By Jonathan Agnew BBC cricket correspondent

Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher will be expecting a significant improvement from England's bowlers when the second test begins at Edgbaston on Thursday.

Andy Caddick, Matthew Hoggard and Dominic Cork were all well below par at Lord's.

And while various excuses and explanations have been offered since then, only one rings true with me: that they were not sufficiently prepared for a test match.

In these days of central contracts and 'professional' planning, that simply is not good enough, and it is the first real criticism of Fletcher since he took over as England's coach in 1999.

It was no coincidence that the bowlers came out and bowled like men possessed when Sri Lanka began their brief second innings at Lord's.

Not only had they had been chastened, but Fletcher and Hussain will have been smarting from the criticism that had been levelled at them, and threatened the bowlers that their places were on the line.

Sri Lanka may gamble on Muralitharan

To an extent, that is now behind them.

Caddick and Hoggard have both taken some wickets in the championship, and there must be a chance that Alex Tudor will return to resume his stop/start Test career that began three years ago.

Because of a frustrating injury record, he has still played only five matches.

Sri Lanka would have left Lord's the happier of the two teams.

Gamble

They will have recognised in advance that the opening Test represented their most awkward challenge.

And, although they dominated much of the game, to arrive at Edgbaston with Muttiah Muralitharan on the mend and the series still level will leave them in good heart.

There is a real possibility that they will take a gamble and that Murali will be pressed into action here but, far more sensible, would be to wait until the last Test at Old Trafford.

He will enjoy the conditions there and could very easily prove to be the difference between the two teams.

Caddick will be under pressure to perform better

It would be a waste to rush him back prematurely and jeopardise his recovery.

And what of Ruchira Parera, the young fast bowler whose action was reported by the umpires at Lord's?

Well, the answer is that he can carry on playing Test cricket, and cannot be reported again for another six weeks.

It really is an absurd situation and you can bet that England's players will be encountering.

What on earth happens if he takes a hatful of wickets, I am not sure!

However, all the Test countries signed up to this system and that is what is currently in place to cope with the unnecessarily thorny issue of throwing.

Putting to one side the moral argument of whether or not it is right to select a bowler in these circumstances, I can't hope but feel that it would be an act of kindness by the Sri Lankans to withdraw him.

They could then allow him to work on his action away from the glare of publicity - an opportunity he should have been granted long before this.