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Ollie Pope’s first day as Test captain ended with England in a good position but Sri Lanka showed enough fight to suggest this will be a more competitive series than the West Indies walkover.
At lunch Pope must have thought captaincy was an easy game as Sri Lanka listed at 80 for five with the bowlers on the money but a rally inspired by their captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, and debutant Milan Rathnayake, kept England honest and made Pope work hard for the final couple of wickets as drift set in after tea.
Pope did not do much wrong but the killer instinct was not quite there when needed as the tail rallied. With the umpires preventing the bowling pace because of poor light, it did weaken Pope’s hand but England perhaps should have wrapped it up by then anyway.
Ben Stokes led the pre-match team-talk proving who is really in charge, and Pope just had to follow the Bazball plan. With five bowlers he had the tools to make inroads and did not have to think too hard until after tea when the tail resisted.
He was a little late calling on Wood to bowl at Rathnayake and by the time he summoned him, it was too dark and the umpires told England to finish it off with spin, which made for a dull period of play. Sri Lanka were restricted to spin too when England batted but they had the insurance card of summoning pace, knowing the umpires would end play for the day if Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence looked too comfortable, which is how it played out.
Jamie Smith made his first mistake as keeper, missing a stumping when Dhananjaya was on 65, and Matt Potts was poor on his Test return with Bashir bowled ahead of him to the tail but this was a good England day overall and it is no bad thing that Sri Lanka have a foothold in the game. To turn six for three into 226 shows what they could be capable of with a bit more batting behind them and at some point England need to be stretched this summer for their own good.
Chris Woakes with three for 32 and Mark Wood carried on where they left off against West Indies bowling with skill, intelligence and in Wood’s case, hot pace bowling his first ball at 95mph. Gus Atkinson continues to impress, particularly with his ability to mix up his bowling without losing accuracy, and Shoaib Bashir’s three for 55 from 23 overs on a day one pitch in provided more proof that England have discovered a gem of a bowler, their first spinner since Graeme Swann who can be relied on in both innings.
Supporters snuggled under thick duvets on the balconies of Old Trafford’s new hotel and it was day for flasks of coffee and Lancashire hotpot for lunch; conditions in fact so far removed from Sri Lanka that it underlined the folly of their lack of preparation.
It is what cost them a chance to grab hold of the game after winning a good toss on the best batting track in the country. Their top five played some poor strokes – or non-strokes in the case of Angelo Mathews – and gifted wickets. Throw in a snorter from Wood, a 93mph throat ball that thumped Kusal Mendis on the thumb on its way to slip, and grubber from Bashir and suddenly Sri Lanka were 92 for six.
They played just one game before this Test – their first in England for eight years – and were beaten by the England Lions at Worcester. New Road is probably one of the slower surfaces in the country, Old Trafford definitely the quickest and bounciest, so it was predictable what happened next as they fumbled their way into the game.
Sri Lanka’s top seven boast 71 Test hundreds – plenty more than England’s – but only 11 outside Asia and Zimbabwe over the past ten years. This is only their second series in four years outside Asia and they needed more time to acclimatise but their captain’s plea for more warm-ups went unheeded. Instead, a one-day series with India was more important.
Sri Lanka are a better side than West Indies, they have tough experienced players to call on and a promising attack but it is a waste if they are sent out on a gloomy Manchester day with the feel of Sri Lankan sunshine still on their backs.
After seeing out the first five overs by barely taking a risk, Sri Lanka lost three in ten balls. Both openers fell to their first attacking shots, and Mathews was so rusty he left an inducker from Woakes that would have hit the top of middle.
It was a day of farewells, one poignant and moving, the other the celebration of a local hero. The video montage of Graham Thorpe’s career, which blended footage of him playing club cricket as a young kid with his most glorious moments for England, was sobering but perfectly judged. The minute’s applause that followed was the right way to remember an entertainer who gave everything for his country but also loved to roll his sleeves up on a day like this.
James Anderson was presented with a framed shirt by Michael Atherton as Old Trafford rose to show its appreciation of one of their own and he, like Thorpe, would have loved to play in these conditions, the clouds rolling in to have him licking his lips.
A touching moment as both players and the crowd observe a moment of applause in remembrance of Graham Thorpe 👏❤ pic.twitter.com/hWrKzRuC6v
Sri Lanka improved as the weather worsened which proved they have spirit. The eighth and ninth wickets added 113 led by Dhananjaya’s skilful 74 and Rathnayake’s rugged 72, his highest score in first-class cricket, his fifty brought up with a six off Bashir. Dhananjaya was busy and picked off the fours when they were offered, while the plucky Rathnayake came out of his shell when facing the spinners in the gloom.
Dhananjaya eventually fell in the trap to Bashir, guiding him round the corner to leg slip, and Pope kept the field up, Stokes-style, which worked as Rathnayake lobbed one in the air off the spinner but at least by then Sri Lanka had something to defend.
…this time talking to the BBC.
On Ollie Pope: “Obviously it’s going to be a bit different. Ben is Ben, we know what kind of character he is. Ollie has been VC to Ben for a while now and you could see some traits of Ben in how he went about it. He communicated really well, used his bowlers really well and was probably a bit more switched on than he’s used to! I thought he did brilliantly.
