Key events
39th over: England 152-4 (Root 54, Smith 6) Root’s fifty came off 84 balls. It wasn’t flawless, but it was impressively fluent. To celebrate, he punches to cover point for three.
Fifty to Root!
Joe Root clips Rathnayake for two to reach fifty for the 97th time in Tests. A third of those (32) have led to a hundred, and this feels like it could be the 33rd. “As a bowler in his team,” says Stuart Broad, “I loved having him there.”
Drinks: SL on top
38th over: England 147-4 (Root 49, Smith 6) Another over, another single, as the Only Ones so nearly sang. And that’s drinks, with Sri Lanka still on top. After seeing off the dangerous Brook, they need just one more wicket to get down to the bowlers. But Joe Root, who made a hundred-odd for once out in Manchester, is halfway to doing it again in London.
37th over: England 146-4 (Root 48, Smith 6) Another good over as Fernando too goes for just a single. Jamie Smith, who can be so commanding for a beginner, has started in his sedate mode – six off 18 balls, and four of those runs rather streaky.
Meanwhile David Acaster is picking up on my aside about the inside edge that mysteriously saves you from LBW. “I always assumed this was pragmatism,” he says. “In the days of good old analogue umpires they could tell if it was hitting the stumps if it missed the bat, but if there was an edge then the decision was much more difficult, maybe impossible. So A Decision Was Made – any bat in it and it’s not out.”
36th over: England 145-4 (Root 47, Smith 6) Just a single off Jayasuriya. We’re back to proper Test creekit.
“They’ve been rattling on about padel on TMS,” says Hamish Kuzminski. “Don’t know what the fuss is about. We were playing this at school in the blimmin’ 70s, for heaven’s sake. King Edward’s Five Ways in Brum, for completeness. I imagine my literally old schoolmates are equally amused, or puzzled.”
35th over: England 144-4 (Root 46, Smith 6) Root, facing Fernando, resumes his audition for the MCC Coaching Book with an impeccable swivel-pull.
34th over: England 138-4 (Root 41, Smith 5) Root clips Jayasuriya for two, but the rest of the over is spot-on.
“Just sharpening my quill,” says Pete Salmon. “is it time for the Ollie Pope Discussion yet? One more failure and we go there, or end of series? Perhaps an OBO klaxon so we can all start to pile in for or against? Do keep us posted!” Ha. Funnily enough, I suspect he’ll be insulated by the captaincy. These low scores will be attributed to that. And perhaps to the absence of Crawley, who often puts England in the driving seat before Pope appears.
33rd over: England 136-4 (Root 39, Smith 5) After nabbing Brook as well as Pope, Fernando is on fire. He touches 88mph, draws Smith into a thick-edged drive that goes for a jammy four, and then has an LBW shout that is thwarted only by an inside edge. Such a strange rule, that – giving gthe batter a reward for a false shot.
“There may not be any room for Oasis chat,” says Mark Lewis, “but pleasantly surprised to see The Wurzels mentioned on the OBO (finally). One of Adge Cutler’s finest ditties (Drink Up Thy Zyder) is the adopted anthem of my beloved Bristol City. Got me thinking of former player Arthur Milton. The last surviving member of the exclusive club of men who have played Test cricket and football at the highest level. Some life, that.”
32nd over: England 131-4 (Root 38, Smith 1) Jayasuriya keeps Jamie Smith quiet with his accuracy.
And here’s Brian Withington. “After his product placement of Toast and Babycham (very 70s breakfast),” he says, “perhaps Kim Thonger can check out the site of the prison in Shepton Mallet, which was the nation’s oldest before it was shut in 2013? Never know when that might need to be pressed back into service – indeed, one or two of these England batters might benefit from a short break at His Majesty’s Pleasure.”
31st over: England 130-4 (Root 38, Smith 1) Yet again, a bowling change made the difference. Kumara got his hard-earned breather and gave way to Asitha Fernando, who went very full and angled the ball back in, using the slope. So Harry Brook, as he has tended to since his early blaze of glory, gets in and then gets out.
WICKET! Brook LBW b Fernando 33 (England 130-4)
This is a big one. Brook reviews immediately, but it’s umpire’s call, so he has to go.
30th over: England 128-3 (Root 37, Brook 32) Root sweeps Jayasuriya for four, magisterially, just as he did when they first met this morning. At the end of the over Root and Brook have a chat that leaves them both chuckling.
29th over: England 124-3 (Root 33, Brook 32) For once, de Silva gets a bowling change wrong – by not making it. He keeps Kumara on for his 11th over in the last 23, and Brook makes him pay with a rasping pull and a classy late cut, both for four. He’s almost caught up with Root, who has been out there for nine overs longer.
