England win rain-affected thriller with four balls to spare A damp start at Headingley would not have a presaged the excitement that the 32 overs a side contest between England and Sri Lanka was to eventually offer. Nasser Hussain might have won the toss but it was his opposite number, Sanath Jayasuriya, who had all the fun in the first half. The Sri Lankan captain bludgeoned English bowlers right from the word go on his way to an imperious 112 off 87 balls, a knock studded with nine fours and five hefty sixes. Jayasuriya's 12th one-day hundred and a late flurry from Upul Chandana (30 off 13 balls) powered the Sri Lankans to a possibly match-winning score of 240 for seven. But Marcus Trescothick had other ideas. Playing with great freedom and taking full toll of a let-off at 41, the England opener hit a telling 82 off 60 balls to put his team back on course. Paul Collingwood (38) and Alec Stewart (38*) then ensured that England went on to achieve another famous win in the dark to join the Indians at the top of the NatWest standings.

Hussain backs Hoggard despite poor show Matthew Hoggard's poor form in the NatWest series might have begun to worry English fans but Nasser Hussain refuses to give up on his talented seamer. "If we're going to have a World Cup squad we're going to need players who can take wickets with the new ball - and he's done that in the past," the England skipper explained after Tuesday's match against Sri Lanka which saw Hoggard concede 53 runs in four overs. "I thought with the breeze at Headingley it would be good for Matthew to swing it - and he did swing it, but he probably did it too much. He's struggling a little bit at the moment, but he's a hard worker and straight after the game he was on at the coach about videos," Hussain added. "He will work hard and we've got to persevere with him because he's a good white-ball bowler." Hoggard's Yorkshire team-mate Darren Gough, in sharp contrast, made an effective return to England colours, finishing with three for 45, and knocking the winning runs thereby sealing England's triumph. "It was a gamble playing him and we discussed it long and hard between myself, the coach and a few of the management boys," Hussain admitted. "Playing him had a lot to do with the inexperience in our attack. You do need someone out there who knows when to bowl the slower ball or the yorker and talks to the other bowlers - that's why we rushed him back against Sri Lanka."

Not a prospect that re'gales' The next NatWest encounter, a day-nighter that pits England against India, could once again see the giant lights-on-wheels being used. Ironically, British Met office warnings of gale winds having the potential to bring down the apparatus on match day has now thrown up the possibility of players being kept away from the field in the night by these very same floodlights. "The way things are shaping up I would say the risk is quite high - about 60 to 70% at this stage," forecaster Steve Randall told BBC. "Thursday is still quite a long way off, and it might not happen if the weather systems slowed down. But if you were planning that sort of event it would be something you would have to be thinking about."

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