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KANDY (Sri Lanka), Dec 14: A marathon hundred by captain Michael Vaughan helped England salvage a draw in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Vaughan resisted over seven hours for his 105 from 333 balls to help England survive a torrid final day, just as they did in the drawn first Test in Galle.
The tourists, who resumed on 89 for two chasing a highly improbable 368 to win, finished on 285 for seven.
Vaughan’s painstaking hundred, which revived memories of Michael Atherton’s 10-hour match-saving 185 against South Africa in 1995-96, was his 10th in Tests.
England looked likely losers when Muralitharan trapped Andrew Flintoff (19) lbw and had Vaughan snapped up at bat-pad to leave England 233 for seven with an hour and 20 minutes remaining.
But Chris Read and Gareth Batty batted a further 20 minutes until the umpires started the final hour at 4.36pm.
Sri Lanka captain Hashan Tillekeratne, who had set bizarrely defensive fields throughout the day, took the new ball in the 122nd over but soon turned back to his spinners as a sickly Chaminda Vaas ran out of steam.
As the minutes ticked away, Sri Lanka’s frustration was heightened by regular time-wasting interruptions from England’s 12th man Matthew Hoggard.
Batty and Read held firm, doggedly defending during an unbroken 87-minute partnership.
Batty finished with 25 not out and Read, previously having a wretched series with the bat, scored the most valuable 18 runs of his career.
Earlier, Vaughan and Graham Thorpe (41) frustrated Sri Lanka with an 87-run stand from 231 balls after the early loss of Nasser Hussain, who was brilliantly pouched one-handed by wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara off Vaas in the day’s first over.
But Sri Lanka broke through immediately after lunch, Muralitharan winning a controversial caught behind appeal to dismiss Thorpe.
Muralitharan had a series of bat-pad and lbw appeals turned down afterwards as tempers started to fray and Sangakkara was warned by umpire Darryl Harper for sledging.
Kumar Dharmasena eventually broke through, having Paul Collingwood (24) caught at slip to end a 92-minute 41-run stand.
Scoreboard
SRI LANKA (1st Innings) 382 (T.M. Dilshan 63, K.A.D.M. Fernando 51 not out; A.F. Giles 5-116).
ENGLAND (1st Innings) 294 (G.P. Thorpe 57, M.P. Vaughan 52; M. Muralitharan 4-60, W.P.U.J.C. Vaas 4-77).
SRI LANKA (2nd Innings) 279-7 declared (T.M. Dilshan 100, D.P.M. Jayawardene 52).
ENGLAND (2nd Innings, overnight 89-2):
M.E. Trescothick c J’wardene b Vaas 14
M.P. Vaughan c Dilshan b M’tharan 105
M.A. Butcher st S’kkara b M’tharan 6
N. Hussain c S’kkara b Vaas 17
G.P. Thorpe c S’kkara b M’tharan 41
P.D. Collingwood c J’wardene b D’sena 24
A. Flintoff lbw b M’tharan 19
C.M.W. Read not out 18
G.J. Batty not out 25
EXTRAS (B-3, LB-8, NB-5) 16
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 140 overs) 285
FALL OF WKTS: 1-24, 2-50, 3-90, 4-167, 5-208, 6-233, 7-239.
BOWLING: Vaas 29-7-59-2 (3nb); Fernando 7-1-21-0; Dharmasena 26-2-74-1 (2nb); Muralitharan 56-28-64-4; Jayasuriya 17-2-45-0; Tillekeratne 1-0-1-0; Samaraweera 1-1-0-0; Dilshan 3-1-10-0.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Michael Vaughan.
THIRD TEST: Colombo, Dec 18-22.—Reuters
