It seams we have the upper hand

13 April 2012

Despite all the dodgy decisions and general bad feeling in Kandy, let's not forget England won a great Test and will take the field in Colombo full of confidence.

Having lost the toss again last week, a few heads might have gone down in the dressing room. Far from it.

Darren Gough and Andy Caddick have found a new lease of life and have worked to ensure that the seamers do have a big part to play on spinner-friendly wickets.

The buzz about Colombo is that the pitch is more likely to suit the seamers.

Not wishing to tempt fate, but I have England down as the favourites. If you can get the ball around the Sri Lankans chests, they really don't like it. Unlike me, of course, who would, on most occasions, gently rock back and crash it to the boundary from in front of my nose.

The victory also marked a turn of fortunes for captain Nasser Hussain. He dug us out of a hole with his batting.

All the controversy about bad decisions going against him, changed to one or two going for him. That may have helped his cause,but if anyone deserved success, he did.

All Nasser needs now is to get Graham Gooch's barber to replace the hair he has been pulling out.

Of course, the captain could not possibly savour the moment without remarks about the integrity of his ton.

A certain Sports Columnist of the Year made an incredible statement in a Sunday newspaper saying: "Hussain did not score a century."

Apparently, this was because he had been 'out' earlier in his innings. Surely this is misguided. Look in the score book, Mr Sportswriter. Going by your logic, Nasser should still be batting in Pakistan and the majority of cricket's statistics would all be incorrect.

I am sure Nasser would have been delighted by the all-round performance with everyone sticking together and chipping in when needed.

The way the guys handled the pressure on the final day against the big spin of Muttiah Muralitharan might, at last, put to bed some of the doubts about our ability to play spin.

Now it is down to which team can hold their nerve the best. So far, I reckon 1-1 is a fair reflection of the cricket played, regardless of all the controversy. The two teams are equally matched, but we must now have the edge after Sunday's victory.

Hopefully, injuries will not affect selection. Nasser was obviously struggling, but it will take wild horses to stop him playing.

The only other selection open to debate, as it has been all tour, is between Graeme Hick and Michael Vaughan.

This is down to England coach Duncan Fletcher and whether he thinks Hicky has a match-winning innings left in him on this tour.

The main point to consider is Vaughan's lack of cricket.

While it may be tempting to give Hick the boot, is it fair to expect Vaughan to perform from what in effect would be a cold start?

Five more days of hard-fought competition ahead, and we don't want to see any skulduggery - just fiercely competitive, quality cricket with England coming out on top for a fourth straight series win.

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It seams we have the upper hand

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