Key events
Tea: England 82-3 (Need 123 runs to win)
An absorbing session comes to a close with Joe Root collecting a couple of runs with a punch into the covers. That was a strong finish to the session by Sri Lanka, they put more of a squeeze on and started to impart a bit of pressure onto England.
Add a couple of wickets to the score and we’re in for a pulsating final session. Yes, maybe I am trying to tempt fate. Or Manifesting as the kids say these days. Nope, me neither.
22nd over: England 82-3 (Root 13, Brook 6)
21st over: England 80-3 (Root 11, Brook 6) Close! Brook overreaches on the sweep and can’t keep it down, the sub-fielder Ramesh Mendis dives behind square to try and pluck the catch but he can only get a finger or two to it and the half-chance goes begging. That would have put England off their PG Tips.
20th over: England 78-3 (Root 11, Brook 4) Rathnayake oversteps to gift England a run for the no ball. Otherwise it is a tight over with just a Brook single off it. A couple of overs to go before tea. England need 127 runs to win. Unless the rain and/or wickets starts to fall then they’ll wrap this up today.
19th over: England 76-3 (Root 11, Brook 3) A loud and excited appeal as Jayasuriya is reverse-swept by Root… I’m not sure what the appeal is for as it looks like Root hit the ball? The batter looks utterly unconcerned as Sri Lanka send it upstairs. NOT OUT – Root did hit it and the ball pitched outside leg so nothing much going for that one and the review is burned. On we go.
“The beauty of cricket is that you never know what’s around the corner.” Emails Michael Galvin. “Another wicket here and it really is game on!”
You’re not wrong Mick.
18th over: England 75-3 (Root 11, Brook 2) A tickle off the pads brings Root a couple of runs to fine leg and Brook cuts for a single to the boundary rider.
This just made me chuckle.
17th over: England 71-3 (Root 8, Brook 1) That’s better from the visitors. Jayasuriya stitches together a maiden to keep Harry Brook honest and stall the scoreboard.
The review doesn’t save Dan Lawrence 🏴
Milan Rathnayake picks up the wicket of the opener for 34 🤩 pic.twitter.com/aTHcLsBxtV
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 24, 2024
It just looked out eh? Plenty of club level umpires giving that or the shot alone. ‘That’ll teach you to play straight lad’.
16th over: England 71-3 (Root 8, Brook 1) Harry Brook joins Joe Root out in the middle with 135 runs still needed for England. A crucial passage of play in the offing with twenty minutes until tea. Brook is off the mark with a flick to leg. Game on.
WICKET! Lawrence lbw b Rathnayake 34 (70-3)
Lawrence is pinned LBW! He tries to clip a straight ball to leg but misses and the ball thunks into his knee-roll. Root encourages him to review and Lawrence doesn’t need inviting twice… but it’s umpires call with the ball clipping the bails so Lawrence has to go and England lose their third. Sri Lanka chipping away, if they can get more control of the run rate they can still win this game.
15th over: England 67-2 (Lawrence 32, Root 7) Still too easy for England as Lawrence and Root pocket five runs off the over with no alarms and no surprises.
14th over: England 62-2 (Lawrence 29, Root 5) Rathnayake continues but there are five runs picked off the over. There are too many easy singles on offer for my money, Sri Lanka should try and cut off the supply and ramp up the pressure with dots. England’s batters love to keep the scoreboard ticking. Half an hour of Joe Root going about his business here and the game will be pretty much gone.
13th over: England 57-2 (Lawrence 29, Root 1) Here comes a scampering Joe Root. Plenty of chatter around the bat but Root pays it never mind and gets off the mark off his very first ball with a nurdle to square leg.
WICKET! Pope c de Silva b Jayasuriya 6 (England 56-2)
A gift! Pope plays the reverse-sweep but gets a cue end on the ball rather than the middle of the bat which sees the ball loop ever so slowly to Dhananjaya at slip. Soft dismissal and keeps Sri Lanka in the hunt. Pope can’t believe what he’s done and trudges off with his head hung low.
12th over: England 51-1 (Lawrence 24, Pope 6) Milan Rathnayake replaces Asitha Fernando after the electrolytes have been slurped. Can he find the breakthrough? Nope. Not yet. Lawrence flicks a couple of singles with an air of nonchalance.
11th over: England 49-1 (Lawrence 23, Pope 6) A single as Lawrence works Jayasuriya down to long on.
Time for a drink. England need 156 to win. Sri Lanka need as many wickets as I’ve had biscuits. Plenty.
