A nod to the future for Root and England

This was one day at the start of a long summer but after a long and painful winter it was a day for England to enjoy the sunshine

Highlights: Root leads England revival with gritty 102*

We may never really know how many nervous twitches and glances there were in the England dressing room at 22 for 2. Mitchell Johnson was thousands of miles away and although the pitch was tinged with green and the new-ball swinging there was no reason to be overly alarmed.

Yet, whatever England do at the moment their recent history looms large. So when Alastair Cook chopped into his stumps, to end an uncertain stay, they were not marching convincingly into a new season of Test cricket. But some six hours later life as an England cricketer - and there were three at Lord's for which this was their first day - was beginning to look just a little bit rosier.

Not least for Joe Root who scored his second Test hundred in consecutive Lord's innings. The punch of the fist and the roar of delight could easily have been for what has gone before as much for what had just occurred.

Closing on 344 for 5 represented England's best first innings since The Oval last August - a turgid affair which led to James Faulkner attacking how England were playing their cricket - and is just nine short of anything they made in Australia. There could be no quibbling with the intent today as they kept in touch with four-an-over. When three wickets were down before lunch it was being readied as a criticism, but the urgency during the afternoon and evening session was their most convincing batting in a long time albeit against an attack that wearied as the day went on.

It should be a concern that the innings needed lifting from another uncertain beginning, but the fact it was achieved with some conviction and style should bring a sense of optimism that the rebuilding work is underway. That the recovery was largely staged by two players who did not finish the Ashes and another completely new to the Test team should gladden the hearts of suffering supporters. They may not agree with all the selections, but there were a few ticks for James Whitaker and company today.

Apart from the 180 at Lord's, the back-to-back Ashes was a searching experience for Root, not helped by the variety of roles he was asked to fill while still trying to establish the early days of his Test career. Opening in England became No. 6 to start with in Australia, but only for one Test when he was then shunted up to No. 3 after Jonathan Trott's departure. He did not survive the series, being dropped in Sydney.

He is in his 16th Test which has involved batting in six positions and although his one innings at No. 7 came due a nightwatchman, that is hardly the stability a young player needs. He has looked most at ease in the middle order; he made his nerveless 73 on debut against India in Nagpur and scored his first Test hundred from No. 5 against New Zealand at Headingley last year.

But if you had been assessing England's batting order for this match entirely logically - and with the assumption that Ian Bell gets what he wants to bat at No. 4 - then it pointed towards Root being No. 3 rather than Gary Ballance who does not bat that high for Yorkshire. Ballance did not look out of depth but was skittish during his stay as Sri Lanka preyed on a vulnerability outside off stump that was evident in the one-day series. All this was happening while Trott was making a hundred for Warwickshire's 2nd XI. He remains a vast hole to fill.

Being an opener by trade, it is surprising that Root has not seemed more at home at, or near the top of the order - notwithstanding the hundred against Australia which provides more than half his runs as an opener. The ability to rotate the strike, drop and run, to keep the board ticking comes far more easily in the middle order than it has done facing the new ball. Those skills were on evidence here; there were just two boundaries in his half-century but it did not feel as though his innings had come to standstill as some against Australia had done so.

Before this series Root stated his desire for the middle order although, after his hundred, played down a suggestion that he had declined the No.3 job. "Batting three or five, you can come in with a very similar score on the board," he said. "Whether they had an inkling I didn't want to bat there, or had suggested the middle order, maybe that had something to do with it."

Perhaps, at international level, he is more comfortable reacting to a situation rather than setting one up (he makes his one-day home in the middle order where the mindset can be similar). There is also the fact, which cannot be escaped, that batting at No. 5 will, most of the time, mean the newness of the ball has gone: in this innings, although the top three fell relatively cheaply, the ball was nearly 20 overs old when he arrived.

Still, for the Dukes ball in England, during the first session of a Test, that can still make the job tricky. He survived until lunch, which allowed England to catch their breath after a somewhat frantic first session, then played watchfully until tea. During the final session, as the zip from Sri Lanka's seamers dissipated, he skipped along at a jaunty rate with his second fifty taking 77 balls compared to the first which required 106.

