England were 53 for two at the close of the opening day of the third and final Test after Sri Lanka were dismissed for 231 on Friday.
Updated at 11.15 pm
NOTTINGHAM: England were 53 for two at the close of the opening day of the third and final Test after Sri Lanka were dismissed for 231 on Friday.
England, 1-0 up in the series, failed to turn the screw as they lost both openers cheaply to close on 53 for two in reply.
All-rounder Flintoff, bowling back of a length and hitting speeds of more than 91mph, took the big wickets of Kumar Sangakkara (36), Mahela Jayawardene (0) and Sanath Jayasuriya (4).
Flintoff ended with three for 52 and added three catches to his master class at a packed Trent Bridge.
Earlier, captain Andrew Flintoff took three for 52 on the opening afternoon of the third Test at Trent Bridge before Sri Lanka were dismissed for 231.
The tourists, 1-0 down in the three-match series, looked well placed on 84 for one before lunch after opting to bat but then lost three wickets for two runs in three overs to spark a collapse.
Flintoff, hitting speeds of over 91mph and bowling at just back of a length, was the instigator, removing Kumar Sangakkara (36), Mahela Jayawardene (0) and Sanath Jayasuriya (4).
Sri Lanka's last pair of Chaminda Vaas (38 not out) and Muttiah Muralitharan (33) put on 62 together. England debutant Jon Lewis ended with figures of three for 68.
Earlier, England captain Andrew Flintoff led from the front as Lanka slumped to 160 for eight at tea on the first day of the third and final Test at Trent Bridge here on Friday.
The tourists won the toss but paceman Flintoff had taken three for 24 in 12 overs with debutant Jon Lewis and Matthew Hoggard taking two wickets apiece as Sri Lanka reached tea with Chaminda Vaas 10 not out and Lasith Malinga unbeaten on 13.
Sri Lanka, looking to square the series at 1-1 after England won the second Test at Edgbaston by six wickets, lost three wickets for two runs in 16 balls to go from 84 for one to 86 for four at lunch.
That became 97 for five when Tillakaratne Dilshan (eight) was caught at second slip by Flintoff off Lewis, enjoying his first Test having been 12th man on five previous occasions.
Sanath Jayasuriya, who had not played on this tour, had been recalled after being persuaded to end his Test retirement by Sri Lanka chairman of selectors Asantha de Mel.
But, batting down the order instead of his usual opening role, the 36-year-old left-hander was powerless to prevent a further collapse.
On four, he failed to get the pitch of a 90mph delivery from the fired-up Flintoff, bowling much quicker than at Edgbaston, and was caught off the shoulder of the bat by Kevin Pietersen in the gully to leave Sri Lanka in deep trouble at 105 for six.
Two more well-taken close catches, by Flintoff and Andrew Strauss, saw the end of Farveez Maharoof and Chamara Kapugedera as England's seamers maintained their grip.
But Malinga, on two, was dropped by a diving Alastair Cook at backward square leg.
A stand of 82 between left-handers Upul Tharanga (34) and wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara (36) kept England at bay for most of the first session after Lewis had struck in his first over in Test cricket.
Flintoff initiated the slump by having Sangakkara caught by wicket-keeper Geraint Jones although replays suggested the batsman had missed the ball.
Jones was in the action again when Hoggard had Tharanga caught behind and Flintoff then had Sri Lanka counterpart Mahela Jayawardene taken by the Kent keeper for a three-ball 0.
Sri Lanka had made 192 and 141 in the first innings at Lord's and Edgbaston respectively.
On Friday, they saw 30-year-old Gloucestershire seamer Lewis, in for the dropped Sajid Mahmood, strike with his third legitimate ball when left-hander Michael Vandort (one), who scored a battling hundred at Edgbaston, played on after inside edging an attempted cover-drive.
Sangakkara was lucky not to be given out caught behind first ball down the legside for 0 off a glance against Lewis, England's 634th Test cricketer.
However, together with Tharanga, he soon found his touch as both batsmen struck crisp offside boundaries before Flintoff restored order, repeatedly beating the outside edge.
Scoreboard (at tea)
Sri Lanka 1st innings
M Vandort b Lewis 1
U Tharanga c G Jones b Hoggard 34
K Sangakkara c G Jones b Flintoff 36
M Jayawardene c G Jones b Flintoff 0
T Dilshan c Flintoff b Lewis 8
S Jayasuriya c Pietersen b Flintoff 4
C Kapugedera c Strauss b Plunkett 14
F Maharoof c Flintoff b Hoggard 13
C Vaas not out 10
L Malinga not out 13
Extras (b-4 lb-3 nb-18 w-2) 27
Total: (for 8 wickets, 51 overs) 160
Fall of wickets: 1-2 2-84 3-85 4-86 5-97 6-105 7-129 8-139
Sri Lanka: M Muralitharan
Bowling
M Hoggard 13-3-46-2 (nb-3 w-1)
J Lewis 18-3-48-2 (nb-2)
L Plunkett 8-1-35-1 (nb-4 w-1)
A Flintoff 12-2-24-3 (nb-9)
England, 1st Innings
Marcus Trescothick run out (Malinga Sangakkara) 24
Andrew Strauss b Vaas 7
Alastair Cook not out 12
Kevin Pietersen not out 6
Extras: (1b, 2lb, 1nb) 4
Total: (for two wickets) 53
Overs: 18. Batting Time: 79 minutes.
Fall of wickets: 1 25, 2 39.
Still to bat: Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Liam Plunkett, Jon Lewis, Matthew Hoggard, Monty Panesar.
Bowling: Chaminda Vaas 9 2 21 1, Lasith Malinga 5 0 21 0, Muttiah Muralitharan 4 0 8 0 (1nb).
Umpires: Darrell Hair, Australia, and Aleem Dar, Pakistan.
TV Umpire: Peter Hartley, England. Match Referee: Alan Hurst, Australia.
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