10th over: England 48-1 (Lawrence 22, Pope 6) A Papal cut for two and a Lawrence leg bye.
My phone dings as I dip a biscuit into me cup of tea. Eleven year old nephew has been getting his Rog Bannister on it seems – apparently he’s just run a mile in five minutes. Speedy.
I’ll toast him with another custard cream or nine.
9th over: England 45-1 (Lawrence 22, Pope 4) Dan Lawrence’s footwork is positive to Jayasuriya, he gets down the pitch and works into the gaps, always looking to score as the first option.
He’s tailor made for BazBall cricket. Not that it matters but I’ve interviewed him a couple of times and he’s a delight too – straight talking and supremely confident but with a dry sense of humour. He knows this is his time to make a mark.
8th over: England 41-1 (Lawrence 19, Pope 3) Asitha Fernando is into his groove and bowling a tight line, the wicket of Duckett was his 50th in Test cricket. Just two runs scampered off a Lawrence leg bye from the over.
Rain nearly everywhere else in the country. The Beautiful South don’t know what they are on about…
7th over: England 39-1 (Lawrence 19, Pope 3) Pope gets off the mark with a measured clip off Jayasuriya, picking up three runs as the ball pulls up just before the boundary. Lawrence then glides a single behind point.
Here’s that tasty six Lawrence hit a few overs back:
6th over: England 34-1 (Lawrence 17, Pope 0) Ollie Pope joins Dan Lawrence out in the middle. He’s a skittish starter at the best of times and will be more mentally fatigued than usual after a lengthy stint marshalling the troops in the field. If Sri Lanka get another here then their dander will be well and truly up. England need 171 runs to win. Sri Lanka need nine more wickets.
WICKET! Duckett c K Mendis b A Fernando 11 (England 34-1)
Gone this time and no doubts about the keeper’s catch! Duckett plays for some movement but the ball from Asitha Fernando held it’s line and kissed the edge.
5th over: England 33-0 (Duckett 11, Lawrence 16) England are not going to let Jayasuriya settle into his spell, Duckett clonks a shorter ball square for four and then shovels to midwicket for a single. SIX! Lawrence shuffles out of his crease lofts the spinner down the ground and over the rope. Confidence oozing out of these two England openers.
4th over: England 21-0 (Duckett 6, Lawrence 9) Can you hit the stumps, Fernando? Not yet…
There’s a leg slip in to Duckett and Asitha Fernando is targeting the stumps and front pad with some full and straight stuff. Duckett blocks the first two and then gets off strike with a push through the covers.
I wonder how Dan Lawrence will approach this chase? An eye catching 80 odd here would help his cause for longer term selection. He picks up a couple with a flick through the leg side.
Time for some spin – Prabath Jayasuriya is coming on for a twirl with the new ball. The weather is set fair in Manchester and we can play til 7.30pm ish if the light holds. Odds on we’ll see a result today – one way or t’other.
James Wallace
Thanks Rob and hello everyone. Well, well, well – we’ve got a game on our hands.
England haven’t been behind on WinViz for the entire Test summer. When Mendis got out, it was England 47%, Sri Lanka 46%.
A lot of these lads would have grown up dreaming about going a whole summer without letting England get behind on WinViz, and the dream lives on
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) August 24, 2024
3rd over: England 18-0 (Duckett 5, Lawrence 7) Sri Lanka again have men out on both sides, which is allowing Duckett to push easy singles. Lawrence, meanwhile, chases a very wide delivery from Vishwa and toe-ends it through the slips for four. It bounced just short of slip.
That’s it from me. The mighty Jim Wallace will be your guide for the rest of the day.
2nd over: England 10-0 (Duckett 2, Lawrence 2) Mendis celebrated wildly, which suggests he didn’t know – or at least didn’t know for sure – that he’d grassed it.
DUCKETT IS NOT OUT!
Duckett flicked Asitha Fernando down the leg side, where the sub keeper Mendis seemed to have taken an outrageous low catch diving to his right. But the first replay showed that he scraped the ball along the turf for a split-second after taking the catch.
WICKET? England 10-1 (Duckett c Kusal b A Fernando 2)
A stunning catch from Kusal Mendis – or was it?
1st over: England 9-0 (Duckett 2, Lawrence 2) Vishwa Fernando’s first ball is a decent outswinger, slightly back of a length. I reckon 99.94 per cent of openers throughout history would have left it; Duckett taps it into the off side for a single.
Good lord, Vishwa’s first ball to Lawrence is a shambles: a huge wide that swings past first slip for four byes. The guy at first slip also jumped out of the way of the ball for some reason.
