Chris Tremlett plans to kick Sri Lanka while they are down

The giant England bowler Chris Tremlett doesnt plan to ease up against Sri Lanka in the second Test at Lord's.

After skittling out Sri Lanka for 82 on the final day of the first Test, England has no plans to ease up on the opposition when the second Test opens today at Lord's.

"We showed that we are a team that aren't afraid of kicking the opposition when they're down," said Chris Tremlett, who took four wickets. "That's what we'll be looking to do in this game."

England remain unbeaten at Lord's since 2005, but the captain Andrew Strauss said he expects Sri Lanka to "come out fighting".

"I'm sure they would have been disappointed to be bowled out on that last day and with the quality of players they have they'll want to prove a point or two, so we're expecting a pretty strong fightback from them," Strauss said. "We've got to make sure we're better."

Tremlett is likely to take on more responsibility in the bowling attack in the absence of the injured James Anderson, who picked up a side strain in Cardiff.

"I'm just trying to grow with each performance," Tremlett said. "Obviously it's a big responsibility for me to come into this test match and not have [Anderson] in the side; it'll be the only Test I've not played with him. It's a big loss for us. He'll be back soon, but whoever comes in … we've all got to step up."

Steven Finn or Jade Dernbach, who was added to the squad for the Lord's Test, will replace Anderson. Finn, with his knowledge of the Lord's pitch as a Middlesex player, appears the most likely to make the team.

Sri Lanka's collapse, and the failure of the bowling attack to prevent three England players reaching centuries, has led to speculation that Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas might be tempted out of retirement.

Muralitharan immediately ruled out the prospect, but Vaas said he was "always ready to give 100 per cent for my country". He is currently playing county cricket in England with Northamptonshire but has not played a test for two years.

The Sri Lanka coach Stuart Law said that despite the "embarrassing" defeat in Cardiff, he wasn't tempted to make rash changes.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has rejected a request from the former captain Shahid Afridi for permission to play for English county Hampshire.

A PCB official said yesterday that Afridi had been asked to appear before a disciplinary committee on June 8 to respond to several charges of violating his central contract clauses.

"We have scheduled the hearing as soon as possible. It is now in the hands of the disciplinary committee. If it feels right it can give him clearance to play for Hampshire," the PCB media manager Nadeem Sarwar said.

Afridi, 31, who led Pakistan to the semi-finals of the World Cup this year, announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday in protest against his removal as captain for the recent one-day series against Ireland.

Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik said he would urge Shahid Afridi to reverse his retirement decision.

"I will do whatever I can to resolve this issue, as I am equally a fan of Afridi," Malik tweeted.