Butcher hits ton as England
grind out draw

Tony Lawrence

Mark Butcher ground out 105 runs while England's top five batsmen all made half-centuries to complete a marathon fightback and salvage a draw from the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Monday.

The home side, outclassed for most of the match and forced to follow on 280 runs behind, declared just before the close of the fifth day on 529 for five, 249 runs in credit, after batting for two days as the game petered out.

The Sri Lankans, who made 555 for eight declared in their first visit, reached 42 for one in the 13 overs left after being peppered with short deliveries by England's pace bowlers.

Sri Lanka's hopes of a 10th Test win in a row had slipped away during the final afternoon as the left-handed Butcher, who had looked in wretched form as he struggled to put bat to ball at the start, produced an innings memorable for grim determination rather than sparkling strokeplay.

The Surrey player, who remodelled his game 18 months ago in an attempt to revive a faltering career, reached his fourth Test hundred after six-and-a-half hours before running himself out moments later for 105, needlessly risking a third run to fine leg.

Every England batsman, however, took advantage of a fine batting pitch and Sri Lanka's attack badly missing injured off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sri Lanka had started another sunny day with hopes of forcing a win as England resumed a meagre 41 runs ahead with eight wickets standing.

But skipper Nasser Hussain set the tone with a cautious 68 in a 159-run stand for the third wicket with Butcher before falling lbw, perhaps unluckily, to left-arm seamer Ruchira Perera just before lunch, the ball appearing to pitch outside the leg stump.

Graham Thorpe replaced him and looked in little trouble against a labouring all-seam attack, making 65 before chipping Aravinda de Silva's occasional off-spin lazily to mid-on after a half-century partnership with John Crawley.

CRAWLEY STRANDED

Crawley himself seemed set to make it a sixth half-century before he was left stranded on 41 not out after Hussain's decision to declare and let his bowlers have another morale-boosting crack at Sri Lanka's impressive batting line-up.

The tactic worked to a limited extent as Marvan Atapattu, who made 185 in the first innings, was dismissed by Andy Caddick for seven, flicking a catch to Butcher at short midwicket.

But Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene remained unbeaten on six and 14 respectively.

England's earlier revival had been launched by openers Michael Vaughan -- whose entertaining 115 took two hours less than Butcher's effort -- and Marcus Trescothick (76).

For the home team, it was the first time since 1997 that they had scored more than 500 in an innings, a record to contrast with the Sri Lankans, who have passed that mark in the first innings in eight of their last 10 games.

The tourists, meanwhile, were left to rue the absence of Muralitharan.

Since his debut 10 years ago, the team has now failed to win any of the 12 games he has missed.

The leading bowler in the world and boasting 412 Test wickets, he is hoping to overcome a left shoulder injury in time for the second match of the three-Test series at Edgbaston starting on May 30.

Sri Lanka were also left to mull over leading seamer Chaminda Vaas's poor match -- needing just four wickets for 200 Test victims, he managed just one at a cost of 164 runs -- and perhaps the two key moments of the entire game, when skipper Sanath Jayasuriya twice spilled Vaughan off simple chances near the start of his second innings.

England last drew a match after following on four years ago against South Africa at Old Trafford, although that was a much narrower escape with their last pair at the wicket.

Images from the final day's play

Scoreboard

Mail Cricket Editor