SOUTHAMPTON: Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen rescued England from a slump to 14 for two on a rain-marred third day of the third Test at the Rose Bowl here on Saturday.
England were 69 for two in reply to Sri Lanka’s 184, a deficit of 115 runs, at tea. Cook was 32 not out and Pietersen 27 not out with their third-wicket stand so far worth 55 runs.
Spectators booed after Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar decided tea, after only 4.4 overs were bowled after lunch because of rain, would be taken even though conditions were then arguably at their best all day.
England were in trouble following the early loss of skipper Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott.
Strauss, concerningly was dismissed cheaply by Chanaka Welegedara for the third time in as many innings.
Strauss’s exit came after he’d twice been dismissed by Welegedara, falling lbw for four and nought, in the drawn second Test at Lord’s.
It left Strauss with just 27 runs for the series and meant the 34-year-old had scored just one hundred in his last 35 Test innings — 110 in the drawn Ashes opener against Australia in Brisbane in November.
But Cook — playing his 66th consecutive Test and so breaking the England record shared by Alan Knott and Ian Botham — drove Welegedara off the back foot for a superb boundary.
Suranga Lakmal though had Trott out for just four after a ball angled across the right-hander took the outside edge on its way to wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene.
Pietersen got off the mark with a straight driven four off Lakmal and later used just the one hand in playing a similar shot for another boundary off the same bowler. Although troubled by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath in this series, Pietersen went down the pitch to drive the first ball he faced from him for four in the last over before lunch. Sri Lanka, 177 for nine overnight, added just seven more runs.
Welegedara was last man out, caught driving to Eoin Morgan at cover to give the wayward Stuart Broad his only wicket of the innings.
Dilhara Fernando was a Test-best 39 not out, runs that looked increasingly valuable as England struggled in reply. England fast bowler Chris Tremlett, who until his move to Surrey last season played for Hampshire, took a Test-best six for 48 in 20 overs.
Score board
England won toss
Sri Lanka 1st innings
N T Paranavitana lbw b Tremlett 11
H D R L Thirimanne c Strauss b Anderson 10
*K C Sangakkara c Prior b Anderson 2
D P M D Jayawardene c Prior b Tremlett 4
T T Samaraweera c Pietersen b Tremlett 31
†H A P W Jayawardene c Morgan b Swann 43
N L T C Perera c Prior b Tremlett 2
H M R K B Herath c Anderson b Tremlett 12
C R D Fernando not out 39
R A S Lakmal c Prior b Tremlett 0
U W M B C A Welegedara c Morgan b Broad 7
Extras (b 2, lb 15, w 4, nb 2) 23
Total (all out; 64.2 overs) 184
Fall: 1-23, 2-23, 3-29, 4-39, 5-89, 6-91, 7-117, 8-158, 9-166, 10-184
Bowling: Anderson 23-7-56-2 (1w); Broad 19.2-3-51-1 (1nb, 2w); Tremlett 20-5-48-6 (1nb, 1w); Swann 2-0-12-1
England 1st innings
*A J Strauss c Paranavitana b Welegedara 3
A N Cook not out 32
I J L Trott c H Jayawardene b Lakmal 4
K P Pietersen not out 27
Extras (nb 3) 3
Total (2 wickets; 20.4 overs) 69
To bat: I R Bell, E J G Morgan, †M J Prior, S C J Broad, G P Swann, C T Tremlett, J M Anderson
Fall: 1-4, 2-14
Bowling: Welegedara 7.4-1-17-1; Lakmal 8-1-30-1 (1nb); Fernando 3-0-13-0 (2nb); Perera 1-0-4-0; Herath 1-0-5-0
Test debut: H D R L Thirimanne (Sri Lanka)
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and R J Tucker (Australia). TV umpire: B R Doctrove (West Indies). Match referee: A G Hurst (Australia)

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