A few moments later he got solidly behind the line of Nuwan Pradeep's final ball of the day then walked off as the sun started to set over Lord's. This was one day at the start of a long summer, after a long and painful winter. Tough days will follow, which could easily revive bad memories, but this was an occasion to think of the future.

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Banned umpire Shah officiates in the USA

Nadir Shah, the Bangladesh umpire who was banned for 10 years by the Bangladesh Cricket Board in March 2013 on charges of corruptions alleged by a TV sting operation, is now a standing umpire in the Southern California Cricket Association, a member league of the American Cricket Federation.

The sting, conducted in 2012, claimed to have "exposed" several first-class umpires from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan who were allegedly willing to give decisions favouring players for a fee.

Shah, 50, stood in the final of last month's LA T20 Championship, which drew attention for the appearance of suspended former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful. The tournament was officially sanctioned by the USA Cricket Association with assurances that no unapproved international players would participate, but no such restrictions were in place regarding match officials.

Ashraful was invited by former Bangladesh player and current Los Angeles area resident Nazim Shirazi to take part in the competition as part of his team Pegasus CC. Shah is a cousin of Shirazi's and, like Ashraful, has continued to stay in Los Angeles beyond the completion of the LA T20 Championship. According to multiple sources, he is currently umpiring on a weekly basis in the SCCA.

Prior to Ashraful and Shah's appearances in Los Angeles, banned Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria played in multiple tournaments in Florida and Texas over the last year. Kaneria's appearance at the USA Friendship Cup T20 in March drew the attention of the Pakistan Cricket Board, which fined five of its contracted players for participating in an unapproved tournament without receiving no-objection certificates.

Shah officiated in 40 ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals before being banned by the BCB. He submitted a mercy plea to the BCB in June 2013 for a reduction in his 10-year ban. The request is still pending.

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Cockbain earns Gloucs battling draw

Gloucestershire 112 (Dunn 4-37) and 506 for 6 (Cockbain 151*, Klinger 120) drew with Surrey 626 for 6 dec. (Burns 199, Solanki 143, Roy 121*)
Scorecard

Ian Cockbain batted through the last day and made his first-class best score to lead Gloucestershire to a hugely improbable draw against Surrey.

Cockbain, the 27-year-old Liverpudlian, dug in for 15 minutes short of nine hours for 151 not out, only the third century of his career, to deny Surrey a win they would have expected to complete with five wickets needed on the final day for victory.

Tom Smith, technically a nightwatchman though he was promoted only two places to No. 7, also improved his career best with 80 and Will Gidman was unbeaten on 46 as Gloucestershire lost only one wicket on the final day of the to finish 506 for 6.

Michael Klinger had shown the way on Wednesday with 120 and Cockbain resumed in the morning on 48. He faced 35 balls, including playing out four maiden overs, before finally adding two singles to take him to a 189-ball half-century.

Smith, by that point, had hit five boundaries in the morning's play and quickly added another to move into the forties. Having reached 48, he too played out 16 successive dot balls before reaching 50 with a two off Chris Tremlett.

Cockbain pressed on to 83 and Smith 61 as they saw their side to lunch at 368 for 5, still 146 runs behind but in a far more encouraging position.

Cockbain reached his century with a two off Jade Dernbach in the sixth over after lunch and the total advanced to 400 two overs later with a single from the same batsman.

Both batsmen then settled for steady progress towards tea, with the only boundaries coming when Surrey captain Gary Wilson turned to the occasional medium pace of Jason Roy in the hope of inducing an error.

Smith's excellent innings was finally ended just before tea, Matt Dunn doing the damage with the new ball as Rory Burns took the catch at third slip. He had faced 221 balls and hit 11 fours. That put a stop to a magnificent and dogged partnership of 177 and it was 439 for 6 at tea, Cockbain 126 not out and Will Gidman off the mark with a four.

Another 75 were still needed to overcome the deficit but Cockbain pressed on and Gidman added fresh impetus. He struck another five fours and reached 28 with a run-a-ball strike rate before settling into a more patient approach against spinners Gareth Batty and Zafar Ansari.