28th over: England 115-3 (Root 32, Brook 24) Dhananjaya de Silva decides it’s time for some spin after all, so Prabath Jayasuriya returns. He bowls an over without a wicket in it, for the first time today, but concedes only a single and gets both batters thinking with his flight.
27th over: England 114-3 (Root 31, Brook 24) Brook, in full flow now, dabs Kumara for two and flicks him for a single. Root adds a flick of his own, and then Kumara, who has been admirable, finds the inside edge of Brook’s bat with the nip-backer.
26th over: England 110-3 (Root 30, Brook 21) It’s seam from both ends, so Sri Lanka’s dismal over rate is not about to improve. Rathnayake persuades Brook to play a semi-false shot, a chip past the bowler that goes for two. Then Brook plays a crunching cover drive for four, as if suddenly remembering how good he is. A deft cut should bring another two, but there’s a misfield so it’s four more. Another cut, for a single this time, and that’s 11 off the over.
25th over: England 99-3 (Root 30, Brook 10) We don’t know what Root had for lunch, but it may have been two cans of Coke. He plays and misses at Kumara, then calls for a sharp single that would have been the downfall of Harry Brook if the throw had hit the stumps. Brook too flirts with fate outside the off stump, before tucking to leg for a more respectable single.
The players are back out there. “Root to me is the key,” says Kumar Sangakkara, who has not only made a Test hundred at Lord’s himself, he’s been the president of MCC too.
Lunch! And it’s de Silva’s morning
24th over: England 97-3 (Root 29, Brook 9) Fernando, who got this party started, brings the morning to a close with a testing over, beating Brook and drying up the flow of runs. The morning belongs to Dhananjaya de Silva, who startled everyone by opting to bowl and then went some way to proving himself right by grabbing three wickets with inspired bowling changes. For England, Ollie Pope flopped for the third time in a row as stand-in captain. Ben Duckett was assured while he lasted and Joe Root has carried on where he left off at Old Trafford, but as the teams tuck into the legendary Lord’s lunch, it will be the Sri Lankans who feel happier.
23rd over: England 97-3 (Root 29, Brook 9) Kumara bothers Root again, with a bouncer this time, hurrying him into a brush of the glove that could easily have brought a wicket. Brook gets a bouncer too and shows the old boy how it’s done, playing a savage pull that rings out like a gunshot and deserves more than the single it gets.
22nd over: England 94-3 (Root 28, Brook 7) Three singles off Fernando, and no more alarms.
The TMS link has come in, from Nick Kai Nielsen in Châtellerault, near Poitiers, and he even shares the recipe. “Overseas link for TMS: Method: BBC cricket > Test live (their version of your sterling efforts) > link in sidebar.” Magnificent, thank you.
21st over: England 91-3 (Root 27, Brook 5) Dhananjaya de Silva does like to ring the changes. Lahiru Kamara’s reward for taking that catch is to be brought straight back into the attack, replacing the wicket-taker Jayasuriya. Root spots a half-volley and strokes a cover drive, straight out of the MCC Coaching Book (if it still exists). Ben Stokes strolls round the boundary with his pads on, looking as if he owns the place. His predecessor plays another drive for no runs as the ball thuds into the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
20th over: England 87-3 (Root 23, Brook 5) Harry Brook, facing Rathanayake, is watchful until the last ball, which he eases for four with a back-foot square drive. That was classy.
19th over: England 83-3 (Root 23, Brook 1) Seeing a spinner for the first time today, both batters were aggressive. Root played an immaculate sweep of the old-fashioned variety, but then Duckett, who usually plays it well, misjudged the reverse, didn’t get over it and sent a top edge soaring towards Kumara, who held it coolly to add to his good morning. Advantage Sri Lanka.
WICKET! Duckett c Kumara b Jayasuriya 40 (England 82-3)
Yet another bowliing change, yet another wicket. And another top edge, as Duckett gets the reverse-sweep all wrong.
18th over: England 76-2 (Duckett 39, Root 18) Rathnayake continues and Kumara, not content with bowling a fine spell, saves a run with a fearless dive as Root plays a steer down the hill. Root has slowed down after that rapid start but he’s still showing intent, standing a yard outside his crease. Rathnayake, like Kumara, gets one past his outside edge. The ball has done more since Duckett hit the lacquer off it.
17th over: England 73-2 (Duckett 38, Root 16) Kumara continues, concedes a single to each batter and beats Root again, on the outside edge this time.