When Vishwa does eventually nail his inswinger to the right-hander, Lawrence punches it nicely to deep mid-off. There should have been a single but Duckett was gawping at the ball and didn’t see Lawrence coming. No matter, four singles and those four/five wides make it a good start for England.
It’ll be interesting to see how England’s openers play this. The logical approach is to see off the new ball, which has yielded wickets galore throughout this match. But we know where England would like us to stick our logic.
“Pity that we can’t have active subs in cricket,” says Julian Pentz. “Imagine bringing on Jimmy Anderson from the coaching staff for the injured Mark Wood to bowl in this new ball phase. Perchance to dream.”
WICKET! Sri Lanka 326 all out (Chandimal c sub b Potts 79)
Chandimal blasts Potts over mid-off for four, then launches one high in the air to deep extra. The teenage substitute Harry Singh takes a nonchalant catch. Maybe Chandimal went too early, but it was a superb and courageous innings of 79.
Sri Lanka lost their last four wickets for 19 runs in 26 balls. And because of that, England need 205 to win. Send Goochie in to open.
89th over: Sri Lanka 322-9 (Chandimal 75, A Fernando 0) The new ball has done the job for England, who have taken three wickets in the last four overs. It’s a reminder that this is a new-ball wicket; in other words, the first 15 overs of England’s runchase are huge. One thing’s for sure: there won’t be a second new ball.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 322-9 (V Fernando LBW Woakes 0)
Chandimal takes a single to move Sri Lanka’s lead to 200. That means Vishwa has two balls from Woakes to survive. Chandimal clenches his fist to encourage him, and a fat lot of good that did: he’s gone second ball for nought, squared up and trapped in front by Woakes.
Vishwa reviews, just because, but it was hitting middle and leg four-fifths of the way up.
88th over: Sri Lanka 321-9 (Chandimal 74, V Fernando 0) That was the last ball of the over. Sri Lanka lead by 199.
“Sky have just broadcast a feature on Sri Lankan cricket, with Nasser Hussain exploring the coaching that has formed players of the quality of Sangakkara,” writes Colum Fordham. “The Sri Lankans really focus on technique, whether it be batting, bowling or fielding.
“Here in Naples, with a large Sri Lankan community, they pride themselves not only on adult cricket but also on coaching youngsters. I have occasionally trained with the adult players and umpired for their juniors. They are incredibly dedicated to coaching new generations.
“It’s nice that we’re seeing the fruit of that coaching with established players like Chandimal but also with the younger generation such as Kamindu.
Delighted that we have a real match on our hands.”
We do, even after those wickets.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 321-8 (Jayasuriya c Brook b Potts 5)
Atkinson is hooked despite taking the wicket, a reflection of how expensive he has been either side of lunch. And it seems Ollie Pope can do no wrong because the replacement Potts has struck with his sixth ball! Jayasuriya edged a big drive to second slip, where Brook fumbled a sharp chance to his right and grabbed the ball at the second attempt.
87th over: Sri Lanka 316-7 (Chandimal 69, Jayasuriya 5) We’ve lost a couple of entries, I’ve no idea why.
86th over: Sri Lanka 314-7 (Chandimal 69, Jayasuriya 3)
WICKET! Sri Lanka 307-7 (Kamindu c Root b Atkinson 113)
I’ll shut my mouth, shall I? Pope persists with Atkinson, who takes the vital wicket of Kamindu Mendis with his first ball after switching to around the wicket. I think it was Pope’s suggestion to change the angle as well. It was a good ball from Atkinson, on a length just outside off stump. Kamindu felt for it a little tentatively and edged it low to Root at first slip.
Kamindu gets a fine ovation for a genuinely brilliant innings of 113. England will note that in both innings he has nicked off from round the wicket. “That’s the plan for the rest of the series,” says Nasser Hussain.
84th over: Sri Lanka 304-6 (Kamindu 113, Chandimal 62) Pope needs to be ruthless and give the ball to Potts right now. Atkinson is nowhere near – his last four overs have disappeared for 38 – and this is a crucial phase of the game. If these are batting in an hour, Sri Lanka will definitely be favourites.
Woakes restores some order with a typical precise over, just a leg bye from it.
83rd over: Sri Lanka 303-6 (Kamindu 113, Chandimal 62) A juicy half-volley from Atkinson is pinged through extra cover for four by Mendis. Atkinson, who rarely betrays his feelings, shakes his head as he walks back to his mark. He’s struggling a bit.
