A superb spell of bowling with the second new ball from Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough cut through Sri Lanka's lower order to dismiss the hosts for 297 shortly before the close of the first day of the Second Test at Kandy. England were 1/0 at stumps off two overs.

Caddick and Giles - something to celebrate Photo CricInfo

A century from Mahela Jayawardene and 65 by Russel Arnold had threatened to take the game away from England before a fine fightback in the final session.

At tea Sri Lanka were handily placed at 216/4 with Jayawardene unbeaten on 95. He had started like a train after lunch as the English bowlers tested him with the short ball, only to be pulled emphatically through the leg side. He reached his fifty off 78 balls, and brought up the 200 with another boundary, off White, in just the 52nd over of the innings.

Arnold had looked to be struggling with his hand before the lunch interval and had to wait 24 balls before getting off the mark with a mistimed boundary through the covers. After that however, he attacked the bowling, hitting six boundaries, and looked far more secure.

Jayawardene completed his fifth Test century soon after the tea with a clip to long leg off the bowling of Andrew Caddick. He reached it off 161 balls and after three hours of elegant batting but he was dismissed in the same over without adding to his score.

He tried to pull – a shot that he played expertly throughout his innings – a short ball on his off stump, but the ball bounced more than he expected. He became cramped for room and top-edged the ball straight to Graham Thorpe at mid-wicket. His partnership with Arnold added 142 for the fifth wicket.

Arnold was joined by Tillakaratne Dilshan and the pair added a further 56 runs before the new ball was taken. Arnold went to Gough's first ball, edging to White in the gully.

Kumar Dharmasena was well caught by Thorpe in the slips in Gough's next over and the same fielder accounted for Vaas off Caddick for two to leave the score at 282/8. Dilshan finally went for 36 after two hours when he edged Gough to Atherton at slip and the innings was wrapped up by Caddick when he found Nuwan Zoysa's edge.

England had enjoyed the better of the morning session. With Sri Lanka lunching on 93-4 there was the promise of a faster moving encounter than the attritional game at Galle. The hard pitch has significantly more pace and greater bounce, and the attacking mood of the Sri Lankan batsman has guaranteed plenty of drama.

Stewart - good day in the field Photo © CricInfo

Gough bowled fast and with aggression throughout the morning. He hurried all the batsmen and painfully rapped Jayasuriya on the gloves and Sangakkara on the arm.

He troubled Marvan Atapattu the most though and finally dismissed the double centurion in Galle for 16 in the seventh over of the day. Atapattu scored all of his runs in boundaries down to third man, three strokes were edges and one was a delightful upper cut. He fell, however, to the next ball. Pushed on to the back foot he chopped it onto to his off stump. Sri Lanka were 21 for one.

Sanath Jayasuriya started tentatively this morning. He drove Caddick through mid off for two to get off the mark and hit his first boundary in the 10th over of the day, a trademark square drive over the top of point. Next ball, however, he was caught at point by Ashley Giles for nine after a half-hearted square drive. Sri Lanka were on the back foot for the first time in the series on 29 for two.

Sangakkara looked unfortunate to have been given out by umpire Koertzen. In White's first over the ball appeared to hit the batsman's elbow before Trescothick, diving forward in the gully, caught it. He had looked to be in good form, and in partnership with de Silva brought up the 50 in just the 13th over of the innings.

Aravinda de Silva continued to attack the bowling, hitting one lofted straight drive off Giles for six and driving White straight down the ground. He played one shot too many, though, as he tried to pull a quick short ball from Craig White, top edged it straight up into the air and was caught and bowled. Two balls later Marcus Trescothick dropped the new batsman, Arnold, in the gully.

Earlier Nasser Hussain's wretched tossing form continued as he lost his eighth toss in nine Test Matches. Sri Lanka, who are playing their 50th Test Match at home, elected to bat first on a brown wicket.

England named an unchanged side this morning, while Sri Lanka made one change, replacing Dilhara Fernando with Zoysa.

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