“When you’ve got a bit of an inexperienced captain, there are probably a few more ideas floating around than usual to take the pressure off Ollie a little bit. Especially as a bowling attack, we took it upon ourselves but he handled it really well.”
“When you bowl on day one on a Test surface like that you’d be really happy. It’d be nice to have bowled them out earlier.
“We wanted to stay out there and Bashir was doing a great job. Who knows what the conditions will be like tomorrow. We felt we could bowl them out and thankfully we did in the end.
“The first 25 overs, it felt as though there was a bit in it. Bashir kept it low. Once the ball got softer it looked a lot easier to bat on and they started to form partnerships. It definitely felt like a new-ball pitch.
“Early on it swung a bit I tried to swing it early. I tried a couple of wobble seams like Atkinson. They were a little bit fuller than I’d have liked. It moved away and thankfully got the edge and nipped back nicely.”
The second innings is just the second time two spinners have opened the bowling in a Test match in England since 1967. The other time, in 2008, saw Monty Panesar and Kevin Pietersen take the new ball against South Africa.
A day that started with a bang but then meandered late on. Much of that was down to bad light, which prevented a seamer bowling in either innings over the last couple of hours. England will be far happier, having dismissed Sri Lanka for 236 but the visitors’ recovery from 6/3 showed there is plenty of fight in their side.
England got to 22/0 before bad light pulled the players from the field. They trail by 214 heading into day two.
…Sri Lanka asked to bring pace on but the umpires refused. That will likely bring play to an end for the day.
Jayasuriya manages a smooth action with an economy of effort and keeps things tight to Lawrence, dropping short as he spies the England man creeping down the wicket. Lawrence then takes full advantage as he pounces on an over-pitched delivery for four.
Paddle sweep from Duckett is high risk but brings a boundary but he’s then beaten by a ball that turns sharply away from him. Duckett persists with the sweep and again top edges but again does so safely, adding another to the total.
Prabath Jayasuriya is the man to take the ball at the other end. Lawrence gets another single with a dab into the leg side. Fairly loose shot from Duckett before he and Lawrence get themselves in a right mess running. Mathews misses with the throw and England breathe a sigh of relief.
Not a great deal of turn evident from the first two balls of the over before Duckett lashes De Silva over cover for four. A quick single brings Dan Lawrence on strike, who is off the mark straight away. You can’t imagine Sri Lanka will stay out here long if England get off to a flyer here.
Dhananjaya de Silva, the Sri Lanka captain, will take the new ball. Spin from the off it is.
Remains to be seen what can be bowled here but we are going to see some cricket all the same.
The two Sri Lankan spinners, Jayasuriya and the captain Dhananjaya de Silva, are the only two bowlers warming up in the middle. Too dark for pace….
Dan Lawrence and Ben Duckett did sprint off to get their kit on but whether there is any more cricket this evening lies in the hands of the two umpires.
This looks well out…and is. A huge mix-up between the Sri Lanka No 10 and 11 brings the innings to an end. They are all out for 236. Not a bad effort considering the position they were in earlier in the day but England are still in a dominant position.
SRI LANKA – 236 ALL OUT
All out! 💪 Taking control on Day One 👏 Catch Up Highlights: https://t.co/3J9ouQuVTn#ENGvSL | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/VOkByhuHSa
Four valuable byes for Sri Lanka much to the visible frustration of Jamie Smith. Vishwa then has another single at the end of the over and will keep the strike.
Vishwa has a go down the ground for a single. These two have to play some shots now surely, especially with the spinners on. Can they get Sri Lanka another 15? Another 20?
Asitha Fernando comes out to join his namesake in the middle. Every run now a bonus for Sri Lanka.
He’s gone! Two balls after taking Bashir over mid-on for a couple, Rathnayake tries again but this time mis-times it straight to Chris Woakes. FOW: 226/9
Breakthrough for England! Milan Rathnayake’s impressive innings comes to an end ❌ pic.twitter.com/2ZfKbO33pp
Can you hear the drums Fernando!? An attacking shot off Root from the great man brings him and his side a valuable boundary to move this partnership to nearly 50. Not sure how much longer England will stick at this in the light.
Rathnayake hammers Bashir through cover for four. He moves to 70 as his remarkable Test debut continues. Bashir goes round the wicket and immediately Rathnayake looks a little less comfortable. Have England found a strategy here?
Fernando to his credit has been very stubborn in defence, even if the run he scored in the last over was his first in nearly an hour. A maiden from Root.
Would you fall for this? 😅 pic.twitter.com/26hy4QEFOm
It’s bleak in Manchester. Cold, cloudy. I’ve even just spied two people sat under a duvet on balcony at the ground. One from Bashir’s latest over.
Root goes full and Rathnayake takes full advantage, launching Root over long-off for six. Really good and 220+ is not firmly on the agenda for a side who were 6/3 earlier today. Root goes for the surprise bouncer and Rathnayake plays it fine, picking up two off a thickish top edge.
Fernando tries a rather agricultural sweep shot. Reassuringly tail-enderish from the Sri Lanka No 10 there. England need to try something a little different here. That might be a bowling change. Dan Lawrence perhaps? The game has stagnated in the last 20 minutes or so.