“Quick message,” says Peter Gibbs from his campervan in Anglesey. “No more Oasis stuff here if that’s possible?” Ha. Can’t promise – you never know what will happen, an elderly man in a panama hat might hold up a sign saying Don’t Look Back In Anger. But I do take your point. The people have spoken.
16th over: England 71-2 (Duckett 37, Root 15) After that near-miss, Root decides to play himself in. Rathanayake strings together five dots, but then Root clips for three off a delivery that is much the same as the one that nearly got him, just not as fast.
“Thanks for the fab coverage,” says Ed Hopkinson. “Any chance of the TMS link for overseas listeners?” Hoping somebody can help.
15th over: England 68-2 (Duckett 37, Root 12) Root makes his first false move as Kumara, who has asked all the right questions, beats him on the inside edge and appeals for LBW. Paul Reiffel says not out, Sri Lanka review and it’s tight … umpire’s call, clipping the leg bail.
14th over: England 67-2 (Duckett 37, Root 11) Rathanayake returns and gives Duckett some trouble. First he fends at a lifter, finding only thin air, then he scoops the ball in the air towards cover and picks up a streaky two. But Duckett survives and, in Tests at Lord’s, he now averages 100.
13th over: England 65-2 (Duckett 35, Root 11) The first ball after drinks brings a poor shot from Duckett, wafting outside off as Kumara moves the ball away down the slope. But he gets his act together with a dab for two and a cover-drive for four, flipped with a flourish.
And here’s Kim Thonger. “Checking in from a car park in Shepton Mallet, Somerset,” he writes, “waiting my wife’s re-emergence after her audit of the inventory in a certain well-known fashion brand’s factory shop. I shan’t mention the name directly but it’s associated with marmalade. Anyway, it’s showering slightly, appropriate since we are opposite Showering’s, the makers of Babycham, the go-to drink of my early girlfriends. It was either that or a snowball in the 70s. Those were the options. End of.
“It makes me wonder whether the wonderful Wurzels ever did a version of the Oasis song you mentioned, titled Babycham Supernova? If they didn’t they should have done. And followed it with Ciderwall.”
12th over: England 58-2 (Duckett 28, Root 11) Fernando continues and so do the runs – two singles to each batter. They’re both so busy and yet so relaxed. And that’s drinks, which is Sky’s chance to torment us with that awful ad that Stuart Broad agreed to appear in in a moment of madness.
It’s been an hour of two halves – the first all England, as Duckett took charge, the second belonging to Sri Lanka as Dhananjaya de Sliva hit back with two wily bowling changes. And now Duckett and Root are threatening to take back control. Ebb and flow, you can’t beat it.
11th over: England 54-2 (Duckett 26, Root 9) It will take more than a couple of wickets to bother Ben Duckett. Facing Kumara, he plays a pull for two and a flick for a single. Root, getting forward nicely, adds a straight push for four. and a glance for another single. Between them, these two have cruised to 35 off 34 balls, while the other two batters scraped 10 off 32.
10th over: England 46-2 (Duckett 23, Root 4) Joe Root runs to the middle and clips his first ball for four. But that won’t bother the Sri Lankans too much as the past quarter of an hour. belongs to them Another bowling change, another wicket. Fernando switched ends, dropped short and lured Pope into a miscued front-foot pull. As the ball sailed into the St John’s Wood skies, Dhananjaya de Silva took charge, kept calm and sent his opposite number packing. He gets credit for both wickets and now his decision to bowl doesn’t look so silly.
WICKET! Pope c de Silva b Fernando 1 (England 42-2)
One brings two! And the England captain has gone.
9th over: England 39-1 (Duckett 20, Pope 1) Kumara beats Pope again, cutting him in half like a magician, and then a third time, which brings a loud appeal for caught behind. Pope, as so often, is starting with a stutter, while Kumara (2-1-3-1) has started with a bang. “He was all smiles in practice,” says Mel Jones. “He’s all glares now.”
8th over: England 39-1 (Duckett 20, Pope 1) Pope copes better with Rathnayake, going back to flip a short one for a single. On the balcony, Ben Stokes keeps a beady eye on his understudy.
7th over: England 33-1 (Duckett 19, Pope 0) That was a four-card trick from Kumara, who kept angling the ball into Lawrence, then moved it away, up the slope. Lawrence didn’t help himself by going down the track, which left him with less time to adjust. And then Kumara beat Pope outside off too. In one over, he’s changed the complexion of the game.
WICKET! Lawrence c Madushka b Kumara 9 (England 33-1)
The breakthrough! And it’s a bowling change that makes the difference as Lahiru Kumara’s extra pace tells.
