Key events
“At the end of the last Test, it always seems to me that the shutters are pulled down on the last remnant of Summer, Autumn starts in earnest, and the end of the year looms,” writes Steve Colwill. “I hope that this last Test does not end with a whimper in less than three days of play, but sadly this seems to be very much on the cards.”
A whimper? We’re on for a thriller, Steve!
19th over: England 71-6 (Smith 5, Atkinson 0) Vishwa’s left-arm havoc continues. Atkinson, by the way, is batting with a tight quad, so he won’t be moving too freely.
18th over: England 70-6 (Smith 4, Atkinson 0) Chandimal is being helped off the field by a couple of the subs, and it’s Nishan Madushka who takes the gloves. That’ll be problematic for Sri Lanka when it comes to the chase.
Now this is concerning. Dinesh Chandimal leaps to his left behind the stumps to take a terrific leg-side grab, but he’s down on the ground having hurt something. Everything was just starting to go Sri Lanka’s way …
WICKET! Woakes c Chandimal b Kumara 0 (England 70-6)
Kumara sneaks the ball past Chris Woakes’ outside edge and is refusing to tire in this spell from the Pavilion End … and then he gets his man! This time he does get the edge, Woakes prodding at one outside off. Chandimal holds on low and England have collapsed to 70 for six. Finally, we have some jeopardy in this Test match summer.
17th over: England 69-5 (Smith 3, Woakes 0) “It devalues the game, wedging three Tests into three weeks,” writes Gary Naylor. “Joe Root looks understandably drained after his efforts at Old Trafford and Lord’s and should be commended for turning out at all. If administrators are watching this match and cannot see that they’ve asked too much of the players and that it should never happen again, then they don’t deserve the cost of a blazer’s dry cleaning.”
WICKET! Brook lbw Vishwa 3 (England 69-5)
Vishwa swings another into the pads and this time it’s Brook who’s on his way! He reviews but it’s looking good: three reds once again. What a ripping spell from the left-arm quick.
16th over: England 69-4 (Smith 3, Brook 3) Kumara’s putting in a shift: just a couple off the over.
“My dad died earlier in the summer,” writes James Walsh.
When in hospital during his last days, in the grey and difficult early hours of the morning, the companionship of the OBO during the World Cup pretty much kept me going.
I’m cycling to Berlin to raise money for the RNLI in his memory, as he loved the sea. Today is day #1 of the trip, and I’ve cycled past Vauxhall, as this is where he grew up, in the shade of the Oval.
The friend I’m cycling with suggested we stop by the Graham Thorpe memorial, and who do we bump into but Moeen Ali.
“Congratulations on your retirement”, I said, shaking his hand. Is that the right thing to say, or weirdly passive-aggressive? He looks sharp, fit – here’s to a few years of him making more money on the T20 circuit. He’s earned it. An absolute role model.
And if your readers want to sponsor me, well… https://www.justgiving.com/page/adrianwalsh
All the best, James. No better place in the world to start than the Oval.
15th over: England 67-4 (Smith 1, Brook 3) Jamie Smith walks out to navigate a tricky situation – not for the first time this summer.
WICKET! Root lbw Vishwa 12 (England 66-4)
One Fernando replaces another: it’s time for Vishwa from the Vauxhall End. He’s too loose, though, offering Root a freebie to drive through cover for four. It takes Root past Kumar Sangakkara in the all-time Test run chart. Just five men are above him … but forget that for now, Vishwa’s got ‘im! It was full, swinging into the pads and the finger went up. Root reviews but that’s nailed his toe and he’s walking off before the final decision: it’s three reds. Game on!
14th over: England 62-3 (Root 8, Brook 3) A fine stop at backward point denies Root a boundary as Lahiru Kumara continues from the Pavilion End, bustling in. Brook ends the over with a strong forward defence: proper cricket.
13th over: England 59-3 (Root 6, Brook 2) Sri Lanka are going to play with Brook’s ego, Asitha offering a tempter outside off. A beautiful away-swinger follows to beat the outside edge – the two seamers have been on it since the restart.
12th over: England 57-3 (Root 6, Brook 1) Kumara begins wide to Brook, who throws the bat at it … and misses. Brook drops the ball into the leg side to get off the mark with one. England’s two best batters are out in the middle – and they’ve got some work to do.
WICKET! Lawrence c Chandimal b Kumara 35 (England 56-3)
Oops. Kumara has Lawrence edging behind to Chandimal. Once again, Lawrence made room for a straight six but he didn’t get anywhere close to finding the middle of his bat, prompting a rather ugly-looking dismissal. Lawrence punches his bat, his time as an England Test opener surely over.