Root continues. England will want to keep out there as long as they can, especially with rain in the forecast later this week. Can’t say Rathnayake looks especially concerned though. Maiden over from Root.
…the light metre.
The light is dreary at Old Trafford and so is the atmosphere. Mark Wood is taking his cap off to bowl the next over but won’t be allowed. Spin only for now.
Not sure whether it was a light-mandated decision from Pope to throw the ball to Root or whether he just fancies having a look at him on this surface. He does have a knack for picking up wickets after all.
Second wasted review from England.
Joe Root and England think they’ve got Fernando caught behind….
Bashir goes a bit quicker and does rush Rathnayake a touch but England will be becoming increasingly frustrated with this. You can’t help but feel they’ve been a touch passive after tea. Ollie Pope needs to rally his troops somewhat.
Fernando has a full set to get past and now it’s his turn to get a rap on the gloves from Atkinson, who must be coming towards the end of this spell with his speed dropping down to 80mph. Maiden over.
Two more for Rathnayake takes him to within one run of a 50 on his Test debut. Some effort this has been. He needs a single also to get on strike in the next over as England squeeze. Rathnayake goes aerial, lifting Bashir over mid-on for six to bring up a marvellous half-century.
What a way to get your maiden Test fifty on debut, take a bow Milan Rathnayake 👏 pic.twitter.com/GPnqJ8wgwq
More pain on the left hand for Rathnayake, who is taking a battering from Atkinson at present. He then takes matters into his own hands, taking on the short ball and picking up a couple for this trouble before picking up a single to keep the strike. Good batting.
A bit of intent from Rathnayake. Twice he takes on Bashir but neither results in a boundary. Bashir then flights one past the outside edge of Fernando. In truth, the tailender has done pretty well thus far.
Rathnayake has to fend off a nasty delivery from Atkinson that’s fired in at his ribs. It’s another painful blow for him but among other things he’s shown plenty of ticker throughout this knock. He decides to take a single with two balls remaining, exposing Fernando to Atkinson. He survives.
Bashir is trying to use the same strategy he dismissed De Silva with to get Rathnayake. Bowling round the wicket with a leg slip and a short leg in position. Rathnayake again negotiates things well though.
Rathnayake pulls Atkinson firmly behind square on the leg side for four. His impressive debut continues and these are all really valuable runs for Sri Lanka. Getting to 200 would be so important for Sri Lanka. Psychologically as much as anything else.
First over after tea is uneventful other than Fernando getting off the mark.
A fine innings of 74 from captain Dhanajaya de Silva has given Sri Lanka a slight foothold in the game and showed the potential they have once batsmen have found their feet in English conditions.
De Silva fell just before tea, a bit of gimme when he turned Shoaib Bashir to the leg slip that had been stationed most of the day for that shot but before then he played some terrific strokes to pace and spin to marshal a rally from 72 for five, adding 63 for the eighth wicket with Milan Rathnayake.
Mark Wood was down on pace in his second spell after lunch and Ollie Pope turned to Bashir to bowl at the tail ahead of Matt Potts, which showed he needs to improve quickly. Jamie Smith made his first mistake as England keeper, missing a stumping when Dhananjaya was on 65, but at least the resistance made Pope think a little bit more for his wickets.
Potts huffed and puffed with a bouncer field to no effect. Chris Woakes bowled the ball of the afternoon to remove Kamindu Mendis caught behind and Prabath Jayasuirya fell into the bouncer trap when he steered Gus Atkinson to slip only for the ball to be adjudged a no ball on height (it was the third of the over above the shoulder). Two balls later Jayasuriya, hanging back in his crease, edged a full ball behind. It was not a memorable session.
The players are out on the boundary and it looks like we will have no delay to play.
…you’ll be glad to hear. Updates to follow.
Raining now sadly – it’s expected to last for about 40 minutes, so well into the time after tea. The covers are on. But it is meant to clear later this afternoon.
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A change of field for Potts. More orthodox, with a couple of slips coming in to round out a cordon of three. There is a touch of movement still for Potts but he’s causing Rathnayake no problems whatsoever at present. The umpires reach for the bails and that’s tea.
Good from Bashir.
England think Fernando has got a nick on this…not sure he has though. He hasn’t.
De Silva falls for the trap. Bashir pushes one through a touch quicker and De Silva tries to turn one round the corner. He makes decent contact, so good in fact that it flies to Dan Lawrence stood at leg slip. A good catch is taken and the Sri Lanka captain has to go. FOW: 176/8
Shoaib Bashir claims Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva ❌ pic.twitter.com/d0TYpbiz5g
Can’t help but feel these tactics are not making the most out of Matt Potts. That said, every bowler has to do these hard yards in this England side these days. He falls to the ground after losing his footing after exerting maximum effort before Rathnayake pumps him through square leg for four.
First bit of naive captaincy from Ollie Pope. He has done well so far, after Sri Lanka decided to put their head in the noose by batting first. He has rotated sensibly, calling on Shoaib Bashir more quickly than Ben Stokes might have done but nothing wrong with that. But when Milan Rathnayake was batting against Bashir and was tempted to go over the bowler’s head, Ben Duckett at mid-off and Mark Wood at mid-on were both in closer than normal. Thus they could cover less ground than if one had been standing closer and the other deeper. Rathnayake survived, as the skyer went just beyond both of them, and with his captain Dhananjaya de Silva he is averting embarrassment. And Jamie Smith missed that stumping, his first mistake of note.
