Morgan eyes second Test advantage

Morgan continued his fine recent form on his home ground

Eoin Morgan says England must maintain their momentum to produce a big first-innings total against Sri Lanka on day two of the second Test at Lord's.

The hosts recovered from 22-3 to finish day one 342-6, with Matt Prior on 73.

And Morgan, who scored 79 and shared a record 101-run sixth-wicket stand with Prior, is confident England can accelerate if they do not lose wickets.

"We are in a position that allows us to kick on if we get through the first hour," he told BBC Sport.

"The pitch is a lot slower than we thought, so there is a lot of hard work ahead of us."

Morgan continued his excellent form shown in the England Lions game against Sri Lanka in Derby, when his first-innings 193 cemented his Test place ahead of Essex's Ravi Bopara.

At Lord's, the elegant left-hander dominated the spinners, adeptly using his feet while punishing anything short and wide of off stump through point on his way to his first Test half century.

"I feel in good form at the moment," said the Dublin-born batsman, who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League this year.

"It gets easier as you get in and then I tried to be positive once I was in.

"It is my game in one-day cricket and I'm trying to adapt it to Test cricket."

England captain Andrew Strauss, who lost the toss and was put into bat by Tillakaratne Dilshan, will demand a total in excess of 500 so his triumeverate of fast bowlers - the tallest in England's history - can exploit what little assistance there is available in the surface.

"The wickets at Lord's are generally quite flat," said Morgan, whose county side Middlesex play their home games at Lord's.

"The one this morning looked like it had a tad more grass and we saw before lunch it did do quite a lot.

"But I think our taller bowlers will get enough out of the pitch, especially in the morning so hopefully we can ask enough questions and test them a bit."