11th over: England 56-2 (Root 6, Lawrence 35) Dan Lawrence is going to have some serious fun, no matter the circumstances. He makes room to slap a fuller delivery from Asitha down the ground, all the way for six, the arms liberated. A walloping punch through point follows after Asitha goes too wide.
10th over: England 43-2 (Root 6, Lawrence 22) Joe Root gets going with a delicious straight punch off Lahiru Kumara for two, England’s lead going past 100. Kumara is looking sharp, backing up some good work from Asitha in the previous over. But Root ends the set with a brilliant pull, guided with rolled wrists to the boundary.
Taha Hashim
9th over: England 37-2 (Root 0, Lawrence 22) And we’re back with blue skies, but with the floodlights still on. The weather is refusing to make its mind up in south London. Dan Lawrence punches Asitha Fernando behind point for a couple, the Surrey right-hander still going in what could be a significant knock in his England career. Asitha beats the bat with some away movement, Lawrence looking terrifically awkward outside off stump. Lawrence then walks across the crease for an attempted flick, the ball somehow missing the stumps; it just jumped over middle. Lawrence lives on.
I was supposed to hand over to Taha at 2.45pm but it makes more sense to do it now. Thanks for all the emails, especially the love letters to Moeen. Enjoy the rest of the day; see you tomorrow.
Play will resume at 2.40pm.
The umpires and the Sri Lankan players haven’t bothered going up to the dressing-room, which suggests play will resume pretty soon.
Joe Root needs 11 runs to move above Kumar Sangakkara on the list of leading Test runscorers.
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15,921 Sachin Tendulkar
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13,378 Ricky Ponting
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13,289 Jacques Kallis
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13,288 Rahul Dravid
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12,472 Alastair Cook
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12,400 Kumar Sangakkara
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12,390 Joe Root
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0 Me and you
Rain stops play
8th over: England 35-2 (Lawrence 20, Root 0) And they’re off. Rain starts falling after Kumara’s first ball; the umpires allow him to complete the over and then take the players off.
It’s a heavy shower but it’s also sunny at The Oval, so I’ve got no idea.
We’re back. Lahiru Kumara has two balls of his first over to bowl.
“Agree with Felix Wood about England’s batting in this match – it has felt a bit self-parodic, almost what the people who hate Bazball think it is rather than the reality,” says Will Vignoles. “Could this be partly down to the absence of Stokes? There were signs earlier in the summer that the team had evolved their approach to be more situational, but perhaps Pope doesn’t yet have the authority or innate cricket sense to gently rein them in – not a slight on him as Stokes’ cricket IQ is almost his biggest attribute.”
I don’t think it’s that, simply because Stokes has been in the dressing-room throughout the game. It feels like the last day of the term, nothing more significant than that.
“I’d just like to pick up on something Brian Withington said about Mo: ‘It’s almost like he never sought or wanted the limelight but was just there whenever needed’,” says James Brough. “Now, that’s a tribute. If anyone were to say that of me, I’d be proud indeed.”
Ollie Pope ends his first series as England captain with 191 runs at 31.83, 154 of them in one innings: 6, 6, 1, 17, 154, 7. That reads like Brian Lara during one of his lean spells, though with Lara it would probably have been 254.
Lunch: England lead by 97 runs
The wicket means the players will go off for lunch. Sri Lanka are fighting hard here, and Kumara’s impassioned celebration showed how much this match means, dead rubber or not.
WICKET! England 35-2 (Pope b Kumara 7)
Goddim on the stroke of lunch! Lahiru Kumara, on for Rathnayake, has picked up Ollie Pope with his fourth ball. Pope tried to steer it to third man but was cramped by the seam movement and deflected the ball onto the stumps. That’s a really good piece of bowling, even if Pope is fuming with himself.
7th over: England 35-1 (Lawrence 20, Pope 7) Pope’s first boundary is a beauty, cuffed elegantly off the hip when Asitha drops fractionally short. Later in the over he’s surprised by a bit of extra bounce but manages to drop the ball safely on the leg side for a single. Josh Hull won’t be much fun to face in the fourth innings if the pitch gets more uneven.
6th over: England 29-1 (Lawrence 19, Pope 2) Lawrence hurtles down the track, tries to slam Rathnayake into the crowd at extra cover and misses. “It’s opening batting, Jim, but not as we know it…” says Mike Atherton on Sky. Nine minutes till lunch.
“With that Duckett dismissal, over the two innings since Brook got out England have lost eight for not very many completely unnecessarily,” says Felix Wood. “By taking it down to ultra attacking from reckless they could have been so far ahead in the game that a handsome win would be assured. On another day Pope would have got out early or on 30 or 60 or 90 or 120 and they’d be a long way behind. They’re a bowler down so need big runs not quick runs now, and I’m not sure they’re focused enough to play more than one way.”
