Match report and analysis
That’s it for the live reports for Day 3, although stick around for coverage incoming from Old Trafford from Taha Hashim, Simon Burnton and Ali Martin. We’ll post that up as it arrives.
Thanks for all your emails as usual, see you on the OBO tomorrow.
Stumps - Sri Lanka 204 for 6, leading by 82 runs in the third innings
Three days down, and Sri Lanka still alive. It was all England early, with Jamie Smith’s first Test ton early in his career, and sound contributions down the order from Woakes, Atkinson, Potts and Wood.
Sri Lanka were ragged at times in the field, and started so with the bat, two ducks with one run on the board. But they got their act together through the middle of that innings, first with former captains Karunaratne and Mathews steadying things, Mathews holding things together for a long time afterwards, Kamindu coming in and playing very brightly later in the day, and Chandimal showing courage to return with a badly injured thumb.
The latter two will resume tomorrow with a lead of 82, and we will start those conversations about how many might keep them in the game. Could they possibly find their way to a lead of 180 or 200? England might run something like that down in 30 overs, or they might find it a struggle. Or wickets will fall early and it will all be done in a trice.
Chris Woakes took two, one with the new ball and one with the new replacement ball. Plenty of chat about that. One each for Atkinson, Wood, Potts, and a bonus wicket for Root. Wood bowled rapidly and with menace at times, and not with great control at other times, before going off with what looked a minor injury concern.
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60th over: Sri Lanka 204-6 (Kamindu Mendis 56, Chandimal 20) England’s fielders rushing to get in one more over, which is somewhat amusing given this will take them to… I think it’s 85 in the day including the allowance for change of innings. You could have had five more, fellers! Bashir bowls it, Chandi brings up the team 200 with a deuce through cover, then with the fielders all up for the last ball, he belts it through long off for four!
It wasn’t your classic turn-the-screws over to end the day from Bashir, too straight, speared outside leg at times. But it’s done.
59th over: Sri Lanka 198-6 (Kamindu Mendis 56, Chandimal 14) A maiden for Potts, one over to come in the day.
58th over: Sri Lanka 198-6 (Kamindu Mendis 56, Chandimal 14) A couple more for Chandimal, driving Bashir through cover. The day is nearly done.
57th over: Sri Lanka 196-6 (Kamindu Mendis 56, Chandimal 12) Potts bowling, Chandimal is comfortable to take on the pull. Kamindu smokes another boundary through point from a shorter length.
Speaking of injured bowlers, Johnny writes in. “I haven’t heard any news on Jofra’s planned return to red ball action, I was wondering if you had any updates. Potts seems to be doing well, but you can’t help but think being able to rotate Jofra & Woods while supporting Woakes & Gus would be a formidable attack against this stubborn partnership.”
Well, Wood’s fragility has been underlined just now. Even more than most bowlers, he’s no guarantee to be available. Archer they’re taking a very conservative approach. No plans to play him this English summer at all. No firm return date.
It will hinge on when he’s confident to give it a go. He’ll probably play some of the white-ball games against Australia in September and then they might look to the winter tours, although having him bowl on flatties in Pakistan might not be the ticket either. If he plays a Test there’s always the chance of bowling bulk overs, so he has to be up to that.
56th over: Sri Lanka 191-6 (Kamindu Mendis 52, Chandimal 11) So Dinesh Chandimal has to come back to bat. If nothing else, if you’re Rathnayake, you play to give him the chance to not injure his hand further before having a good night’s rest and ice and treatment. You make sure he doesn’t have to get a batting glove back on today. Chandimal gets a single first ball back though, goes to 11 in his interrupted innings. At least, for his sake, he’s swapped in the absent injured department with Wood.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 190-6 (Rathnayake c Duckett b Root 10)
Goodness me. That is daft, dense, stupid cricket from Sri Lanka. Rathnayake has made himself a fool in that moment.
It comes after Mark Wood goes off halfway through an over. Starts running in and then pulls up after a few strides. I can’t imagine it’s anything major, he doesn’t look in distress, but he’s obviously felt something and wants to be conservative. So he comes off after two balls of his 11th over, and Joe Root gets a bowl.
