Cricket: Eng-SL, 1st test: England strong reply to SL as Trott marches on

Tea England 344 for 4 (Trott 147*, Bell 28*) trail Sri Lanka 400 by 56 runs

Kevin Pietersen's problems against left-arm spin came back into view on the fourth day in Cardiff as he fell to Rangana Herath for 3 when play finally began after another damp morning. Farveez Maharoof broke the 251-run third-wicket stand when he had Alastair Cook caught behind then Pietersen departed with the DRS involved but Jonathan Trott, unbeaten on 147, and Ian Bell carried England to 344 for 4 at tea.

The big issue in this match is the time lost and another dank day meant no action before lunch. Unless Sri Lanka collapse in their second innings there won't be a result so it is becoming an exercise in taking psychological points ahead of Lord's on Friday. In that respect Sri Lanka will take heart from Pietersen's failure when he couldn't get his bat down on a ball that skidded through low and got him in a tangle.

Initially, Billy Doctrove gave him not out because bat was very close to the pad and the ball, but the DRS showed a hotspot on the pad fractionally before Pietersen's bat came down. The third umpire, Rod Tucker, took a long time to assess the decision before relaying the information back to Doctrove and Pietersen - who had watched Cook and Trott bat for 77 overs - hauled himself slowly off the pitch.

Maharoof had made the first breakthrough when Cook, having added four to his overnight score, top edged a cut to Prasanna Jayawardene when the ball bounced a little more than expected. Although not much more than medium pace, Maharoof maintained a consistent line and found a hint of unpredictable bounce in a tight 12-over spell as he operated throughout the session.

Progress was slow for England, not helped by the loss of two wickets and the defensive fields set by Sri Lanka, but Bell gave a lesson in how to play left-arm spin when he skipped down the pitch to loft a straight six off Herath and played very confidently. Trott moved along at his own pace, content to pad or block away Herath's leg-stump line, and it wasn't until the 14th over of the day when he added to his boundary count with a straight drive.

Bell benefited from an inside edge that flew past the stumps and the keeper off the hardworking Maharoof and was then given a life on 19 when a well-hit cut was put down at gully. The fifth-wicket stand of 39 helped whittle down Sri Lanka's advantage but there was no feeling that this match was moving anywhere.