Poor from Bashir. Short, wide and punished by Rathnayake. First real test for Ollie Pope here. The Sri Lanka resistance has been stubborn and if anything this pair are starting to look somewhat set.
Big spell for Matthew Potts. In his first Test since last June, he was too wayward in his opening spell, getting flayed through the off side. Now he is being used as an enforcer, bowling short balls to a packed on side field.
Potts has been seconded into bending back and playing the leading role in some short-ball tactics. The field is heavily leg side and the bowling is short. Potts strays too far onto the off side though, allowing Rathnayake to lift the ball over gully for four. I understand the thought process behind this tactic but it’s like watching paint dry as far as I’m concerned.
Rathnayake plays his first shot in anger for quite some time and the ball skies high into the sky. Duckett charges towards it from mid-on but is always a touch behind the ball and slides frustratedly as it lands safely. You’d have to say Rathnayake has earned that slice of luck though.
De Silva is frustrated to miss out on second meaning Potts has five balls at Rathnayake, who continues to look at ease. Potts has looked a touch short of his best today. His pace has hovered in the low 80s all day and the ball just has not moved for him in the way it has for Woakes or Atkinson.
Another tight over from Bashir. None from it.
Superb yorker from Wood and De Silva has to be on his guard to dig that one out. This is a slightly longer spell, which might explain why Wood’s speeds have been a touch down on what we’ve become accustomed to seeing so far this summer.
Maiden from Bashir. Rathnayake is not interested in the single which is not a great surprise.
Rathnayake plays a decent pull shot into the leg side off Wood and they scamper through for a couple. He then takes a painful blow on the fingers of his bottom glove. That looks painful and the medical team is called on straight away. Wood goes too full next and Rathnayake graciously picks up one through cover. Strange Wood didn’t go straight back to the short ball.
De Silva breaks the pedestrian pace of play, slog-sweeping Bashir to the boundary for four and then dancing down the wicket to lift him over mid-off for another boundary. Very good from De Silva. He gets away with one there though, coming down again but missing this time and handing Jamie Smith a clear chance at a stumping. He fumbles though and De Silva survives.
Wood has looked a touch short of the venom that we saw in his spell this morning. He’s down to 88mph here. Rathnayake continues to look fairly comfortable both against pace and the spin of Bashir. These two are in no rush at present.
Bashir continues. The ball did for Chandimal aside, he has not looked all that dangerous – as you’d expect on the first day of a Test match on a good Old Trafford pitch.
Short and a touch wide from Wood and Rathnayake smacks it square of the wicket for four. Proper shot on debut. He’s got a decent technique on this evidence and his cpatina will be hoping it holds up long enough for them to add a fair few more to this total.
It really is time to look at how teams prepare for Test series. It is fine for India and Australia to turn up and go straight into Test series because their players are used to batting all around the world because they tour more but for sides like Sri Lanka and West Indies it is essential to acclimatise properly before facing an England attack in good bowling conditions. Nothing will kill Test cricket quicker than one sided matches. Test cricket is at its best when teams tussle for days for supremacy whereas a procession is a non-event. England have bowled well but there have been plenty of soft dismissals too.
De Silva gets to his 50 with a single. In the circumstances that’s a fine innings from the Sri Lanka captain. The question now is how long he can keep it going for. Bashir then drops short and De Silva punishes him through point. Silver lining for England is that Rathnayake will be on strike to start the next over…which Mark Wood is bowling.
De Silva is going to play some shots here you feel. On a pitch with this much pace in it the tail are not going to hang around all that long. He starts well, pummeling Atkinson to the boundary for four through square leg before taking a single. England change the field with Rathnayake on strike with three slips and a short leg coming in.
Another bowl for Bashir. This is a good chance for him to have a look at the Sri Lankan lower order. De Silva takes a single to give Rathnayake an early look. Not convincing to be honest but he survives.
Hostile over and Sri Lanka have paid the price.
Awful from Jayasuriya. The flick shot he seems so fond of has got him unstuck. Or has it? His reprieve is a no-ball from Atkinson for the ball being above shoulder height. Two balls later though, he’s gone. Loose outside off stump and a clean nick through to Smith. FOW: 113/7
Jayasuriya plays a loose flick into the off side. Bashir dives forward but can’t quite get his long fingers under the ball. A bullet dodged for Sri Lanka. Good work otherwise though, rotating strike at every opportunity.
Despite the cloud a comfortable post-lunch peace seems to have descended over Old Trafford. Full pints, full bellies and England very on top. One would imagine things begin to get a shade more raucous as the evening rolls on. Jayasuriya tries another of his flick shots but doesn’t quite get it right and it’s cut off by Pope in the gully.
De Silva plays a bizarre but effective shot. Square driving a full ball to the boundary off the back foot. That sounds weird because it was. Mighty effective though and he is just about keeping his side’s head above water here. Jayasuriya dabs the ball into the leg side for a quick single – you’d think he will just try to keep turning the strike over to his captain as he looks to establish himself.
New man Jayasuriya lifts the ball neatly over the slip cordon, using Atkinson’s pace to help the ball to the boundary.