Two balls is all it takes. Slow loopy lobs from around the wicket, outside the left-hander’s off stump. And Rathnayake can’t help himself. Wants to clout the part-timer. Lofts it. And of course they have a man back for that. Duckett two third back at long off. Stands under the catch. What a waste.
55th over: Sri Lanka 190-5 (Kamindu Mendis 52, Rathnayake 10) Onto the front foot goes Rathnayake, driving Woakes straight for two. Nudges another square. It’s tense, but this batting pair doing it well so far.
Half century! Kamindu Mendis 52 from 95 balls
54th over: Sri Lanka 187-5 (Kamindu Mendis 48, Rathnayake 7) They’re finding Wood easier to face, which is saying something. Too short, too often down leg, then when the line is on off stump, Kamindu Mendis rocks back and swats his pull shot for four! What a shot. Dismissive, not a cross-bat pull but a pick-up sashay, that was all style points and it streams through the midwicket pocket. They lead by 65.
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They’re surviving by the skin of their teeth against Woakes. Or the skin of their bats. Colum Fordham writes in agreement about the procedural fairness aspect.
“The change of ball really does seem unfair after all the hard work by Mathews and Kamindu, and the newly swinging replacement ball has contributed not a little to Mathew’s dismissal, also thanks to Woakes’ wonderful swing bowling. I think the laws related to changing balls should be modified.”
When there is such focus otherwise on the condition of the ball being sacrosanct across 80 overs of wear, it does seem strange to have a trend of it just being swapped out without knowing how the replacement will behave.
53rd over: Sri Lanka 182-5 (Kamindu Mendis 48, Rathnayake 6) Another dismissal overturned! Again, Chris Gaffaney gets the finger up for Woakes, and again he has to retract it. Perfect ball, over the wicket, across the lefty, swinging back to pitch in line and go on towards the stumps, hitting the pads at a good height, but there’s another faint inside edge.
52nd over: Sri Lanka 182-5 (Kamindu Mendis 48, Rathnayake 6) Wood comes back, pitching up to look for swing this time, but Kamindu punches him off the back foot for three, then Rathnayake square-drives him for four. The lead is 60.
51st over: Sri Lanka 175-5 (Kamindu Mendis 45, Rathnayake 2) And Woakes nearly makes it two in three! Swings it into the left-handed Rathnayake, who has been promoted after his good first innings, gets off the mark with two through cover first ball, and is good enough to get a tiny inside edge onto the next ball before it strikes pad. The umpire doesn’t notice it, and maybe Rathnayake didn’t either because he asks his partner whether he should review. Luckily for him, he does.
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WICKET! Sri Lanka 173-5 (Mathews c Potts b Woakes)
And there goes the wicket! Woakes is swinging the ball, first away from the edge and beating Mathews, which perhaps affects his decision-making when the next ball swings in. Mathews tries to play it to leg but doesn’t read the curve properly, goes a little early, and gets a leading edge into the gully, where Potts does what others couldn’t do for him. Mathews has played an admirable innings, 145 balls faced, but it’s done.
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50th over: Sri Lanka 172-4 (Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis 45) Add to that Nasser Hussain’s very fair point that Mark Wood was belting the ball into the pitch for ages bowling short. That scuffs and damages the ball. So if it’s out of shape at that stage, why isn’t that their problem? Shouldn’t a bowling team have to balance the risks and rewards of different tactical approaches, when it comes to preserving the condition of their ball?
Kamindu waits out an over from Potts before cutting the last ball for four. Quality shot backward of point, he’s closing on a milestone.
49th over: Sri Lanka 169-4 (Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis 41) Potts indicated to his teammates that the ball is swinging conventionally, so Woakes is back on. Mark Butcher makes an excellent point: a good ball partnership after you’ve hit the ball around for a few dozen overs makes the ball softer and swing less. That’s your reward for batting well. So why should a bowling team get to replace it?
Suddenly it’s swerving for Woakes, who beats Mathews comprehensively a couple of times in the over.
48th over: Sri Lanka 168-4 (Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis 40) Another one down off Potts! This time off Kamindu, who plays a full-blooded carve behind point, it’s dipping on Atkinson in that position, and the bowler barely gets fingertips to it on its way to the ground.
