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On the verge Umpiring blunders have England headed for victory
KANDY, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Sri Lanka suffered yet again from umpiring errors Friday, as England headed for a victory in the second test with the home team struggling on 98 for 6 in their second innings at draw of stumps on the third day. With 6 second innings wickets gone, Sri Lanka managed a lead of only 8 runs with two days of play remaining for England to bat and level this 3-test series. Sri Lanka won the first test by an innings and 28 runs at Galle. The worst victim of umpire Bulathsingala Cooray was Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, who was given out caught by Graham Thorpe in the third slip off Andrew Caddick when the ball clearly hit the ground first and then went to the fielder. Jayasuriya was so disgusted that he threw his helmet and gloves as he walked back to the pavilion. The only Sri Lankan resistance came from Kumar Sangakkara who hit an unbeaten 47. Earlier, helped by wrong decisions by Cooray, England battled their way into a crucial 90-run first-innings lead. England looked to have lost their chance of a significant lead when they lost four wickets for 23 runs in 17 overs and slipped to 346 for nine. But the last pair of Darren Gough and Robert Croft resisted Sri Lankan spinners for 58 minutes, surviving 105 deliveries until left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas trapped Gough leg before wicket for 10. It left Sri Lanka facing a 90-run deficit after dismissing England for 387 and frustrated than ever at the series of umpiring errors. England had resumed on 249 for five in reply to Sri Lanka's total of 297 all out. Cooray, blamed for a series of incorrect decisions Thursday, adjudged Alec Stewart, 16 overnight, not out after he had added a further 15 to his total. Sri Lanka claimed a pad-bat catch by Mahela Jayawardene at silly point off Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling. Sri Lankan fielders ran to congratulate Jayawardene for his one-handed catch, but Cooray gave the former England skipper not out. Television replays showed the ball flicking the bat after hitting the pad and that the catch was taken cleanly. Sri Lankan newspapers criticized Cooray on Friday for poor judgment. "Cooray blunders, as Hussain scores 109," the state-run Daily News said. Cooray is a Sri Lankan. "Umpire Cooray bats for England," the Daily Mirror said. The Sri Lanka-England cricket series has been marred by some poor umpiring. In the first test, English officials complained that they suffered from bad decisions and lost the test by an innings. Hussain has refused to be drawn into the controversy about Cooray's umpiring. "We had a few things go our way in our innings, but I certainly don't want to complain about that," he said. Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore said: "Most people who watch the game know that what you miss on the slides you pick up on the swings."
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