I was intrigued to see how Woakes gets on in these middle overs. For his detractors this is where he becomes more of a hindrance to England’s attack than an asset with his perceived inability to thrive without a hard, swinging ball in his hand. That was good though and proof he has to skill to make even an old ball talk.
A touch of movement does for Mendis. A feather-edge through to Smith is his undoing and England strike early after lunch. FOW: 92/6
Woakes claims his third wicket of the day 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rrXRVkzpgu
De Silva is the key here for Sri Lanka. He’s set and has appeared comfortable in the conditions thus far. He just sits back and pulls one off his hip for a single. Not a fancy shot but one of a man very much at ease in the middle. Mendis picks up three with a decent shot off the back foot through cover.
Woakes is just finding a hint of shape into the left-handed Mendis, who shows good judgement to leave one that tails in. The cloud is still low and heavy at Old Trafford, meaning the conditions will assist England if this ball does want to move about.
An excellent yorker from Atkinson nearly gets through De Silva’s defences. One thing to like about Atkinson is how much he changes up his lines of attack without sacrificing his overall rhythm. He can go, yorker, bouncer, yorker and then get straight back to his stock delivery with ease. It’s really quite impressive. De Silva is looking to pick up where he left off and picks up two through cover after a positive punch.
…is just around the corner. I have fed well, I hope you have too. Sri Lanka will resume on 80/5 and in real danger of letting this Test match get away from them before it’s really got going. Gus Atkinson will take the first over after lunch.
A comfortable session for England, with five wickets, as worst fears were confirmed about Sri Lanka’s lack of preparation for their first Test series outside Asia in more than three years.
Sri Lanka lost to England Lions last week and had asked for more than one warm-up game but the schedule was too tight to accommodate them. So instead, they have to acclimatise in a Test match with predictable results.
Two of the first three wickets were down to bad batting before Mark Wood blew away Kusal Mendis with a lethal 93mph throat ball that flew to slip. Shoaib Bashir’s grubber did for Dinesh Chandimal on the stroke of lunch and with bare patches, as well as a few cracks on the pitch, a decent first-innings total is crucial, but Sri Lanka are in deep trouble after wasting a good toss.
Both Sri Lanka openers fell playing their first attacking shots of the innings and Angelo Mathews was out leg before not playing a shot to Chris Woakes, who was the pick of the pitch-it-up seamers as three wickets fell in 10 balls. With the new-ball breakthroughs, England threw Wood at Sri Lanka and he hit full pelt straightaway, starting with a 95mph bumper that left Chandimal sprawling on the floor. With his seventh ball Wood bounced out Mendis, picking up where he left off against the West Indies by bowling quickly at the body.
The only disappointment was Matthew Potts who conceded 33 runs at six an over, bowling inconsistent lengths and perhaps trying too hard on his return to the side.
A touching moment as both players and the crowd observe a moment of applause in remembrance of Graham Thorpe 👏❤ pic.twitter.com/hWrKzRuC6v
Final over before lunch and Bashir with the ball. Mendis moves his feet nicely to get to the pitch of one outside off stump and picks up three for his trouble. Mendis is showing a willingness to still go back to Bashor despite the delivery that removed Chandimal. He navigates the final ball of the over and that’s lunch.
That is a shocker, that shooter from Shoaib Bashir that dismissed Dinesh Chandimal. How can anyone fend off steep bounce from one end – ie Mark Wood – then keep out a grubber at the other? Before the start the Sky commentator Mark Butcher identified a couple of bare patches but this ball did not hit them, although landing only a few inches from one of them. Questions to be asked in the House: why is this pitch so uneven on day one? It would not be tolerated if England were touring anywhere in Asia.
Hmmm. De Silva goes hard at one outside off stump just before lunch with his team five down. You’d imagine he might have got a few disapproving/frustrated/furious looks from his team-mates had he got a nick on that one.
The wicket-taking delivery has very much bought Bashir into this game. He can expect more overs as a result. Worth noting that even Bashir looked a touch sheepish after that wicket.
That is so unlucky. The ball has just died in the pitch on Chandimal. He reviews and could be saved by the ball hitting him outside off stump..but no. Chandimal must go. Zero luck for him with that one. FOW: 72/5
Bashir strikes in only his second over 😲💥 pic.twitter.com/evWunci70P
Woakes is back into the attack and a loosener is quickly punished by De Silva, who leans on a wide one to pick up four through point. De Silva has looked good so far, taking his scoring opportunities and looking confident against the pace and variety of England’s seam attack.
A quick spell for Shoaib Bashir before lunch. A good move from Pope you feel, if only to get his young spinner in the game early. Not a great deal of turn but the third ball of the over does die in the pitch a touch. One to bank for later in the Test match perhaps. Bashir then does find some turn, the ball flying up off Chandimal’s pad. On this evidence, this pitch will offer the spinners plenty as this match wears on.
A long stare at the pitch from Chandimal after Wood extracts extra bounce and the ball rears up onto the splice of the bat. Da Silva, meanwhile, is stepping back deep into his crease to give himself that extra bit of time, especially against the express pace of Wood. Sri Lanka currently going at 3.20 an over.
