By Geoffrey Dean in Moratuwa
LEICESTERSHIRE supporters would have been forgiven for not recognising the impressively suntanned Jimmy Ormond at the start of the third A Test.
His bowling, however, has not been impressive during much of this tour - until yesterday that is. Thanks to his four wickets, England restricted Sri Lanka to an inadequate total of 235 for eight on a good batting pitch.
Ormond was one of the quickest bowlers on the county circuit last summer, but being big and heavy is a major handicap in Sri Lanka's stifling heat and humidity. At last, though, he got a wicket that offered some tennis-ball bounce, if not much else, and bowling with pace, swing and hostility, he unsettled the home batsmen.
Hashan Tillekeratne, for one, must have regretted his step down from Test level for what was supposed to be a confidence-boosting sabbatical. An Ormond bouncer speared into his jaw, un- protected by a visor, and knocked out a tooth. After a delay, he resumed but it was not long before he gloved another lifter to Chris Read.
Ormond, who had already bowled Sanjeewa Ranatunga round his legs, came back with the second new ball to have the promising Sri Lanka Under-19 captain, Pradeep Hewage, caught and bowled off a leading edge. Prasanna Jayawardene was then completely beaten for pace.
The other bowlers gave wholehearted support, though Jonathan Powell was obliged to leave the field with a bad back. There was no turn whatsoever for the other two spinners, who nevertheless varied their flight and pace well.
Dean Cosker took the all-important wicket of Chandika Hathurusinghe, whose accomplished innings of 90 in 275 minutes ended when he yorked himself after coming down the pitch.
Day 2: Maddy restates his case
By Geoffrey Dean
DARREN Maddy's father, Bill, cancelled the family holiday to Sri Lanka last month when England A nearly flew home after the Kandy bomb. Last week, however, he decided that he had better come after all, just in case he never got another chance to see Darren play for an England team.
Yesterday he watched him continue his excellent form as he hit an unbeaten 92 in the third A Test to push close to 700 first-class runs for both legs of the tour.
Maddy Senior could well be celebrating a Test debut for his son later this year, for apart from Ashley Giles and Ben Hollioake, the Leicestershire opener has pushed his case more forcibly than anyone on this tour. He scored his runs at a good rate on a pitch that began to turn yesterday, being given early momentum by some poor new ball bowling and later presented with three fours in the opening over of the young leg spinner, Bandara.
But what impressed was the way Maddy single-mindedly set about his task. He played at nothing that did not need playing, countered the spinners with soft hands and deft deflections, and put the bad ball away ruthlessly. Even in 1996, Dean Jones rated him the best young batsman in England, and he is a much more complete player now, as happy against spin as against pace. He used his feet more yesterday than in the first two Tests.
Thanks to Maddy's positive and chanceless innings, England A made a good recovery after suffering their most frustrating session on this tour. Expecting to knock over the Sri Lankan tail quickly when the home side resumed at 235 for eight, England failed to take a wicket before lunch, by which time a further 126 runs had been plundered at nearly five an over.
The No 10, Wickremasinghe, nought not out overnight, raced to 68 by lunch, striking the ball cleanly all round the ground, enjoying some luck but invariably finding the gaps. Indeed, he looked a better batsman than seam bowler.
The England attack, lacklustre and tired after being in the field the previous day, bowled far too many loose balls. Giles, who suffered an upset stomach in the early hours of the morning, was missed in the field.
Day 3: Hollioake rides his luck for 163
By Geoffrey Dean in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
ENGLAND A have had to put up with more than their fair share of umpiring mistakes on their Sri Lanka tour, but one worked very much in their favour yesterday.
Ben Hollioake was candid enough to admit after his outstanding 189-ball 163 that he should have been given out caught behind when 10. With his reprieve went, so it turned out, Sri Lanka's last chance of forcing a win in this third A Test to level the series.
Hollioake's was another hugely impressive innings to follow his maiden first-class hundred in the second Test. Although the first one was made in much harder circumstances - on a more difficult pitch and with his side in trouble - yesterday's was a more destructive performance, featuring 10 sixes and 17 fours.
The Sri Lankans had no idea how to contain him on a belter of a pitch, which offered little turn to their three young spinners, who still did not bowl that badly.
He hit eight of his sixes over the same deep midwicket boundary some 70 metres away, all but one of them with sweeps. The other two came from straight drives after he had made typically good use of his feet.
Hollioake's first six landed in a sewage drain outside the ground and, having been retrieved somewhat gingerly, the ball had to be wiped down by the umpires, who later gave it to him to keep. Once he found out where it had been, he renounced ownership. ``It's coming out of my bag right now,'' he said.
The Sri Lankan team manager, Ranjith Fernando, could not restrain his praise of Hollioake. ``What is he doing here, and not in the West Indies?'' he asked. ``His temperament is what really impresses me.''
In saying that, Fernando was acknowledging the superb shot selection of a player mature beyond his years. His hitting was always controlled, even though six of his sixes were struck after he reached his hundred off 115 balls. His third fifty still took him 60.
By the time he finally holed out off a top-edged pull, he had extended his series runs aggregate to 374 from four innings. Still, he could not hide his disappointment at failing to reach a double century.
Hollioake and the admirable Ashley Giles's stand of 154 in 38 overs was timely after the loss of three wickets in four overs. First to go was Darren Maddy, run out. Graham Gooch, the England A manager, would have felt considerable sympathy as he too was run out for 99, in the Melbourne Test of 1979-80. David Sales was the recipient of a dubious bat-pad decision; then Mark Ealham, perhaps still torturing himself after running out Maddy, pulled a long hop to midwicket.
Day 4: Sri Lanka surprised by Giles
By Geoffrey Dean in Moratuwa
NOT many gave England any real chance of winning this third A Test at the start of play at Moratuwa yesterday, and Graham Gooch was among them.
When David Graveney rang him on his mobile phone shortly before lunch, Gooch, who was in a Colombo bank collecting the players' weekly allowance, informed him that a draw looked certain as the wicket was flat and not really turning, and that the Sri Lankans were no wicket down after 20 overs.
When Gooch got back to the ground just before tea, he was pleasantly shocked to find Sri Lanka seven down.
This was another excellent performance by a spirited side who have been increasingly well captained by Nick Knight as the tour progresses. Victory means that England A have achieved the notable feat of winning successive series in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
As in the second Test, it was Ashley Giles's bowling, well supported by Dean Cosker, that effectively won this match. Both compensated for the lack of much turn with flight and guile, and were so accurate that the Sri Lankans were given virtually nothing to score off.
Negatively concentrating on little else but survival, the batsmen allowed Knight to build up pressure with a posse of close catchers.
In the first hour after lunch four wickets fell, a fired-up Jimmy Ormond beginning by having the adhesive Sanjeewa Ranatunga caught at first slip.
An edgy Hashan Tillekeratne, more intent on kicking the ball away than playing it, was bowled freakishly when the ball bounced up high off his pad and rolled back to dislodge a bail. Duleep Samaraweera was run out by Owais Shah, Manoj Mendis was caught off bat-pad and the tail folded.