James Anderson marked his return to England duty by removing debutant Sri Lanka opener Lahiru Thirimanne on the first day of the third Test at the Rose Bowl yesterday.
Sri Lanka were 23 for one when rain, which had delayed the start of the first Test ever staged at the Rose Bowl, the home of southern county Hampshire, lashed down to force an early lunch after only 13 overs’ play.
Tharanga Paranavitana was 11 not out and Kumar Sangakkara, resuming the captaincy in the absence of the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan, nought not out.
Anderson, who missed the drawn second match of this series at Lord’s with a side strain, struck shortly before lunch when he had Test debutant opener Lahiru Thirimanne caught at first slip by England captain Andrew Strauss off an edged drive for 10.
Strauss had won the toss and elected to field in the hope his attack could make the most of any early assistance as England looked to press home a 1-0 series lead gained from an innings victory in the first Test in Cardiff.
However, while Anderson was generally accurate, fellow seamer Stuart Broad was wayward and conceded the match’s first run with a wide.
Thirimanne, replacing Dilshan — who broke this thumb making 193 at Lord’s — scored his first runs in Test cricket when he forced Broad behind point.
England, in the fifth over, were convinced Paranavitana, on six, had been caught behind off Anderson. However, umpire Aleem Dar ruled in the batsman’s favor only for England to review the Pakistani’s decision.
The replay technology available offered no proof of an edge and Dar, who didn’t have a single decision overturned on review at this year’s World Cup, saw his verdict stand.
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