Cockbain barely played a shot in anger at the other end, determined to see his vigil through, and was rewarded when a single off Batty took him to 150 from 419 balls.

The handshake came with Gloucestershire remarkably still eight runs in arrears - but they will care not a jot after a hard-earned five points having turned around a match they began by being bowled out for just 112.

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Sri Lanka wilt in whites

Sri Lanka arrived at Lord's on the cloud of confidence their limited-overs cricket has generated, but on a tour in which they have sometimes felt besieged they failed to press home an early advantage on the sport's most celebrated stage

At the tail-end of 2012, Sri Lanka's last marquee Test became one of their lowest points in their professional era. On a springy but manageable Melbourne deck, the batsmen collapsed twice, fielders shelled simple chances, and bowlers surrendered easy runs.

At the end of the debacle, Sri Lanka's coach spoke of how the team had perhaps imploded under the pressure they had loaded on themselves. That match had been the cricketing equivalent of going to the biggest job interview of your life, only to race manically around the room, having somehow set your own pants on fire.

Eighteen months on, Sri Lanka arrived at Lord's on the cloud of confidence their limited-overs cricket has generated. They have only played one full tour against a top-eight side in the interim, but on a tour in which they have sometimes felt besieged, Sri Lanka yearned to prove themselves on the sport's most celebrated stage.

They have been the boys who excel in blue for some time, but here, with a full-house 28,000 strong in attendance, they might have been the men who shone in white as well.

The first three hours had been so promising. Nuwan Pradeep - the catalyst of Sri Lanka's best win of the year in Dubai - had the ball swerving sharp and late, while Nuwan Kulasekara boarded up one end, pitching the ball on the straight and moving it down the slope. That mix of security and venom lured a muddled innings from Alistair Cook and loose strokes from Sam Robson and Gary Ballance.

There was energy in the field and vocal support for the men in the ring. At one stage, Kulasekara, who rarely clocks in at over 130kph, had four slips and a gully. Ambitious though the plan was, it suggested a brimming over of belief; a team riding on momentum, feeding off good vibes. In Melbourne, Sri Lanka had meandered listlessly, but here was heartening direction: clear plans, and fleshed out lines of attack.

But how quickly bad habits can return. In Australia, Sri Lanka had allowed the opposition to beat them back again and again whenever they threatened an advance, and at Lord's a swift partnership between debutant Moeen Ali and embattled Joe Root stole the visitors' initiative. Rangana Herath toiled on an unresponsive surface, but as the sun beat down on the quickly-browning pitch, the fast men wilted around him. It didn't help that the surface flattened quicker than Sri Lanka had anticipated at the toss.

"We thought the pitch would have more bounce and pace than it did," Kaushal Silva said. "But maybe at the latter part of the day it got slower. Sometimes the odd ball was keeping low as well. Hopefully, tomorrow morning, with the new ball in our hand, we can do something."

Angelo Mathews' decision to bowl first with blue sky overhead raised English eyebrows early on, but it was an understandable, given the top order's history. Sri Lanka coped with the moving ball in the ODIs, thanks in part to Tillakaratne Dilshan's circumspection, but those skills have sometimes diminished when a red ball series arrives. Even at home, Sri Lanka have collapsed against good swing bowling. Knowing his attack is doughty rather than indomitable, Mathews had perhaps reasoned the zip in the pitch represented Sri Lanka's only chance of achieving a definitive edge with the ball.

"When you have the advantage of a green pitch, you should take that. We have three quality fast bowlers, so there was doubt for Angie to take that decision."

Sri Lanka's decision to rest their spearhead-by-default Shaminda Eranga in the Northampton match, also had creditable reasons. Eranga had not played competitively since injuring his ankle in Bangladesh in February, but with Suranga Lakmal already laid low, Sri Lanka felt it wise to preserve him. He has returned from long breaks to deliver long, testing spells in the past, and he was perhaps entitled to a poor day on this return. He swung the ball at pace at times, but an economy rate of 4.77 was a fair reflection of his waywardness.

