England searching for their special one

Duncan Fletcher had his England bubble, and Peter Moores has his buzzwords. Communication, ruthlessness, vibrancy all the sorts of words thrown about so frequently that one almost begins to long for the days of putting one's hand up, stepping up to the plate and coming to the party. Stop wasting chances might be the mantra better suited to this current tour; Nasser Hussain's team certainly didn't turn things round six years ago by waxing lyrical about the positive energy in Graham Thorpe's forward defensive.

In what all the England players and coaches have recognised as a scrap, a challenge and a sweat, they cannot afford to let advantageous positions slip as they have done so far. They lost in Kandy having bowled the home side out for less than 200 on a goodish batting pitch; they failed to make the most of a great start from the openers (not without a share of ill-luck) this game; while on a pitch which even the great Muttiah Muralitharan has lamented as a bowler's graveyard, they could not break the Sri Lankans at a crucial juncture today. 25-2 with the ultra-prolific Sangakkara back in the hutch is the sort of point at which the critical mass of a Test match changes. England needed someone to back up the sterling opening created by Sidebottom, who showed he remains a new ball threat even when the ambient conditions do not favour him. But the efforts of his colleagues were thwarted by the the assured blade of Jayawardene and the blunting, energy sapping one of Michael Vandort, who took the example of the like-minded Cook from the first day. England did not necessarily do anything wrong, or fall down on the job, but to win Test matches here, especially on such a placid surface, requires something more than fulfilling basic expectations.

With Sri Lanka still 250 runs behind there is still a chance, but the window is a narrow one and it will not help that the ball is all but 40 overs old. Once again, much will be down to the left-arm spin of Monty Panesar, who was insipid in his six overs. He returned 6 wickets to Murali's 9 at Kandy, a respectable ratio, but there is still the feeling that England need more from their premier spinner if they are going to win games here. Seamers have a big role to play on the subcontinent; they might, as Matthew Hoggard did, wreck an innings when the ball swings, but more likely, as with Sidebottom today, a gap will be opened up with the new ball. It is then the job of the spinner to work away, tease and beguile a middle-order playing without the freedom of runs on the board. Panesar is a fine spinner, and one who does not invite criticism; however, his staple diet of flat, accurate balls is too mundane for Asian batsmen on their own patch. He can spin the ball more, and should at least experiment with variations of flight and angle. Accustomed to a supporting role at home, where he is a brilliant foil for the seamers, Monty must now acknowledge that he is the main man and start bowling like one.

There were many reasons why England were able to turn around the deficit this current team is facing in 2001, not least a fierce team spirit. But they also won because Thorpe batted with psychopathic intent, Gough bowled like a Trojan and Hussain led like a man possessed. England can be invigorated, intense, focused, vibrant and ruthless like the ever-ready men their coach rightly wants them to be. But to pull it out of the hat here, someone's going to have to be bloody brilliant too.