Key events
40th over: Sri Lanka 150-7 (Kamindu 31, Jayasuriya 8) Bashir gets his first ball at the left-handed Kamindu. Same close field: slip, leg slip, gully. Still no turn for Bashir, but that’s a pretty accurate maiden.
“Rob, a follow up to my earlier email about reviews,” writes Adam Roberts. “I yearn for the days when there had to be agreement from three participants (captain, wk and bowler). If any of them said no, that would be it. A fine – and funny – example was the TB Test against Windies when Josh Da Silva urged the skipper not to review and, when it was unsuccessful, loudly proclaimed (picked up by stump mic): ‘Don’t blame me, I told them not to review’.”
That was a great strength of the Andrew Strauss team wasn’t it? He and Matt Prior almost always made cold, dispassionate decisions. That’s hard enough at the best of times, never mind when you have Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann in your team. Said with love, save the abuse.
39th over: Sri Lanka 150-7 (Kamindu 31, Jayasuriya 8) Potts swings four byes down the leg side to Kamindu, then grimaces after landing awkwardly on the ankle while bowling to Jayasuriya. I think he’s okay. His figures certainly are: 10-3-19-2.
38th over: Sri Lanka 145-7 (Kamindu 30, Jayasuriya 8) Shoaib Bashir comes on for the first time in this game. He has a slip, leg slip and short leg for Jayasuriya, who thumps a flighted delivery through the covers for two. That’s all folks. No sign of any assistance for Bashir just yet.
“Talking of 2005 and Andrew Flintoff, I cannot adequately recommend his latest TV outing (Field of Dreams On Tour),” says Brian Withington. “Deeply insightful and very moving (and funny). There was always more to him than first met my jaundiced eye, and since his accident he has become even more relatable. Unmissable viewing for all cricket followers and other animals.”
I’ve not seen it yet but have only heard extremely good things. I used to think the line “if it saves one life it’ll be worth it” was a bit cheesy, a bit disingenuous. How wrong was I?
37th over: Sri Lanka 143-7 (Kamindu 30, Jayasuriya 6) Potts beats Jayasuriya – he’s a right-hander you know – three times in four balls. He has bowled so well to the right-handers today; in fact, 14 of the 18 runs that Potts has conceded have been scored by Kamindu, so his figures against the northpaws are 2 for 4.
36th over: Sri Lanka 141-7 (Kamindu 30, Jayasuriya 5) “I think I’d like to see England bat again – assuming the opportunity arises,” says James Brough. “This is entirely for cricketing reasons, such as wanting the bowlers to have a rest with the next Test being in a few days. It’s not at all because I’m stats obsessed and Joe Root only needs 199 runs to overtake Alistair Cook and become leading England Test run scorer. Honest…”
35th over: Sri Lanka 141-7 (Kamindu 30, Jayasuriya 4) Potts replaces Woakes, and he bowled so well in his first spell that he might fancy his chances of a five-for. He’d need to take the last three wickets, but stranger things are happening all over the world right now. Potts almost gets his third wicket when Jayasuriya plays and misses at a classic Potts delivery that holds its line outside off.
Potts doesn’t look anywhere as comfortable to left-handers, and a wide half-tracker is cut crisply for four by Kamindu. He’s so good! It’s probably no exaggeration to say that, based on form at the time rather than the player they became, Kamindu is among the best regular No7s in Test history. Adam Gilchrist would be top of the list I guess. Beefy around 1981 would be up there.
“Afternoon Rob,” writes Simon McMahon. “It’s through following the OBO that I know, without having to look it up, that the aforementioned Mr Martin McCague took six Test wickets at an average of 65.00. I don’t think it gets much more impressive than that, either for me, a Scotsman, or for the enduring power of the OBO.”