Plenty of wobble for Potts but it comes after the stumps. The early movement has diminished somewhat but there is still the potential for this ball to talk for England if they keep getting it in the right areas. Potts finds just that there but is unlucky to see the ball flying off De Silva’s edge for four.
Wood, still charging in, tumbles onto the concrete-like wicket at Old Trafford as he tries to extract every drop of pace and venom from what is likely to be a short spell. De Silva plays a canny shot, using the pace to guide it through gully for four before hooking down to fine leg for a single.
Chandimal is just consolidating a touch after the loss of Mendis. Or is he? As I type he lashes one through point for four. It was in the air but into a vacant area. Potts just seems to be bowling one poor ball an over at present. Possibly a symptom of a lack of overs this summer.
Dhananjaya de Silva, the Sri Lanka captain, takes on the short ball from Wood early and gets a single for his bravery. Hard to over-emphasise how good that delivery from Wood was to Mendis. England’s lethal edge with the wall shows its teeth once again.
Unplayable. Wood gets one to rear up at Mendis at 93mph and he can do nothing up get a glove on it – in defence as much as anything else. The ball balloons up and Harry Brook takes the simplest of catches at second slip. FOW: 40/4
93mph from Mark Wood ⏱🔥Another wicket for England! pic.twitter.com/2AechFM8wG
Mendis makes a hash of an attempted pull and is lucky the ball falls safe but then gets in a mix-up with Chandimal. A minor mis-field saves the Sri Lankan pair from a run-out chance.
Here’s Mark Wood…first ball is thrown down at a casual 95mph, sending Chandimal sprawling on the floor. Could we call that a loosener? If so, then maybe 100mph is not out of reach for the Durham quick. Chandimal gets up the other end and now it’s Mendis’s turn for a taste. His first ball takes off off a length and beats him all ends up. Just as Sri Lanka were starting to look comfortable, Pope is able to pull in Wood. It’s such a weapon to have in your back pocket.
Very much on board with the look from Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara in the Sky comms box this morning. Black-rimmed sunglasses with clear orange lenses…very Hunter S Thompson from the regal left-hander.
Goldblumar Sangakkara #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/NnAZYmaU26
A bit more nip from Potts, who looks to be shedding a bit of that first-over rustiness. Lovely from Mendis, who takes full advantage of a bit of width from Potts, picking up four through point before smashing one through cover for four. Excellent counter-punching from Mendis.
…to our very own Will Macpherson.
Slightly different view of the Test this week… pic.twitter.com/75t6WjRLaU
First boundary of the morning for Chandimal, who gets a tickle on one that was just a touch leg side from Atkinson. Woakes does well to stop another boundary, diving low to his left and a crisp drive from Chandimal.
England have released Jordan Cox and Olly Stone to play in the next round of the Vitality County Championship Division One starting tomorrow. Cox will play for Essex against Hampshire and Stone will travel to the Riverside for Nottighamshire’s visit to Durham.
It did seem strange when England decided to build their new post-Anderson new-ball attack around Chris Woakes. But it seems less strange with the passage of time – and with the news of England’s schedule for the next Ashes in Australia.
The pink-ball Test is not going to be in Adelaide as previously but in Brisbane, in early December, when the humidity will be palpable. If the Australia v West Indies day-night Test earlier this year is anything to go by, the pink ball will swing more in Brisbane than Adelaide – which brings Woakes into the game, even if his last red-ball Test at the Gabba was underwhelming.
The match-winner in the Australia v West Indies Test was Shamar Joseph. Australia’s pace bowlers swung it too but Joseph did it when bowling a very straight at right- and left-handers. Here’s a role for Woakes to emulate.
Matt Potts is into the attack – his first chance in a Test match this summer and he’ll be desperate to impress. Early pace is good enough in the mid-80s. In The Hundred he appears to have added a yard so that will only help in this format if he’s able to maintain it across long spells. The movement has just calmed down a touch, much to the chagrin of the three batsmen already back in the hutch. Mendis picks up the first boundary of the morning, just opening the face on one that flies through the gully region. Moments later, another boundary. Same area, for more streaky.
Mendis takes on a pull but the ball is far too full. That stinks of premeditation. Commendable but dangerous with a moving ball. For all the conditions are assisting him here, Atkinson has been very impressive in these early overs. Mixing up his lengths well and using the scrambled seam to good effect. Excellent work from Pope at gully saves a couple.
Dinesh Chandimal will try and bring a sense of calm for Sri Lanka out in the middle but there can be no doubting the trouble his side face right now. A nice drive from him finds the man at extra cover but that is exactly the type of shot Woakes will want to see with the ball still moving around. Menis punches nicely down the ground and gets back for three.
So much for the 71 Test hundreds…After three wickets in 10 balls for no runs, Sri Lanka are in deep trouble and it is safe to say their batting coach, Ian Bell, has got his work cut out over the next three weeks.
First boundary of the morning? Not quite, as Matt Potts reels it in just shy of the rope after a positive drive from Mendis. He looks like he’s going to try and be positive but another beauty from Atkinson will halt those thoughts for now.
Double-wicket maiden for Woakes and Sri Lanka are already flirting with dire straits here. 0/3 in ten balls.
