Simon Parker column

It was manna from heaven for Headingley’s marketing types trying to shift tickets for the upcoming Test against Sri Lanka.

The second half of a truncated international double-header can sometimes be a tough sell. But not this time.

Sachithra Senanayake made sure there are likely to be plenty more bums on Yorkshire seats in just under a fortnight.

Those extra numbers won’t be there just to scrutinise the spinner’s bowling action, which has been reported to the authorities.

It’s what he did at Edgbaston on Tuesday that has introduced an added edge and tension to future proceedings between England and the tourists.

Senanayake’s decision to stop mid-bowling stride and run out Jos Buttler for backing up too far was greeted as the end of cricket as we know it.

There has been a lot of sanctimonious tripe spouted in the aftermath, with the Sri Lankan and his captain Angelo Mathews hysterically accused of dragging the sport’s reputation through the mud.

And there was silly me thinking that it was the lurid headlines of match-fixing that did that.

But amid all this harrumphing and wringing of hands, the England and Wales Cricket Board can no doubt afford a secret smile at the commercial possibilities.

Bad news sells – and there’s nothing like a bit of pre-match hype and hot air to arouse public interest. Just ask the 80,000 who packed in to Wembley Stadium to watch boxing motor-mouth George Groves owned by Carl Froch’s right fist last weekend.

Both camps will try to play down any outward animosity but you can be sure that a tension will simmer beneath the surface – especially if there is a hint of the bowler getting on a non-striker’s case again.

But what did Senanayake actually do wrong? How can it be against the spirit of the game when the method of dismissal is well within the laws.

Buttler was trying to steal a march by leaving his crease before the ball had been released. He was effectively breaking the rules.

The greenest schoolboy knows not to back up too keenly – it’s drilled into you from the day you first pick up the willow.

And it’s not as if he had not been warned. There had been two public queries to the umpire, reminding him to watch that the batsmen did not try to pull a fast one.

It was entirely Buttler’s fault that he was given out. He’d had his ‘lives’ and was still brazenly willing to risk it.

This casting of Sri Lanka as the baddies hell-bent on destroying cricket with their dirty tricks is nonsense. But it doesn’t half help to keep the cash tills ringing.

They won’t be uttering any complaints around these parts.