As evening came on, Sri Lanka began to serve up freebies, allowing Root unchecked progress to his hundred, and Matt Prior a smooth return to his free-flowing best. In the last half-a-session, England raced on at close to five runs an over.

Sri Lanka's attack has only succeeded when it has hunted as a pack and made run-making difficult on unresponsive surfaces. A poor end to this day may not necessarily spell doom for the Test, but already outgunned in English conditions, Sri Lanka cannot afford too many sessions like it.

At 344 for 5 and two men well set, England have the firmer grip on the match. Sri Lanka have so often been tenacious in ODIs and T20s, roaring back from near-impossible situations, refusing to accept defeat. If they can discover some of that intensity in whites, they may tip the match back in their favour and avoid another disappointment at one of cricket's cherished venues.

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Ambrose and Clarke build on solid foundation

Lancashire 286 and 84 for 2 lead Warwickshire 322 (Ambrose 62, Porterfield 57, Clarke 56) by 48 runs
Scorecard

Building an innings is as much a collective enterprise as an individual skill. As Warwickshire's lower middle order and tail played with enterprise and elan to take their side past Lancashire's total early on the third afternoon of this game, perhaps few in the Edgbaston crowd reckoned that William Porterfield's self-denying vigil the previous day had very much to do with their side's prosperity. The late belligerence shown by the visiting openers seemed to reinforce the anomalous nature of Porterfield's batting.

After all, the opener had perished in the fifth over of the morning, cutting Tom Smith to gully after adding only six to his overnight score. Subsequently Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke had made fifties in less than half the time taken by Porterfield in an innings which, had it been set to music, might have been entitled Variations on a Theme of Defence.

Surely Ambrose and Clarke's aggression had exposed the negativity of Porterfield's approach, the argument ran, conveniently overlooking the fact that Warwickshire's opener had been batting, for the most part, with Sam Hain, who was playing his third first-class innings, and Laurie Evans and Ateeq Javid, whose Championship averages this season are not a source of pride to their loved ones.

Slow, Porterfield certainly was. Stuck in a rut? Yes, that as well. Indeed, his entire 198-ball innings was a 284-minute rut. But his effort gave later batsmen a base from which they could play with the freedom characteristic of their own styles and they did this with considerable success against a faltering Lancashire attack suddenly presented with a different set of problems.

Ambrose was the first to unveil his attacking strokes, cover-driving Kabir Ali for a boundary and reaching his half-century in 84 balls with a cut off Glen Chapple. As the tempo increased, so the nature of the contest changed, and the crowd was further encouraged by the news that both Jim Troughton and Jonathan Trott were playing for Warwickshire's second team at Coventry.

Rather than facilitating a breakthrough, the new ball disappeared to all parts, as new balls sometimes do when batsmen screw their courage to the sticking place. At lunch Warwickshire were 234 for 5 and the spectators were eager for more of the same, thank you very much.

In this hope they were disappointed. Ambrose was lbw was playing all around a swinging delivery from Kyle Hogg and Clarke followed five overs later, bowled round his legs when attempting to sweep Simon Kerrigan.

Jeetan Patel could only swipe Hogg across the line to Alex Davies at midwicket and after Kerrigan had cleaned up Chris Wright, it needed the vaudevillian entertainment of a last wicket stand between Keith Barker and Boyd Rankin to extend the home side's lead to 36. When Smith bowled Rankin for 12, Barker was left unbeaten on 44, having reinforced his reputation as one of the circuit's most useful players.

For most counties in most conditions, wiping out such a modest first-innings lead is a task of little difficulty. But it was still heartening for the oft-tormented visiting supporters to see Paul Horton and Davies do the job in just four overs with Davies glancing Barker for four and then hooking him dextrously for six over one of Edgbaston's longer boundaries. Indeed, aided by the inaccuracy of Varun Chopra's seamers - Patel was on at the City End in the seventh over - Lancashire's openers had added a run-a-ball 54 at tea.