34th over: Sri Lanka 136-7 (Kamindu 26, Jayasuriya 3) Olly Stone continues after tea. He’s been expensive and incisive, which England much prefer to the alternative, and there’s another boundary in that over. They were leg-byes so they aren’t included in Stone’s figures, which belong to an ODI from the mid-2000s: 10-0-50-2.
“I was really puzzled by your 21st over reference to Potts’ excellent bowling figures of 4-3-2-2 being Jose Mourinho’s dream formation,” says Brian Withington. “Why had David Moyes never used that at West Ham, I wondered? It was only after some belated mental arithmetic that I realised it would have required our keeper to play up front with Antonio …”
Stuart Pearce did that in his first game as Nottingham Forest manager. He picked an XI the night before the game, then his wife pointed out there was no goalkeeper. All’s well that ends well: they played a goalkeeper and beat Arsenal 2-1.
Something for the weekend
“With the proviso of bowling ‘near their best’, I and 1057 others will doubtless opt for our 2005 vintage,” says Dan Silk. “Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff and especially Jones, together… no hiding place. (Plus we’re only depleting Durham by one bowler.)”
I guess that’s the key point – some attacks look spectacular on paper but you rarely get all four in form at the same time. For our generation 2005 will always be in the top one. Reading Brian Lara’s terrific new book was a reminder of just how unpleasant they could be to face, especially Harmison and Flintoff.
Tea: Sri Lanka trail by 298 runs
33rd over: Sri Lanka 129-7 (Kamindu 26, Jayasuriya 0) Woakes laughs at his own excellence after beating Kamindu with an unbelievable delivery from round the wicket. It curved in and then straightened sharply off the seam. Good luck playing that.
That’s the end of another dominant session from England, who took five wickets to leave Sri Lanka knee deep in bother. The classy Kamindu Mendis stands alone on the burning deck.
32nd over: Sri Lanka 128-7 (Kamindu 26, Jayasuriya 0) Kamindu punches Stone square on the off side for four, which makes him the top scorer in the innings. “Really good player, this young man,” says Mike Atherton on Sky. “Really good player.”
“Is it premature to speculate on whether England will enforce the follow-on?” wonders Nick Way. “Given time and weather, I’d be inclined to give Lawrence and Pope some batting practice.”
Same here, though I wouldn’t necessarily frame it that way. “Ollie, don’t enforce the follow-on, son, you need a hit.” Enforcing the follow-on is so 2001, as England found out when they tried it against New Zealand last year.
31st over: Sri Lanka 124-7 (Kamindu 22, Jayasuriya 0) A delicious delivery from Woakes beats Jayasuriya and whooshes past off stump. That was almost identical to the ball from Potts that bowled Mathews earlier in the day. Almost.
He follows that with a hooping inswinger that Jayasuriya inside-edges onto the pad as he falls over towards the off side, then finishes the over by going past the edge again. Lovely bowling, an expert at work.
At one stage, halfway through the first innings of the second Test against West Indies, a struggling Woakes averaged 88 with the ball this summer. Since then he’s taken 18 wickets at 15 apiece. He. Is. Not. APPRECIATED.
30th over: Sri Lanka 124-7 (Kamindu 22, Jayasuriya 0) Stone continues his spell of short stuff, this time with Kamindu his subject. A nasty lifter hits the glove, then Kamindu top-edges a slightly flustered hook for six. Hot on the heels of last summer’s Ashes, that’s yet another moral victory for England.
“It’s great to see so many positive bowling performances from England’s pacers,” says Matt Dale. “While I don’t always agree with prioritising a series so far in advance, who would your dream England pace attack be for the first Ashes Test in Australia next winter (first XI)?”
My dream attack, the one that makes me go weak at the knees, would be Jofra Archer, a fit, focussed Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Ben Stokes. How about you? Easy to say because it will never happen but if you had those four bowling somewhere near their best, it would compare to any pace attack in English cricket history.
