Cricket: For the first 10 days of the Test series against Sri Lanka England had been patient, content to wait until the time was right. Yesterday the time was right and without Andrew Flintoff they would have wasted it.

A first-day score of 259 for eight was far from disastrous on a dry pitch that was already showing signs of breaking up. But after England won the toss in Sri Lanka for the first time in six Tests, they missed a glorious chance to put the final Test - and the series - beyond reach.

Flintoff was England's saviour with a tub-thumping 77 from 109 balls, including 10 fours and four sixes - an innings entirely unencumbered by apprehension that England were about to waste a month of hard graft with a few hours' indiscretions.

Muttiah Muralitharan's wiles were treated with utmost respect; the rest of the Sri Lankan attack felt the power.

For a batsman previously so enfeebled by the sub-continent, as if the slow pitches, constant clamour and clammy air drained him, Flintoff was a revelation.

Upul Chandana's leg-spin was assailed so powerfully that he might have considered bowling in one of the Sri Lankan devil masks that are produced in their hundreds for his uncle's gift shop close to the ancient ruins of Polonnaruwa. Failing that, he could have bowled in a Murali mask, which for England amounts to pretty much the same thing.

Flintoff thundered Chandana for two straight sixes and swept him for another over midwicket. There was technically a caught-and-bowled chance while he was on 68, when Chandana was fortunate not to damage his left hand, and another bludgeoning straight drive caused umpire Aleem Dar to perform a backward roll for safety.

But Murali was a different proposition. This was the Murali who was supposed to be exhausted after his workload in the first two Tests, a man never more than a few yards from an ice pack.

His day's work was 37-20-38-3 and one of the three was Flintoff, who had defended with slightly more delicacy than normal until he drove forcefully at a short wrong 'un for the bowler to hold a tumbling low catch that was confirmed by a television replay.

While the Sri Lankans were grateful for the proof offered by the cameras, there were those outside the ground who denounced their presence as about 30 Buddhist monks protested against showing the match live on television while the country mourns the death of a prominent cleric.

England had started the day at a canter with 49 on the board after seven new-ball overs from Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara Fernando, as if Marcus Trescothick, in particular, had heeded the psychological assault from Sri Lanka's Australian coach, John Dyson, that they were the defensive dinosaurs of the cricketing world.

Trescothick, with 70 from 98 balls, matched Flintoff for scoring rate but his was a much gentler destruction, with several tucks off his legs and easy drives.

Michael Vaughan fell to Chandana, pushing cagily forward to be caught at slip, and, when Trescothick followed in similar fashion to Murali on the stroke of lunch, it devalued much of England's good work.

But it was the first hour of the afternoon that was most disturbing for the tourists: Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe were dismissed, the last two in successive overs. Butcher got one that left him from Fernando, Thorpe was trapped on the crease by Murali's wrong 'un, but it was Hussain's departure that was most exasperating - an innings full of angst ended by a marginal lbw.

In light of this, for Flintoff to play so freely from 139 for five was a redoubtable effort. Gareth Batty supported unobtrusively until he pulled to midwicket and Chris Read continued in similar vein until Flintoff's demise.

Read had enlivened his own defence with one straight six against Chandana that outdid even the best of Freddie. Clearly small men have muscles too.

SRI LANKA v ENGLAND

England First Innings

M Trescothick c Jayawardene b Muralitharan70

M Vaughan c Jayawardene b Chandana 18

M Butcher c Sangakkara b C Fernando23

N Hussain lbw b Vaas 8

G Thorpe lbw b Muralitharan 13

A Flintoff c & b Muralitharan 77

G Batty c Atapattu b Chandana 14

C Read not out 13

A Giles run out 10

R Kirtley not out 1

Extras b4 lb7 nb1 pens 0 12

--

Total 8 wkts (95 overs) ... 259

Fall: 1-78 2-108 3-114 4-135 5-139 6-226 7-236 8-258.

To Bat: J Anderson.

Bowling: Vaas 14 4 61 1, C Fernando 12 3 55 1, Samaraweera 4 1 11, 0 Chandana 26 7 82 2, Muralitharan 37 20 38 3, Jayasuriya 2 1 1 0.