Fatigue a factor as England falter
I remember former England coach Duncan Fletcher telling me once that the first skill to suffer in a tired team is fielding.
Well England have crammed in three Tests in little over three weeks, which is entirely unreasonable in this part of the world, so it is little wonder that three chances went begging .
This is not to make an excuse for England; I am merely stating the obvious: they are tired, not least because they have now been bowling at Mahela Jayawardene for 21 hours.
They agreed to the itinerary, and the players - not surprisingly - wanted to be home for Christmas.
But administrators need to take responsibility for declining standards by insisting on unrealistic schedules, which are willingly endorsed by the all-powerful television broadcasters who do not want to pay for large production crews to be living on location for longer than they have to.
Matt Prior missed two of the three chances - both involving making movements to his right, and both indicating that he has no real idea of where his first slip is standing.
I do have some sympathy for Prior in that England’s fielders continue to hurl the ball wildly in his direction - narrowly missing the batsman - after every single delivery and making him scramble this way and that: it is no wonder he is exhausted. (Incidentally, this practice, which does the spirit of the game no credit at all, should be outlawed before a batsman is injured.)
The trouble is that errors made on such a pivotal day will inevitably be highlighted and for all his excellent efforts with the bat, Prior will still be the subject of a lot of criticism, and his place as first choice wicket-keeper on the New Zealand tour will be under scrutiny.
Mind you, Ryan Sidebottom has fared particularly badly, having now had as many as seven catches missed by Prior since he returned to Test cricket.
Jayawardene, meanwhile, will be looking to bat just the once if he can, so seems likely to continue at the crease well into the third day.
I can’t help but feel that England haven’t bowled nearly well enough here. We have seen the ball bounce - alarmingly at times - and spin sharply, too, yet Monty Panesar hasn’t looked like taking a wicket.
It means talk of a series-levelling victory has dwindled away, apart from among the most optimistic of patriots, and England will now probably be hard pressed to save the game.