Some reports indicated that Edgbaston was then about to suffer the sort of rain last seen when visited on the sinful in Leviticus. However, while the restart was delayed for 90 minutes, the early evening saw a further 16 overs' play, more than enough time for Colonel and Mrs Cockup to pay one of their visits to a Red Rose innings. Instead, though, Davies and Horton extended their partnership to 71, Lancashire's highest first-wicket stand of the season, before Davies was lbw for 30 playing no shot to Patel. Horton was then caught behind for 42 in the penultimate over of the day when playing some way from his body to a good ball from Rankin.

Lancashire's lead is, therefore, 48 and Patel is getting plenty of turn from the City End. We could yet be set for a dramatic dénouement, although that is unlikely to be achieved by way of the visitors declaring. Rumour has it that the last Lancashire skipper to gamble was playing baccarat with Ian Fleming.

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Surrey roar past 600 against Gloucs

Surrey 626 for 6 (Burns 199, Solanki 143, Roy 121*, Ansari 98) lead Gloucestershire 112 by 514 runs
Scorecard

Rory Burns fell just one run short of a double-century as Surrey smashed a host of records in heaping a mammoth total of 626 for 6 on ramshackle Gloucestershire in Bristol.

Burns was not alone in falling short of a personal milestone, with Zafar Ansari slipping two short of his maiden first-class century. Burns' 199, Ansari's 98 and Jason Roy's red-hot unbeaten 121 from just 71 balls - only his second first-class hundred - were all new first-class personal bests.

Vikram Solanki also fired 143 as Surrey refused to be contained in the West Country. Gloucestershire's 112 all out is a mere speck on the County Ground horizon after two days, given Surrey's 514-run lead.

Surrey had resumed on 186 without loss, with Ansari 84 and Burns 98 overnight. Spin-bowling allrounder Ansari followed up his 77 not out and 62 against Worcestershire at The Oval at the start of the month with another fine knock, surpassing his previous best of 83 not out.

Burns eclipsed his previous top score of 121 as the visitors applied a constant chokehold - and then Roy hammered past his 106 not out highest knock without consummate ease.

Ansari proved the day's first dismissal, just two runs shy of that maiden first-class century, Alex Gidman holding the catch from Benny Howell's bowling. South Africa's new Test captain Hashim Amla was unable to force a start, trapped leg before by Will Gidman for just 9.

Surrey breezed away from leaking two wickets for 12 runs, Burns ticking along at a solid rate and new partner Solanki raising the pace. The vastly-experienced 38-year-old blasted his century from just 112 balls as the visitors showed their superiority.

Burns and Solanki put on 212 for the third wicket as Surrey seriously ratcheted up proceedings, Burns homing in on a double century. Just as he was lining up his celebrations though, Liam Norwell had him caught by Alex Gidman, just the one agonising run short.

Unsatisfied with 439 for 3, greedy Surrey kept on dismantling the Gloucestershire attack. Steven Davies fell to Will Gidman for 9, but Solanki moved on to 143 before he was removed, by Matt Taylor.

Sensing a slog-fest, Roy stepped into the fray and produced the innings of the day, where aggression was concerned at least. His howitzer hundred came from just 55 balls and 67 minutes, including nine fours and seven sixes. Gary Wilson then hit 26 before he was clean bowled by Norwell, with Gareth Batty 4 not out at the close.

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Wainwright exploits hurt Leics

Leicestershire 311 and 200 for 9 (O'Brien 71, Wainwright 5-54) lead Derbyshire 336 (Wainwright 109, Hughes 60) by 175 runs
Scorecard

David Wainwright impressed with bat and ball as Derbyshire moved into a good position on day three of their Division Two clash with Leicestershire at Grace Road. Wainwright, who earlier completed his maiden century for the visitors, claimed 5 for 54 to leave the hosts struggling on 200 for 9 after losing their first three wickets for just 34 runs.

That gave them a lead of just 175 and Derbyshire will be looking to take the final wicket and secure a first win of the season on Wednesday.

Greg Smith was the first to return to the pavilion as he was bowled by Wainwright to leave Leicestershire 33 for 1 and just two overs later his replacement Ned Eckersley was out for a duck as he became Yorkshireman Wainwright's second victim before the lunch break.