29th over: Sri Lanka 118-7 (Kamindu 16, Jayasuriya 0) “Hi Rob. Maybe I missed/slept through it, but has anyone posted the link to TMS today?”, asks OBO stalwart Wayne Trotman, following events from Izmir, Turkey. “And what are the chances of you squeezing in a mention for your hero and mine, Mr Martin McCague? Did he really down 72 pints of Guinness over his stag weekend in Dublin?”
And the rest.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 118-7 (Rathnayake c Smith b Woakes 16)
Chris Woakes strikes in the first over of a new spell. Rathnayake fiddles outside off stump and is superbly caught by Jamie Smith, diving a long way to his left. That’s a nice moment for Smith, who has struggled a bit with the gloves in this innings.
28th over: Sri Lanka 115-6 (Kamindu 13, Rathnayake 19) Rathnayake is fine to continue. For now: Stone hits him again, this time on the glove with a very good short ball. The ball plops to safety in front of short leg, then Rathnayake thick edges for four. He’s getting a good working-over.
“Has Pope had a successful review as captain yet?” asks Adam Roberts.
I think he’s 0/5, though in his defence he’s had some lamentable advice from people who should know better.
27.3 overs: Sri Lanka 111-6 (Kamindu 13, Rathnayake 15) That’s nasty. A short ball from Stone follows Rathnayeke and clatters into the side of his helmet. He’s on his feet but will undertake a concussion test.
27th over: Sri Lanka 110-6 (Kamindu 12, Rathnayake 15)
26th over: Sri Lanka 109-6 (Kamindu 11, Rathnayake 15) Stone replaces Atkinson, who took the wicket of Chandimal but was very expensive. With two left-handers at the crease I thought we might see Shoaib Bashir. What the hall it’s got to do with me I don’t know.
Three singles from a quiet over.
25th over: Sri Lanka 106-6 (Kamindu 9, Rathnayake 14) This is turning into a sensual orgy of extra-cover drives. Kamindu waves Potts to the right of mid-off for four more, the fourth boundary in that area in six balls. England’s response is to try to get the ball changed, which is frankly an insult to the quality of the strokeplay.
No joy with changing the ball, but now there’s a review for LBW against Kamindu. I don’t fancy England’s chances. He pushed around a really good delivery from Potts, but it looks too high, umpire’s call at best. In fact it’s missing so England lose another review.
Kamindu punches another drive that is well stopped by the sprawling Stone. That ball from Potts was 88mph; he’s put on a bit since his last appearance. How nice to use the phrase “he’s put on a bit” in a positive sense.
24th over: Sri Lanka 101-6 (Kamindu 4, Rathnayake 14) Rathnayake, another left-hander, gets away with consecutive cover drives for four off Atkinson. The second was a low full toss but the first was a gorgeous shot.
Blimey, make that three in four balls. Atkinson kept pitching it up, Rathnayake kept nailing him through extra cover.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 87-6 (Chandimal c Lawrence b Atkinson 23)
Oh dear. Dinesh Chandimal falls into England’s trap, flicking Atkinson low to leg gully. Lawrence swoops forward to take a good catch and leave Sri Lanka in all sorts. They’ve bowled so well to reduce England to 216 for 6 yesterday afternoon; since then, urgh.
23rd over: Sri Lanka 87-5 (Chandimal 23, Kamindu 4) England have started around the wicket to Kamindu, having stumbled upon the plan at Old Trafford. In his short Test career he averages 26 against right-arm seam from around the wicket; when they bowl over the wicket he’s 148 for 0. I love it when a stat comes together.
Kamindu invites England to shove those numbers up their Statsguru by playing the most beautiful extra cover drive for four to get off the mark. At times he looks a laughably good player.
“Genuine question Rob – has sledging gone out of the game?” asks Gary Naylor. “There was a time when Matthew Wade appeared to be awarded a Baggy Green for Creative Swearing, but now, led by The Nicest Man In Cricket, Chris Woakes, England are terribly polite. The Aussies can hardly be relied upon these days with Solar Panels Pat in charge, and Dhananjaya is always smiling. O my Warner and my Hayden long ago!”