REVIEW…looked very close at first glance but height might be an issue. DRS confirms the ball would have hit the stumps and Mathews has to go. FOW: 6/3
What a blistering start for England 🔥 They take two more quick wickets! 💥 pic.twitter.com/huMEKCDREF
Oh no. My word that’s loose from Madushka. Woakes just hangs one out full and wide and Madushka can’t resist. Easy catch for Root at first slip. FOW: 6/2
Superb from Atkinson. He’s really homing in and beats Mendis with an absolute beauty that flies through to Smith. A dangerous period for Sri Lanka now you feel.
Karunaratne sees one drop short and goes after the pull. The ball climbs on him a little more than expected though and takes his edge. Easy catch for Smith and England have their breakthrough. FOW: 6/1
It’s an early first wicket for England 💥👇 pic.twitter.com/PN1yaW4C6a
As Nick says, there is plenty of talent in this Sri Lankan top order and the early strategy appears to be seeing off this new ball to lay something of a platform from which they can build a proper first-innings score. Woakes goes very full to Karunaratne, who plays all round it and perhaps gets a feather edge but the ball falls well short of Jamie Smith
Sri Lanka’s top seven boast 71 Test hundreds, England 47 with Joe Root contributing 32 of those alone so this is going to be more of a challenge than the West Indies series. But Sri Lanka have only played two Tests outside Asia in the last three years so conditions will be alien, and this is their first series of more than two matches since 2018 which will test their resilience.
Dan Lawrence pads up, dons the helmet and squats down at short leg and Atkinson charges in to start his second over. Contrary to what Madushka may have been expecting, the first ball is full and beats his outside edge. Karunaratne plays the first positive stroke of the morning – a little push into the off side for a couple. It’s been a placid start in Manchester.
Sri Lanka are off the mark with a little nudge into the off side by Madushka but the threat of Woakes is clear. The ball prior held its line and crashed into Madushka’s pad. Woakes may have his detractors but his record in conditions such as these is a testament to his skill when the ball is moving. Perhaps a touch short thus far but otherwise very good from Woakes.
Gus Atkinson, sporting freshly dyed hair of the peroxide blonde variety, darts in to take aim at Karunaratne. His early pace and carry are impressive as Sri Lanka continue what is a very watchful start here for them. One feels a solid start for them is not only important in the context of this innings but also the match and, by proxy, the series. Two maidens start the morning for England.
Hint of movement early one for Woakes, the ball just tailing away from the right-handed Madushka before he’s beaten all ends up by an absolute ripper. You certainly get the sense that England would have stuck Sri Lanka in had they won the toss and this early movement is why. A maiden gets us underway.
The anthems – including the extraordinarily long Sri Lankan one – are over and England, along with Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka, are out in the middle. Chris Woakes will take the new ball.
A moving tribute to Graham Thorpe here. A lovely montage on the big screen showed some of his greatest moments in an England shirt – the comeback century against South Africa in 2003, his Ashes centuries at Perth and Edgbaston and his phenomenal batting in Asia in 2000/01, including leading England to victory in the dark in Karachi. The footage was followed by a minute’s applause for Thorpe. Players from both sides are wearing black armbands.
“He was a great man,” Ollie Pope, England’s stand-in captain, said of Thorpe yesterday. “I really admired him. I remember him saying one thing to me which was: ‘Never let the runs you’re scoring define you as a person’. In a bit of a rut when you’re young, that was exactly what I needed to hear. It shows for me what a people’s person he was. He was loved in the changing room. He’s such a sad loss to everyone, to the country, his family and the boys as well. He’s missed and we’ll honour him this week.”
The pity of it. Only 15 months until the next Ashes, and England should be putting the finishing touches to their team. Yet they are embarking on this Test series against Sri Lanka without their captain and quite possibly the next against Pakistan as well if there is more to it than the hamstring tear which has been disclosed.
To spell it out: the ECB’s imperative was to put their best Test players in the shop window of the Hundred to make it look more attractive to potential foreign investors. Stokes, because he does everything flat out, could easily have injured himself while bowling on a greasy pitch in the drizzle at Cardiff, before he was hamstrung while batting at Headingley. The pity of it. The folly of it.
England: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (capt), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake.
Morning from Old Trafford: lovely day at the moment, though a risk of showers after tea. Sri Lanka take the positive option by deciding to bat first. James Anderson, who so loved bowling here, is instead on the outfield helping Mark Wood through his paces. The crowd will hope for plenty of Wood rockets to enjoy later.
First team talk of the Pope regime was led by… Ben Stokes. The injured captain started the pep talk in the huddle before handing over to Brendon McCullum who left the last word to be said by Pope. A slap on the back from the full-time captain and coach for Pope after the chats were finished.
The tourists will bat first.
Pope said he would have chosen to bowl first if he had won the toss, so not a bad toss to lose.
“I think we were probably going to have a bowl first, but it looks like it’s going to be pretty good pitch, at least for the first half of the game. It looks rock hard, so hopefully it has some pace early on.
“Potts has bowled his heart out whenever he’s had his chance, so he deserves this opportunity. Jamie Smith came in last series and did what he can do with his bat, but we’ve still got guys lower down who can score runs.
“It’s still his team [Stokes], it’ll be the same messages but just from a different voice.”
