Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan orchestrated an England recovery in the Second Test in Colombo today. By the close the tourists were 175/4, having been 119/4 at tea in reply to Sri Lanka's 241.

The pair added 84 invaluable runs for the fifth wicket with Thorpe on 73 and Vaughan on 26.

The recovery followed a bizarre spell of cricket after lunch when England collapsed from 45 without loss to 66/3 in the space of seven overs.

First Michael Atherton was trapped lbw by Chaminda Vaas for 21, the fifth time in five innings that the left-armer has accounted for the England opener.

Then Marcus Trescothick (23) was fortuitously caught off a full-blooded sweep at short leg when the ball became tangled in Russel Arnold's shirt. Next captain Nasser Hussain, struggling with an injury and batting with a runner, spooned the ball to short extra cover for eight.

Shortly before his dismissal, Hussain had been given out caught at slip but the ball had appeared not to carry. However, the third umpire appeared to intervene and the decision was reversed.

England suffered a further blow when Muttiah Muralitharan bowled Alec Stewart for three to leave England struggling on 91/4.

Earlier in the day, things had gone exactly according to plan for the tourists.

Croft struck in the third over of the day, as Dilhara Fernando pushed a delivery straight into the hands of Trescothick at silly point to leave Sri Lanka were 225 for eight.

While Vaas was at the crease Sri Lanka still had hopes of scoring 250-plus. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, none of the tail-end batsmen could support him as England took the new ball and he was left stranded not out on 19.

Darren Gough took just three balls to hit Dinuk Hettiarachchi's stumps and Andrew Caddick bowled Muralitharan with his seventh ball, as the off spinner backed away to leg and tried to carve the fast bowler to the boundary.

Croft finished with four wickets for 56 from his 32 overs and England had wrapped up the innings in 35 minutes.

Both the English openers then started positively, hitting five boundaries in the first four overs. Atherton, who was been dismissed by Vaas four times in this series, was particularly harsh on the left-armer, hitting him for three boundaries in his second over.

Fernando, who replaced Nuwan Zoysa, bowled just two overs this morning before he was replaced by the gentle off spinners of Aravinda de Silva. He did not bowl badly and nearly dismissed Trescothick as an edge flew between third slip and gully.

After a brisk start the England run rate slowed. Muralitharan was introduced into the attack in the 11th over of the day and Hettiarchchi was given one over before lunch. At the break England were 44/0.

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