It’s the last day of term and they’ve come to school in their football kit. This has surely been their most indulgent batting performance since the first innings at Lord’s last summer but, while I don’t love it, I can understand why it has happened.
5th over: England 28-1 (Lawrence 18, Pope 2) Lawrence gets his second boundary with a smooth swivel pull off Asitha. It went flat, hard and only just bounced inside the rope. Pope then chases a very wide delivery and is beaten.
“The problem is, in some ways, Mo retiring from international cricket doesn’t feel real or definite,” says Matt Dony. “Everyone keeps saying he’s such selfless and nice and team-oriented guy, you almost feel like, should he get a phone call, he would willingly join up with the squad. A fairly unique, life-affirming cricketer person.”
4th over: England 22-1 (Lawrence 13, Pope 1) “With a record of 0 from 9 DRS reviews, Ollie Pope’s record is heading towards statistical significance,” writes Brian Withington. “Much more of this and we will be moving into Stuart Broad territory where the most reliable tactic is to go with the opposite of whatever he thinks. Of course this will require some rigorous design to ensure that Pope’s ‘decision’ is not influenced by the prior knowledge that it will be reversed. A veritable field day for Bayesians.”
3rd over: England 20-1 (Lawrence 12, Pope 0) That might be the first time in Test history that an opener has been caught at mid-on inside the first three overs. It wasn’t a good shot, and maybe he was a bit too frivolous, I don’t know. What was it Dolly Parton said about rainbows?
WICKET! England 20-1 (Duckett c Vishwa b Asitha 7)
Asitha beats Lawrence, then draws a leading edge that flies safely past gully for two. A thicker edge yields two more, taking Lawrence into double figures from his ninth ball. In the first innings he made 5 from 21.
That was then and this is now. He charges Asitha and drags a reasonably disgusting hack through square leg for a single.
England are playing a shot a ball. But now Duckett has fallen very tamely, mistiming a drive straight to mid-on.
2nd over: England 15-0 (Duckett 7, Lawrence 7) Dhananjaya has given the new ball to Milan Rathnayake, preferring his discipline to Lahiru Kumara’s pace. After a couple of sighters, Lawrence charges down the pitch to thump a thrilling boundary over extra cover. Shot!
The next ball, on the pads, is tucked easily behind square for three. No idea how long it will last but this has to be the right approach for Lawrence. It’s always the correct approach for Duckett, who wallops a pull through midwicket for four to complete the over.
1st over: England 4-0 (Duckett 3, Lawrence 0) Duckett is busy from ball one, taking three off the first two balls. Lawrence runs down the pitch to his first delivery from Asitha, which suggests he’s not going to die wondering. The ball hits him on the hip and runs away for a leg-bye. The rest is dots.
“Just what is it about cricket?” says Simon McMahon. “I’m pretty sure I won’t feel the same way as I do now about Moeen’s retirement when I hear that Ronaldo has finally decided to call it a day. But maybe that’s just me.”
Not sure Ronaldo is the best comparison, although Moeen is also notorious for posting those topless selfies in the gym.
Lunch is at 1.45pm so England’s openers have around 40 minutes to survive bat. Here they come: Ben Duckett and, probably for the last time as opener, Dan Lawrence.
Loads of love for Moeen today, and quite right too.
John Swan “Totally agree with you about Moeen Ali. A perfect example of when stats don’t come close to telling the whole story. That classical cover drive, the effortless muscle over long on, the strangely enjoyable both-arms-aloft bowling action, plus I don’t recall him dropping anything in the field. I have a slight (Thorpe-influenced, I’ll admit) tear in my eye at the thought that we won’t see him again.”
Brian Withington “I wholeheartedly concur with all the positive sentiment about Moeen Ali. I shall really miss those quintessential came(M)os for England: an elegant 29 in quick time; a couple of overs taking a key wicket; a bit of sage advice in the field; and a fleeting appearance in the group celebration before the corks start flying. It’s almost like he never sought or wanted the limelight but was just there whenever needed. Great team man. Great guy.”
James Brough “It’s a sad day to know we’ve seen the last of Mo in an England shirt. I was at Headingley in 2017 on the fourth day against West Indies with a blind friend. She would go to matches with a little portable radio and listen to TMS. Her batteries failed and I spent the last session giving her ball by ball commentary. Moeen made 84 at a run a ball and was an absolute joy to describe. It was one of the most enjoyable couple of hours I’ve spent at a cricket match, looking for the right words to describe effortless cover drives and flicks through midwicket by a man who could make batting look as easy as anyone I’ve ever seen. Go well, Mo. You’ll always have a place in my heart for that afternoon.”
