Monday, May 15 2006 14:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: England finally saw the back of Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene to move to the brink of victory in the first Test at Lord's here Sunday.

At stumps on the fourth day the tourists, following-on, were 381 for six in reply to England's first innings 551 for six declared - a lead of just 22 runs after bad light ended play for the day.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was 39 not out and Chamara Kapugedera unbeaten on five. For over six hours Jayawardene defied England with an innings of 119, his 14th Test century and second at Lord's, having top-scored with 61 in his side's meagre first innings 192.

And if the forecast bad weather arrives Monday, England could yet pay even more heavily for Andrew Strauss's dropping of Jayawardene on 58.

"Things haven't gone our way the first four days of the Test match," Jayawardene told reporters. "Hopefully something will go our way tomorrow (Monday).

"If we can put up a decent score on the board, Murali (off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan) on the fifth day could be a handful," he said.

The Sri Lanka skipper, who made 107 at Lord's four years ago, was only the eighth overseas batsman to have made more than one Test hundred at 'the home of cricket'.

He followed Australia's Don Bradman and Bill Brown, West Indies' George Headley and Garry Sobers, India's Dilip Vengsarkar, Gordon Greenidge, the third West Indian in the list, and New Zealand's Martin Crowe.

"The match is still on so I haven't really thought about those kinds of things but I'm sure in the next week it will sink in," Jayawardene said.



"I was just batting for the situation we were in, batting for time mainly," he said.

Prior to Jayawardene's exit, England had been delayed by a bad light break of nearly an hour.

But an unlucky 13 balls after the re-start Jayawardene got a thin glove off the bowling of England captain Andrew Flintoff and was well-caught down the legside by Geraint Jones, the wicket-keeper's 100th Test dismissal.

The Australia-raised gloveman remained upbeat despite Jayawardene's innings.

"Mahela batted fantastically well. But they are only 22 runs ahead, four wickets left and tailend batsmen.

"We'll be looking to come out hard, minimise the amount of runs and knock them off. Everyone should be coming in really buoyant," he said.

Jayawardene faced 220 balls with 12 boundaries and sharing a stand of 68 with Dilshan.

Kapugedera, on a king pair in his debut Test, then survived a huge lbw shout first ball from Flintoff, who later had treatment for a foot blister.

In the first session, England suffered a pair of self-inflicted blows, dropping two catches with Strauss flooring a routine slip chance from Jayawardene.

After lunch, debutant fast bowler Sajid Mahmood took England's first wickets of the day, the 24-year-old Lancashire paceman striking twice.

Nightwatchman Farveez Maharoof pulled luckless quick Liam Plunkett for six to go to fifty.

But Mahmood had him when a checked drive was caught by Kevin Pietersen in the covers.

Maharoof faced 145 balls, including seven fours, putting on 113 in 41 overs with Jayawardene.

Mahmood then had Thilan Samaraweera (six) caught behind for a return of two wickets for five runs in 13 balls.

He was in action again when Jayawardene, on 98, pushed Flintoff for a single. Mahmood's shy from mid-on missed at the bowler's stumps missed and went for four overthrows to give the 28-year-old Jayawardene his hundred.

Earlier Maharoof, on 30, edged a drive off Flintoff with third slip Paul Collingwood just failing to hold what would have been a spectacular catch.

Next over Strauss, in the same position, put down a far easier chance to reprieve Jayawardene off the bowling of Matthew Hoggard.



On Friday, England completed a record score against Sri Lanka after hundreds from Pietersen (158) and Marcus Trescothick (106) in what was the first of a three-Test series.