Opener Angus Robson was gone for the addition of just one more run as he was stumped by wicketkeeper Gareth Cross off Wainwright. The wickets continued to tumble for the hosts and Josh Cobb was caught by Scott Elstone at short extra cover off Wainwright before Ramnaresh Sarwan improved on his first innings total of 5 but was caught at slip by Wayne Madsen off Mark Footitt to leave the Foxes 74 for 5.

Niall O'Brien started to mount a comeback for the home side and Rob Taylor was dropped by Madsen with 98 on the board to give them a small boost before he too was sent packing, Madsen redeeming himself as Wainwright brought up his five-wicket haul.

Ben Raine then put on a useful 58 with O'Brien before he departed for 19 with Paul Borrington taking a catch off Elstone. O'Brien was spilled on 68 at third man but soon fell for 71 as Elstone claimed a second wicket and, when James Sykes went lbw to Footitt, the hosts would have been looking to wrap things up before the close. But Anthony Ireland and Alex Wyatt, who was playing with a runner, stood firm and will resume on Wednesday.

Earlier, Wainwright scored his maiden ton for Derbyshire as he built on the 83 runs he scored on day two. The 29-year-old surpassed the career-best of 104 he made for former county Yorkshire in 2008 before losing his wicket for 109 as he was caught at gully by Robson off Rob Taylor.

That brought Footitt to the crease before Tom Taylor (40) was the last man out three overs later. The 19-year-old was caught at mid-on by Josh Cobb off Sykes' bowling after adding a respectable 20 to his overnight score to leave Derbyshire 336 all out and with a lead of 25 runs.

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New England emerge from rubble

Fresh faces must be complemented by a fresh ethos as England seek to maintain their early season record at home and repair the damage of winter

It can take years to build a consistently successful team, but just months for it to be broken apart.

The last time Lord's staged a Test it ended in the final over of added time on the fourth day, when Graeme Swann turned one to beat James Pattinson's outside edge, trapping him lbw. England were 2-0 up and were on the brink of their third successive Ashes series triumph.

Now Swann is six months into retirement and the Ashes have been back with Australia for the same period of time. England have a new coaching team, no senior spinner, a wicketkeeper recalled with a dodgy Achilles and a battle to remain in the public conscious as the World Cup kicks off in Brazil, although the timezone in South America at least means those who have watched the Test match on Saturday can then find a late-night bar in time for the 11pm kick-off against Italy.

England's limited-overs teams have not begun the task of repairing the damage of the winter at all convincingly, with T20 and ODI defeats against Sri Lanka which were a reminder, if any was needed, that much like the economy the recovery is likely to be slow with bumps along the way.

Now it is the turn of the Test team, and of the three formats it is the side that has undergone the most significant reconstruction.

From England's previous Test at Sydney, there will be just five survivors who appear at Lord's on Thursday and there will be three debutants - Sam Robson, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan - plus the likelihood of a player resuming his Test career after a gap of seven years. Some would have liked to have seen a fourth new cap in Jos Buttler, but Matt Prior has earned a recall based on his past deeds for England, after a forgettable 12 months, and a desire to strengthen a reduced group of senior players.

Wholesale revolutions are rarely successful in sports teams, so England's 'new look' is probably about as radical as it was ever going to be. The introduction of pace in the form of Liam Plunkett and Jordan, so long as it is well directed, is one of the eye-catching elements, while Moeen could be significant on a number of levels.

There is certainly a sense that England want to try and rattle the Sri Lankans. That was likely to be the plan before what happened in the one-day international at Edgbaston and the lingering resentment over the Mankading of Buttler has only added to that.

However, they would be wise not to get distracted from finding the outside edge. England's success at Lord's is invariably from a fuller length as James Anderson's record shows (61 wickets at 26.09), as does Stuart Broad's spell against New Zealand last year.

	England have an impressive record in the first home series of a season since the Test programme was split. They have not lost a series and in 36 Tests have won 26, drawn eight and lost just two

But it is the overall style of the Test cricket that England play this season that will be watched with interest. It has been accepted that their methods became a little turgid and predictable, both with bat and ball. While the wins were still coming there was no impetus to change but now their model has been broken so there is the chance to try a fresh approach. The absence of Swann, their banker for wickets and control in a variety of conditions, pretty much demands a new way of playing.