Did you sleep through last summer’s Ashes? It feels like there’s less sledging, largely because of franchise cricket, but I think it’s still well and truly in the game.
22nd over: Sri Lanka 83-5 (Chandimal 23, Kamindu 0) This doesn’t feel like an 83 for 5 pitch, but who knows any more. It’s almost 83 for 6 when Chandimal inside-edges Atkinson into the body and bat-pads the next ball short of Duckett charging in from third slip. England’s green seamers (Woakes excepted) are bowling very nicely.
Check out these jaffas!
21st over: Sri Lanka 83-5 (Chandimal 23, Kamindu 0) A double-wicket maiden for Potts, whose bowling figures are also Jose Mourinho’s dream formation: 4-3-2-2.
“Atkinson is the seventh man to get his maiden first-class hundred in a Lord’s Test,” writes Edmund, “with Stuart Broad the last to do so in 2010. There’s a full list here.”
WICKET! Sri Lanka 83-5 (Dhananjaya c Brook b Potts 0)
A week ago, social media’s finest announced that Matthew Potts was out of his depth at Test level. Now he’s bowling like George Lohmann. Dhananjaya de Silva has gone for a three-ball duck, edging another excellent delivery straight to second slip. Tight line, a bit of seam movement and bounce, off you pop.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 83-4 (Mathews b Potts 22)
Pick that out! Angelo Mathews has been bowled by an absolute jaffa from Matthew Potts. It was angled in, slightly full of length, then held its line to peg back the off stump. Mathews was squared up and not even the trusty curtain rail could save him. Most batsmen would have struggled to keep that out; it was as near to unplayable as dammit.
19th over: Sri Lanka 83-3 (Mathews 22, Chandimal 23) Big Ange guides Atkinson to third man for four. He was squared up but it looked like he had the shot in control.
Chandimal certainly had that on control, a fierce cut for four to end an expensive over. Sri Lanka have gone after Atkinson in this series, as shown by an economy rate of 4.26.
18th over: Sri Lanka 72-3 (Mathews 17, Chandimal 18) Mathews is beaten again, curtain-railing awkwardly at a beauty from Potts. He’s bowling a really nice length, just full of good, and causing Sri Lanka a few problems. His last ball is fuller, inviting the drive, and Chandimal edges it fractionally short of Duckett at gully.
Lovely bowling from Potts, who since the start of the second innings at Old Trafford has figures of 20.3-6-49-3.
18th over: Sri Lanka 69-3 (Mathews 15, Chandimal 18) Atkinson replaces Stone at the Pavilion End, which is where he took all those wickets against West Indies. Chandimal inside-edges a sharp delivery for a single, then walks across to clip to the left of mid-on for four. Nicely done.
My word, the penultimate ball of the over keeps low, nips between bat and pad and just misses off stump.
17th over: Sri Lanka 61-3 (Mathews 14, Chandimal 11) The scoreline doesn’t look great for Sri Lanka but I still think there are loads of runs to be had, certainly in the first innings.
Potts beats Mathews with a nice delivery, the highlight of another maiden from him. Since his nervous start at Old Trafford, he’s been terrific.
Thanks Taha, hello everyone. Before I start, thanks to Daniel Harris for this charming thing.
“I’m so thrilled that he’s managed to express himself with the bat and the ball.” ❤️
Gus Atkinson’s father reacts with great pride as his son scores his maiden century at the Home of Cricket 👏#LoveLords | #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/XYLB1Sv337
— Lord’s Cricket Ground (@HomeOfCricket) August 30, 2024
16th over: Sri Lanka 61-3 (Chandimal 11, Mathews 14) Stone, who has been very stump-to-stump with his line, does to Mathews what he did to Chandimal, striking the batter just below the thigh pad. Chandimal seizes upon an overpitched ball, driving through the off side. That’ll be all from me; the brilliant Rob Smyth is here for the rest of the day.