It’s the first of three boundaries in the over. Kamindu back cuts into the ground with the ball bouncing up to brush Duckett’s middle finger on the way through. He felt that and is holding his hand.
Atkinson is nursing increasingly expensive figures. Kamindu saves the best shot for last, a beautiful cover drive off a perfectly good delivery. A No7 batsman indeed. He should be done under the Trade Descriptions Act
83rd over: Sri Lanka 291-6 (Kamindu 101, Chandimal 62) Woakes gets some nice shape away from the right-handed Chandimal, who leaves what he can and defends the rest. A maiden. A triumph for all a concerned.
Ninety minutes ago there was a lightning warning. Now there’s bright sunshine at Old Trafford, where play is about to resume. Sri Lanka are 291 for 6, a lead of 169. To coin a phrase, this is a big first hour.
Lunch
82nd over: Sri Lanka 291-6 (Kamindu 101, Chandimal 62) That’s lunch. The last ball of the session, from Gus Atkinson, zinged through to beat Kamindu’s cut stroke. That’ll give England a shot of hope when they return to the field, and they need it because Sri Lanka totally dominated that rain-affected morning session: 22 overs, 87 runs, no wickets. They lead by 169.
Kamindu Mendis makes a marvellous hundred!
81st over: Sri Lanka 290-6 (Kamindu 101, Chandimal 61) Kamindu Mendis back cuts Woakes for four to reach an outstanding century, his third in only four Tests, and roars with delight: 167 balls, 12 fours, one six. He gets a standing ovation from the crowd and the Sri Lankan balcony.
He looks such a good player, so pure technically and calm mentality, that I can think of only one question to ask: what the bloody hell is he doing at No7?
“This Sri Lanka fightback is warming the cockles Rob,” writes Guy Hornsby. “Yes, I know we’re supposed to want big victories all the time, but as I’ve got into middle age, I’ve found I get much more joy in cricket itself’s narratives and success on any front giving me more satisfaction than anything.
“Of course I want a series win, but seeing talents like Asitha Fernando and Kamindu Mendis thrive, and Prabath Jayasuriya away from home is just as nourishing as Jamie Smith’s serene batting and Shoaib Bashir’s development. It’s heartening seeing Matty Potts improve too, even if he had no luck yesterday. I think anything close to 200 is going to be a challenge, especially given the filth on the forecast tomorrow meaning England will want to get on with it. Game on!”
Couldn’t agree more. You’ve need two eyes if you want to enjoy this thing of ours to the fullest.
80th over: Sri Lanka 284-6 (Kamindu 95, Chandimal 61) Root gets a bit of drift from around the wicket. There’s no spin though and he is milked pretty comfortably for four runs.
Right, time for the second new ball. The real quiz.
79th over: Sri Lanka 280-6 (Kamindu 93, Chandimal 59) Lawrence’s first over is pretty harmless and milked for five runs. It’ll be his last, too, because the new ball is due after this next over from Joe Root. Sri Lanka lead by 158.
78th over: Sri Lanka 275-6 (Kamindu 90, Chandimal 57) Potts bowls the last delivery of the over he began before the rain break. And now for something completely different: Dan Lawrence, the man whose bowling action is, as Rick Foot put it, like a man fighting an octopus in a sleeping bag.
Hold the bells, the England team are loitering by the boundary edge. That must mean play is about to resume. Lunch is still at 1.15pm.
No news of a restart time. If you want some live action, a couple of County Championship games have avoided the bad weather.
“If it helps I once drove into Manchester in the lovely month of May under heavy snow,” says Jeremy Boyce. “An hour later we were in bright sunshine. Whatever, I think the answer to Gary Naylor’s question is a local chap who recently departed from the international scene, who knows the ground well and how to exploit the conditions…”
Lunch is scheduled for 1.15pm. That might be moved back now because the covers are coming off and the concerns about the lightning seem to have passed.
On Sky Sports, Stuart Broad is explaining why Old Trafford is usually a new-ball wicket, a point made by Chris Woakes on the first evening as well. “You get that dryness, there are cracks in the pitch, and when the ball is much harder it exaggerates the movement.”
The second new ball is due in 2.1 overs. If England break this partnership they could clean up. If they don’t, things will be even more interesting.
“This is an excellent partnership and reflects more accurately the quality of Sri Lanka’s batting,” says Michael Galvin. “One or two of our bowlers look tired and bereft of ideas, not least Atkinson.”
Yes, hard to say from so far away but he looks mentally tired. Welcome to Test cricket, son, this is what it’s really like.