“Moeen’s announcement took me back to the time I met him – at an airport lounge in Abu Dhabi, back in 2016,” says John Bailey. “We lived in Singapore at the time and were flying home for Christmas. We managed to blag our way into the Etihad lounge and found an empty section so our then 18 month-old toddler could run around without bothering anyone.
“No sooner had we arrived than the whole England cricket team filed in – they were on their way home from India. Joe Root almost trod on our daughter as she darted across in front of him, and Alastair Cook gave me a lovely smile as I ran to pick her up. As they settled in around us, I found myself behind Moeen at the breakfast bar, my daughter on my hip. I couldn’t resist telling him that this little girl had watched his century in Rajkot a few days earlier, sitting on my knee in Singapore and clapping wildly every time the camera cut to the crowd applauding him.
“He was very relaxed and friendly and I still have a great photo of my daughter pointing at his beard as he smiles back at her – she’d never seen anything like it. What a genuinely good guy. He’s given cricket lovers a lot of enjoyment and some great moments. Best of luck in his coaching career.”
“God knows Bazball can be infuriating but five debutant fifers in two years is incredible,” writes Max Williams. “Being part of this team must be the best thing in the world.”
The fact even Jimmy and Stuart Broad describe it as the most enjoyable period of their careers says everything.
England lead by 62 runs They’ve had a good morning, taking the last five wickets for 43. Josh Hull and Olly Stone took three wickets apiece, with Stone the pick of the attack. But it was Hull who had us all looking at the ceiling.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 263 all out (Avisha c Smith b Bashir 11)
Asitha slog-sweeps Bashir for four, then gloves a reverse sweep up in the air. Jamie Smith runs round to take an easy catch. Asitha reviewed but replays showed the ball hit the wristband that is attached to his glove.
61st over: Sri Lanka 259-9 (Kumara 5, Asitha 7) Kumara fences Stone just short of Pope at gully. The umpires went upstairs to check but it clearly bounced in front. I’m not sure Pope even appealed.
England do appeal for caught behind when Kumara smears across the line. Ben Duckett started to run off the field, assuming it was out, but Ollie Pope’s latest review was unsuccessful. It hit Kumara on the shoulder of the body, not the bat..
60th over: Sri Lanka 257-9 (Kumara 4, Asitha 6) Asitha chips Bashir over midwicket for two, continuing this mildly irritating last-wicket partnership. Lunch is an hour away so England will want to get batting asap, especially as the sun has just come out.
“I would like to bring up the slip catch by one Joe Root,” says Mark Slater. “Is there not a England record for catches by outfielders, and does Root not now share it? It was a subject mentioned during the previous Test.”
He’s now on 201 catches, behind only Mahela Jayawardene (205) and Rahul Dravid (210) among outfielders. I think he took the England record a couple of years ago.
59th over: Sri Lanka 254-9 (Kumara 3, Asitha 0) Kumara almost copies Rathnayake’s dismissal when he swishes at fresh air outside off stump, then clunks a pull into the leg side for a single.
Blimey, the No11 Asitha charges down the track to clout Stone back over his head for four. Sri Lanka trail by 71.
58th over: Sri Lanka 249-9 (Kumara 2, Asitha 0) Shoaib Bashir replaces Josh Hull, who bowled an impressive spell of 6-0-27-2 either side of the rain break. Asitha misses a couple of disgusting smears across the line.
57th over: Sri Lanka 248-9 (Kumara 1, Asitha 0) Olly Stone has quietly had an impressive return to Test cricket, and with Mark Wood injured he has a good chance of playing in Pakistan.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 248-9 (Rathnayake c Smith b Stone 7)
Oh yes, this is excellent, merciless bowling from Olly Stone. Rathnayake, a very good lower-order batter, was smashed on the armguard and then the glove by nasty deliveries. That meant he was in no position to drive the sucker ball, fuller and wider, and he nicked it through to Jamie Smith.
56th over: Sri Lanka 248-8 (Rathnayake 7, Kumara 1) Rathnayake tries to uppercut a Hull bouncer that beats him and Jamie Smith behind the stumps. Kumara is beaten by a length delivery later in the over. Hull’s figures belong to an ODI circa 1991: 11-0-53-3.
“For me the perfect example of Moeen’s selflessness was promoting himself to No3 during the last Ashes to protect Harry Brook,” says Mark Hooper. “If you look at the figures it looks like he failed, but for the better of the team. It might be apocryphal but I love the story that he replied to his surprise recall to the England team by texting Stokes back ‘LOL’.”
Yep, spot on. I don’t think he ever explicitly stated it was to protect Brook, but we all know what Moeen’s like. It’s no exaggeration to say that England would have lost, maybe been hammered, had he not moved up to No3. It was great that he had that partnership with Zak Crawley at Old Trafford and especially his spell on the final day at The Oval. I think we’ll remember him as much for his decency as his wonderful elegance.