If I may be personal for a moment. A journalist should not get too close to the people he writes about, in general, but on England’s 1996-7 tour of Zimbabwe and New Zealand we were in a similar boat: at least four months away from home, away from wife and young children. But mine was a matter of choice: it was too far/costly/inconvenient for my family to fly out. He had no choice: the Test and County Cricket Board had decreed that a player’s partner and children were forbidden on tour.
Graham appeared to be tough, self-contained, his own man – and that was a fundamental part of his make-up. But the dam could burst: all the built-up emotions could spill over. I think it was in Napier New Zealand that I listened to one of his outpourings, one on one. And it was so inhumane of the ECB, or the TCCB as it was. It was inhumane then, let alone now.
The official attitude was that administrators were the masters and the players were servants – that they were representing their country and were jolly lucky to be paid at all, even if it was by today’s standard a pittance; and much of that was spent in phone calls home, to keep in touch, if only by a thread.
Last night I watched the highlights of Thorpe’s century in 1994-5 at the WACA in Perth. He was tough alright, but not in an ostentatious way, there was no strutting, no machismo. England were two wickets down for spit when he went in at No 4, he took on Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne and put them back in their box. Collar turned up, which made him look even more self-contained, he was the epitome of defiance in adversity. And all the while the system, wilfully, was eroding him within.
RIP. Amen.
English cricket will pay tribute to Graham Thorpe at Old Trafford today, with new Test captain Ollie Pope leading the way.
Thorpe, widely considered one of his generation’s greatest batters, died aged 55 earlier this month after being struck by a train, with his wife Amanda revealing he had taken his own life.
The classy left-hander, who went on to act as England’s assistant coach and batting mentor to the likes of Pope in recent years, will be remembered before play ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
The big screens will carry a video package in Thorpe’s honour, followed by a moment of applause, while England will wear black armbands for the duration of the Test.
Pope, who followed in Thorpe’s footsteps at Surrey, said: “We’ll have our black armbands on throughout the course of the game and there’ll be a tribute to him before the game.
“It’s hurt a lot of people in that changing room. He was a great man. I probably had two or three years playing with him as a batting coach and, as a person, I really admired him.
“I always remember him saying one thing to me which was, ‘Never let the runs you’re scoring define you as a person’. When you’re young, in a bit of a rut, that was exactly what I needed to hear.
“It shows for me what a people’s person he was. He was loved in the changing room. He’s such a sad loss to everyone, to the country, his family and the boys as well. He’s missed and we’ll honour him this week.”
Cricket Newsletter
Good morning and welcome to day one of this summer’s three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
England tackle the Sri Lankans fresh from a 3-0 clean sweep against the West Indies, but disrupted by the loss of captain Ben Stokes to a torn hamstring.
In Stoke’s absence, Ollie Pope will become the 82nd man to take up the role and it represents a significant moment for a player who was not certain of his place when Stokes took charge two years ago.
Here, we look at the main areas of discussion ahead of today’s first Test at Emirates Old Trafford.
With Stokes sidelined, Ollie Pope steps up from his previous role as vice-captain with three games to get a feel for one of the biggest jobs in English sport. The Surrey man has threadbare leadership experience, including a solitary first-class game and a recent stint in the Vitality Blast. He has vowed to stick closely to Stokes’ methodology but there is no defined script in Test cricket and he will need to show flexibility and flair at times if he is to cement his role as heir apparent. Stokes is close at hand to offer advice having chosen to remain with the team but Pope should look first to his own instincts.
Stokes is not the only injury absentee for England, with opener Zak Crawley missing out due to a broken finger. Rather than call for a like-for-like replacement at the top of the order, Dan Lawrence has been given the nod after a lengthy stint as next cab off the rank. He has been a reserve for the past 17 games and last played a Test in March 2022. While he has earned his opportunity, it comes in a position he has only fulfilled seven times in 203 first-class innings. It is not the first time England have thrown conventional wisdom to the wind, but for Lawrence the challenge of proving his credentials while also coming to terms with an unfamiliar role is a tricky one.
Matthew Potts was a breakout success story in the early days of ‘Bazball’, bursting onto the scene with impressive showings against New Zealand and India in the summer of 2022. But he has slipped off the radar a tad since then and only managed one more Test cap last year. Stokes’ injury has led to a rebalancing of the team and he returns as the fourth seamer. The Durham paceman needs a strong showing to remind the selectors of what he can do. If he can, he could lock himself into the winter plans.
Sri Lanka will be hoping number one spinner Prabath Jayasuriya can carry the bulk of the wicket-taking burden, but in all-rounder Kamindu Mendis they boast a player with an unusual party trick. The ambidextrous spinner can bowl with both hands, sending down off-breaks with his right and left-arm orthodox for variation. It is a gambit Liam Livingstone has deployed for England in white-ball cricket but is still a rarity at the highest level and one the batters will need to be aware of as he flips and switches mid-over.
Joe Root starts the three-match series needing one more hundred to equal Sir Alastair Cook’s national record of 33 Test centuries. He is also within 446 of replacing Cook as England’s top Test run-scorer. It would take some major knocks but it is not impossible that Root leaves the summer having taken both titles off his former skipper. Last time England played against Sri Lanka he scored 426 in only two Tests, including scores of 228 and 186 on turning tracks in Galle.
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