Until Gary Ballance, with a maiden Test century of immense mental strength, and Chris Jordan, a vibrant addition to the Test match arena, came together for an hour and a half after tea and added 78 for the seventh wicket, England found a game they had been dominating had been turned on its head.
All out for 453, with Angelo Mathews' fine century adding to that of Kumar Sangakkara the previous day, Sri Lanka had conceded a first-innings deficit of 122.
At lunch Alastair Cook and Sam Robson had added 27 not convincing runs but were still together. By shortly after tea, when Matt Prior tamely patted a catch that was snaffled in the gully, the scoreboard read 122 for six as Shaminda Eranga first of all, and then Rangana Herath, delivered body blows.
All the while Ballance, the scourge of spellchecks, had been batting with great determination, and he found a willing ally in Jordan.
Gradually the pair, one in his second Test and one in his first, stole the initiative back so by the time Jordan chipped a catch to mid-off from the leading edge England were surely safe, a position then reinforced by a rapid 57-run stand between Ballance and Stuart Broad.
Unbeaten
Ballance was to return to the backslapping pavilion unbeaten on 104, having biffed his way from 81 to three figures in the space of seven balls, his century arriving when he carved Herath over square-leg and into the grandstand for six.
At 267 for eight England now have a lead of 389 and must declare overnight: already they have too many, surely, for Sri Lanka to chase and 90 overs in which to try to dismiss them to win.
If the cloud cover that hung over the ground all day lifts by then, however, it will be no easy task to take wickets.
In Test cricket the benchmark of a good player is set not just by an obvious skill but by how he can apply that.
Ballance, it has to be said, has a technique – back first and then further back still – that does not lend itself to scrutiny.
The accepted wisdom is he would be susceptible to good short-pitched bowling but also to sideways movement that can be pitched further up than normal.
And yet, somehow, through sheer determination, he squeezed out this innings. His first 50 runs took him 130 balls, his second 54.
Against the spinner he looked to cut if length allowed and he drives with power. But he showed commendable restraint when it mattered and equally commendable freedom when the situation changed later. – Guardian Service
