrating getting on and off; it’s always a bit tough to switch yourself on, but we did a pretty good job.”
Despite that upbeat assessment England didn’t make full use of ideal bowling conditions, with Stuart Broad particularly guilty of dropping too short having been encouraged by a track with plenty of pace and carry.
On the occasions that England did pitch the ball up they were handsomely rewarded. Sri Lanka had edged carefully to 29 when Lahiru Thirimanne chased an Anderson outswinger and succeeded only in edging one through to Andrew Strauss at first slip.
Without addition to the score his opening partner Tharanga Paranavitana lost sight of a Tremlett in ducker and was given out LBW before the rain forced a lengthy delay.
On the resumption Sri Lanka’s stellar pair of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene both continued their unproductive tours, the former caught behind off as a result of an ugly slash off Anderson while the latter could only fend Tremlett behind.
England were held up for the final hour by Thilan Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene with Broad’s radar again malfunctioning.
Asked if he would prefer to take the new ball instead of the misfiring Broad, Tremlett said: “Because of my height, I feel a newer ball is going to help my attributes.
“But when I came on to bowl, the ball wasn’t too old so I was still going to get reasonable bounce.
“Whatever role I’m given in the side, I’ll take.”