That does not mean blazing away with abandon - 250 all out in 50 overs will not win many Tests - but it means showing the confidence to not allow opposition to settle. Alastair Cook has a key role to play as batsman and captain; as the former he has not had a Test hundred in more than a year and desperately needs to return to the agenda-setting displays of 2011 and 2012. Then, in the field, he cannot let games drift, and should hunt wickets rather than be content to stem the run-rate.

It would be wrong to suggest he is clinging on to his job as captain because he has huge support from with the ECB, but if this summer does not show an improvement in Test cricket it cannot be said for sure that Cook will be the man to lead England in next year's Ashes. (The debates over the one-day side can be had somewhat separately.)

And it is not that this two-Test series fits into the 'gentle start' category. Beginning a month later than usual evens the scales, as does the warmer weather in London this week, which has enabled the Sri Lankans to shed a few of their layers. None of their bowlers has a Test average lower than Shaminda Eranga's 31.60, so England should be able to recover their batting confidence, but in a such a short series it only takes one collapse to nick the honours.

Sri Lanka also have a record of being stubborn opponents at Lord's (they have never played at Headingley, the venue for the second Test), drawing their last three outings in 2002, 2006, 2011. In 2002 they were able to enforce the follow-on after Marvan Atapattu, their current coach, and Mahela Jayawardene scored hundreds, a feat Jayawardene repeated in 2006 after Sri Lanka had followed on then batted 199 overs to save the game. In 2011 Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 193 to frustrate England who previously skittled them for 82 in Cardiff.

England, though, do have an impressive record in the first home series of a season since the Test programme was split in 2000, although the majority of those games will have been played in May. They have not lost a series and in the 36 Tests played in those series have won 26, drawn eight and lost just two. One of those was against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2001 and the other against Sri Lanka, at Trent Bridge, when Muttiah Muralitharan worked his magic.

Victory in this series will not confirm that England's rebuilding is successfully underway, but anything less would have to classed as another failure - and after months of poor results and the recriminations, that is something they can ill afford.

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Edwards wins England player award

Charlotte Edwards, an England captain who was able to savour Ashes success home and away over the last 12 months, has been named the Women's Player of the Year.

Although the women's team could not end their wait for global silverware at the World T20 in Bangladesh - losing the final to Australia in Dhaka - they regained the Ashes at home, in the first multi-format series where points were accumulated over Tests, ODIs and T20s, before defending them Down Under earlier this year.

Central, as she has so often been, to England's cause was Edwards. She battled pain to score a vital half-century in the second innings of the Perth Test to ensure the team had a target they could defend then scored a brilliant, unbeaten 92 the Hobart T20 to ensure the Ashes were retained.

Edwards' "outstanding leadership skills" were also highlighted in her captaincy role, which she has held since 2006. Earlier this year she was the just the second woman to be named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year.

Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole and Sarah Taylor were the other nominees for the award.

England Under-19 captain Will Rhodes won the England Development Programme Cricketer of the Year award while the England Disability Cricketer of the Year award was given to Stephen George from the England Deaf Squad.

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Bad weather frustrates Yorkshire

Yorkshire 76 for 2 trail Nottinghamshire 205 (Lumb 45, Bresnan 3-43, Brooks 3-74) by 129 runs
Scorecard

Yorkshire were frustrated by rain at Headingley on Monday with less than 10 overs possible on day two of their Championship match against Nottinghamshire.

The visitors had been dismissed for 205 on day one as Yorkshire looked to apply further pressure on Middlesex at the top of the table and resumed on 52 for 2 in the morning. But they could add only 24 to that total before the players were brought off due to bad light at 11.40am, with Jack Leaning on 35 and captain Andrew Gale on 23.

The rain began to fall but the the groundstaff did start removing the covers before the wet weather then returned. The sun eventually came back out but umpires Martin Saggers and Alex Wharf called play off for the day due to a saturated outfield at 3.40pm.

That means Yorkshire, who claimed all three bowling points on Sunday, trail Notts by 129 runs with eight first-innings wickets remaining.

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