15th over: Sri Lanka 56-3 (Chandimal 7, Mathews 13) Matt Potts ends Woakes’ opening spell and starts with a maiden.
“There can’t be many players whose first first-class century is at Lord’s during a Test match,” writes Andy Flintoff (!) (not that one). “I’m not sure I could find the Statsguru query to find this out either.” Someone help us out.
14th over: Sri Lanka 54-3 (Chandimal 7, Mathews 13) Thumping from my guy, Angelo. Stone goes short, Mathews rocks the pull shot for four. Chandimal, who took a serious blow to the hand from Mark Wood last week, gets hit just below the thigh pad. He eases his pain with a lovely drive through mid-off for three.
13th over: Sri Lanka 45-3 (Chandimal 3, Mathews 8) Woakes bowls to Mathews in a battle of the old-timers, keeping it tight with six dots.
12th over: Sri Lanka 45-3 (Chandimal 3, Mathews 8) Stone skips in with that incredibly straight run-up, like he’s trying to squeeze through the closing train doors. He strays on to Mathews’ pads, the batter clipping past short leg for four.
11th over: Sri Lanka 36-3 (Chandimal 0, Mathews 2) Woakes continues from the Nursery End. The two veterans, Chandimal and Mathews, have been tasked with a rescue-job. Chandimal sees the ball skip through the gap between his bat and pads but somehow miss the stumps.
WICKET! Nissanka c Potts b Stone 12 (Sri Lanka 35-3)
And we’re back, with Olly Stone finishing his over after picking up Karunaratne before lunch. And he closes it with another! Nissanka is a victim of the trap, clipping straight to Matt Potts at leg slip. It’s another miserable day for Sri Lanka’s top three.
10th over: Sri Lanka 35-3 (Mathews 1)
LUNCH: Sri Lanka 32-2, trail England by 395 runs
The good news for Sri Lanka? They had a tougher time up top in Manchester, reduced to 6-3 and 1-2 in the first Test. Their middle order remains their greatest strength.
WICKET! Karunaratne b Stone 7 (Sri Lanka 32-2)
And another one. It’s a drag-on again, with Karunaratne pushing at a ball outside off only to see his stumps splattered. That’ll be lunch, too, with Gus Atkinson leading England off the field. It’s been a pretty tough morning for the tourists.
9th over: Sri Lanka 32-1 (Nissanka 10, Karunaratne 7) A pearler from Woakes beats the outside edge of Nissanka, who responds with an authoritative cut for four.
8th over: Sri Lanka 24-1 (Nissanka 6, Karunaratne 7) Nearly a remarkable run out. Nissanka clips Olly Stone to the leg side and begins to race off for a single but Dan Lawrence, with fine reflexes, collects cleanly at short leg and has a shy at the stumps. He misses, allowing for overthrows. Stone has replaced Atkinson by the way and looks sharp in his first Test since 2021, operating in the mid-80s (mph) in his first over.
7th over: Sri Lanka 21-1 (Nissanka 3, Karunaratne 7) The very talented Pathum Nissanka enters the fray for the first time in the series and is met with two lbw appeals. He drives through mid-off for three to get himself going.
WICKET! Madushka b Woakes 7 (Sri Lanka 18-1)
It was coming. Chris Woakes strikes first, getting Madushka to drag the ball on to his stumps. The opener’s having a tough series, having scored 4 and none in the first Test.
6th over: Sri Lanka 18-0 (Madushka 7, Karunaratne 7) “So, Gus gets on the Lords honours board for batting and bowling in different matches,” writes Robert Clough. “Has anyone done this in the same match, ideally in the first batting and bowling innings of the same match?
Here’s what I’ve got: Ian Botham against Pakistan in 1978, Vinoo Mankad against England in 1952.
