The English press awarded the day solidly to England, and most praised the form of the resurgent Mark Butcher. So did his team-mates: Marcus Trescothick called him "machine-like". In the Daily Telegraph Derek Pringle revealed that Butcher is "a personable man who likes a drink or two", but reassured shocked readers in Tunbridge Wells that Butcher has "seen the lush in him replaced by something far more determined to overcome the slings and arrows life and cricket rain upon the unwary". And it seems to be working, as Butcher has piled up 1148 runs in his last 14 Tests, since a surprise call-up at the start of last year's Ashes series.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, in The Times, wrote that "Butcher was again the outstanding batsman, his bat impeccably straight and his feet moving decisively forward and back." Pringle made a similar point: "When you are batting well, things move in straight lines." CMJ concluded that, "Greater confidence and competence against spin, the product of wise advice from his father and Duncan Fletcher but also of his own hard work, is enabling Butcher to fulfil his talent."

And in The Independent, their new cricket correspondent Angus Fraser followed the trend, observing that in Butcher "you sense a man who is totally at ease with himself and his game. His movement before the ball leaves the bowler's hand is minimal, and smooth, simple and unrushed once it has. Renowned as a good player of fast bowling, it is the way the Surrey batsman has played Muralitharan that will have given him the greatest pleasure. During the one-off Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval in 1998, Muralitharan tortured Butcher before the England man wildly and unwisely came down the wicket and was stumped. His current success is a testament of the hours of hard work put in behind the scenes." Fraser should know: he was playing in that Oval demolition.

The Guardian's Mike Selvey got stuck into Sri Lanka's body language – "hands thrust deep in pockets and shoulders hunched" – and hinted at dressing-room discord, before turning to Butcher. He said one confident shimmy down the pitch to Murali showed how the England batsmen's ability to play spin had improved over the last 18 months.

Elsewhere in The Guardian David Hopps had some fun at Eric Upashantha's expense, reminding everyone of the hapless "Eric the Eel", the doggy-paddler from Equatorial Guinea who enlivened (and prolonged) the swimming events at the Sydney Olympics. Upashantha followed a forgettable opening spell by dropping a dolly. But he bounced back, and dismissed Graham Thorpe after a rain break, enabling Hopps to finish with a flourish: "This Eric, at any rate, was impressive in the wet. They never said that about Eric the Eel."

With Sri Lanka struggling, news from there was harder to find. In the Daily News, Sa'adi Thawfeeq manfully did his duty: "Playing Upashantha was not a wise choice," he said. "If there were question marks on Zoysa and Buddika's fitness, then at least Ruchira Perera, who bowled exceptionally well against MCC at Chesterfield, should have been considered unless they had very good reason not to play him because he is still going through his rehabilitation process of correcting his bowling action after having it reported to the ICC after the Lord's Test. But there is no rule that says that he cannot play."

But Thawfeeq was some good news for the Sri Lankans: "Marcus Trescothick ... rated (Dilhara) Fernando's pace bowling as `being right up there with the likes of Brett Lee and Co.' ... he was the only bowler who looked like taking a wicket on the firm batting pitch apart from Muttiah Muralitharan."

Outside the Test arena the British papers enjoyed themselves at Kent's expense, after most of their players were caught in a massive London traffic jam – caused by a burst water-main – and arrived late for the county match at The Oval (Min Patel's car overheated and he didn't make it until half past one).

Dicky Rutnagur in the Telegraph devoted almost all his report to the traffic trouble, gleefully pointing out that Mark Ealham's car was one of the last to arrive, despite being fitted with a satellite Global Positioning System. There wasn't much room left for Alistair Brown, who pounded 188 when play eventually did get under way. Surrey ended up with 361, which allowed David Llewellyn to observe in The Independent that Kent had, from "first to last ... been the victims of one-way traffic".

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