6th over: England 30-0 (Duckett 16, Lawrence 9) Rathnayake started very tidily but now the openers tuck in. Duckett clips for two and takes a leg-bye, leaving Lawrence to play a straight drive for four. That was so easy, just a push.
5th over: England 23-0 (Duckett 14, Lawrence 5) Lawrence, facing Fernando, gets lucky as an inside edge goes for four. Fun fact: Sri Lanka haven’t lost at Lord’s since Ian Botham was playing for England, back in 1991.
4th over: England 19-0 (Duckett 14, Lawrence 1) Don’t bowl wide of off to Duckett, don’t go the other way to Lawrence… Rathnayake forgets this and concedes four byes, followed by a single to get Lawrence off the mark. He made 30 and 34 in his first go as a makeshift Test opener – the kind of scores that get frowned upon, but more than anyone else in either top three managed.
3rd over: England 14-0 (Duckett 14, Lawrence 0) Hang on, Duckett has found his groove. He square-drives Fernando for four, then off-drives him for four more. Fernando recovers with a couple of dot balls, then goes too wide and lets Duckett glide a third four. He’s helped himself to 13 off seven balls from Fernando.
2nd over: England 2-0 (Duckett 2, Lawrence 0) From the Nursery End, it’s Milan Rathnayake, who made his debut last week and batted better than he bowled. He makes a steady start, starving Duckett of the width he craves until the last ball, which is chopped for another single. Two overs, two runs – someone tell Sir Geoffrey, Test creekit is back.
1st over: England 1-0 (Duckett 1, Lawrence 0) Fernando starts with a yorker, swinging into Duckett, who digs it out and steals a single. A more orthodox ball, jagging in towards Dan Lawrence’s off stump, brings an LBW appeal, but it’s too high. Are England still in the subdued mode with which they stunned us in Manchester?
The new ball is in the hands of Asitha Fernando, so impressive at Old Trafford. Waiting for him is Ben Duckett, the opener who can’t stand playing no stroke.
As the anthems are played, we get a close look at both sides. If it was a competition to see who had more stubble, the Sri Lankans would be heading for an easy win.
The bell is rung by Mahela Jayawardene. He didn’t just make heaps of stylish runs for one of these nations: he went on to work as a batting consultant for the other.
On Sky, the first Oasis song of the day is ringing out. “It’s Lord’s, we’ve gotta go for Champagne Supernova, haven’t we?”
The first email has landed and it’s from our old friend Gary Naylor. “I suspect that there will not be swathes of empty seats on the fourth day – if MCC prices tickets correctly,” he says. “Fifth day ticket prices is something that cricket has got right in recent years and surely the flexibility shown with cut-price seats should extend to other days if advance sales look thin? After all, the overheads are fixed and there’s money to be made on the merch and refreshments. No doubt people who paid ‘full price’ weeks ago might quibble, but that’s the nature of the beast.” Hmm, flexibility … not always MCC’s middle name.
The teams
As both captains showed their hand yesterday, it’s a Radiohead team sheet: no surprises. Olly Stone replaces the injured Mark Wood, while Sri Lanka make two changes – Pathum Nissanka for Kusal Mendis, to try and avoid being 6 for 3; and Lahiru Kamara for Vishwa Fernando, to add weight to the seam bowling.
England 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Dan Lawrence, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wkt), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Matthew Potts, 10 Olly Stone, 11 Shoaib Bashir.
Sri Lanka 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Nishan Madushka (wkt), 3 Pathum Nissanka, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara
Toss: Sri Lanka win and bowl first
Dhananjaya de Silva calls right and chooses to bat first puts England in. Perhaps he can see clouds overhead that nobody else has spotted.
Preamble
Morning everyone and welcome to the Lord’s Test. That seems an odd thing to be saying at the end of August, and on closer inspection this match turns out to be the second-latest Test ever staged at Lord’s (after England v West Indies 2017, which began on 7 September). The more senior members of MCC will be in grave danger of slipping on the first conker of autumn. But the weather gods have decided to pretend that it’s still high summer: not till Monday afternoon does the chance of rain in any given hour go above 10 per cent.
For Ollie Pope’s England team, there’s a series to be won after they crept to victory at Old Trafford in a style to which they are now unaccustomed. For Sri Lanka, who lost that match but won acclaim for their tenacity, there’s a jolt of pressure, which could be bracing: they simply have to win this time. For MCC, there will be swathes of empty seats if the game goes into a fourth day. That Test in 2017 didn’t make it to a third tea-break as West Indies scored 300 in both their innings combined, but a line-up with Kamindu Mendis down at No 7 can surely do better than that.
Play starts at 11am UK time and I’ll be back 25 minutes before that with news of the toss.
