Mathews pleased with effort against quality England attack

Rex Clementine from Galle Fort

Former captain Angelo Mathews posted his 11th Test hundred in Galle yesterday helping Sri Lanka to stage a fight back in the second Test after James Anderson reduced the hosts to seven for two in the first session. England bowlers rarely gave away any bad balls in the first session but as the day progressed batting became much easier.

“We lost the openers early unfortunately and we just had to see through a few overs and get the ball slightly older and look for runs. Scoring runs was tough although the wicket was flat. England were on the money not giving away too many loose balls,” Mathews told journalists.  

 “If it is this hot and humid it’s going to start turning soon. Couple of balls turned today. We don’t know what a good score is and we need to make sure that we get a big first innings score,” Mathews added.  

Apart from Anderson, Mark Wood troubled the batters bowling at lively pace. “It was hard work bowling out there. This pitch was tougher than the last one. We knew it was going to be harder. They played well and it didn’t spin as much as it did in the first Test. We intend to make early inroads tomorrow morning,” Wood said. 

 “We will be trying to get Mathews out early. He has been a bit of a thorn in our side. Things start happening quick here especially if it starts turning a bit. We have to put in as much effort as we can,” he went onto say.