No surprise that Potts loses his cool for a moment. Not that he blows up at anyone, but he strays down leg for four leg byes off the thigh pad, then five wides from an even wider line. He’s a right-armer over the wicket to a lefty, and that’s the risk.
He gets his angle across Kamindu back after this, and draws another false shot with an inside edge for one. Sri Lanka up by 46.
47th over: Sri Lanka 158-4 (Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis 39) Atkinson with a quiet over worth one run. Do we have an hour left? 20 overs are supposed to be bowled, so we won’t get those.
46th over: Sri Lanka 157-4 (Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis 38) Potts to resume after the short break, and… oh no, dropped! Root just doesn’t pick that up at slip, must have lost the dark ball in the gloom. Mathews plays an uncharacteristic shot, slashes on the up. Lapse in concentration after all his hard work. Gets the edge high on the bat and it goes quickly towards first slip, towards the gap between him and keeper. Root is squared up and then turns his body partly towards the keeper at the last minute, trying to guess almost where the ball is going. Gets both sets of fingertips to it but he’s flapping at it rather than getting in position, and it goes down.
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Back to 20 years ago, Rob Wolf Petersen writes in. “Respect your views on 2005, but for me it was the perfect coda. After eighteen years, it was genuinely hard to believe that we were going toe-to-toe with the Aussies, let alone beating them. Watching time tick away, and feeling hope gradually evolve into confidence, then certainty, was immensely satisfying, an emotional arc that allowed the moment of triumph to stretch over the span of Pietersen’s valedictory ton.
“It was also, I think, a bookend to a series that began with England being dispatched in the accustomed style. As a stand-alone, the first Test was far from perfect, but it set the scene beautifully and acted as a counterpoint to the fifth. Where the Aussies were cocky in the first, they were undeniably beaten in the fifth, and witnessing this transformation for an extended period was like the final act of a classic play.”
45th over: Sri Lanka 157-4 (Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis 38) Atkinson hustling up around the wicket, and Kamindu has been… err, kamindable? for his effort today, showed a lot of discipline at times. Waits this over out defending the good lines, then gets an error from the last ball, towards leg stump, easily glanced for four. Reward for good batting. His team goes up by 35. Drinks.
44th over: Sri Lanka 153-4 (Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis 34) Potts keeps charging in, trying that angle in at Mathews from wide on the crease, over the wicket, but Mathews remains equal to it as he has been all day. Keeps out a maiden.
43rd over: Sri Lanka 153-4 (Mathews 65, Kamindu Mendis 34) Early suggestions coming through that Chandimal’s thumb might not have been broken after all. It was certainly badly injured and very swollen, but if these two could bat until stumps, perhaps he could play a part tomorrow? The spinner Prabath Jayasuriya is still padded up to come in next.
Mathews adds a boundary, a low-intensity pull shot very fine past the keeper as Atkinson gives him the right length to deflect. Then pulls a single, down into the ground, very controlled.
42nd over: Sri Lanka 146-4 (Mathews 60, Kamindu Mendis 34) Sri Lanka keeping this sensible tempo, a couple of singles from Bashir’s over. There’s some pleading through the stump mics for England to keep the energy up, is that Smith or Pope?
“On subject of Woakes’ home and away form, may I defend him?” asks Kim Thonger. “I don’t see anything unusual in being better suited to one location rather than another. My bowling average and strike rate were far superior with a tennis ball on the soft sand near the donkey station between the Grand Pier and The Pool at Weston-super-Mare, compared with a few years later at the peak of my red ball game with a hard round cherry on the village greens of Buckinghamshire and Dorset.”
Not sure who the Steve Smith of Dorset was, but they must have been trying days.
We’re having an unexpected drinks break while the umpires fuss over a ball change. Paul Reiffel thinks that the first replacement looks too juicy for England, and wants more options. Fancy that.
41st over: Sri Lanka 146-4 (Mathews 59, Kamindu Mendis 33) Another ball that just slightly keeps low, this time from Atkinson. They’re all coming from outside the right-hander’s off stump, though there’s been a bit from both ends of the pitch, and this wasn’t as marked. Mathews gets an inside edge. Survives. They’ve got a couple of fielders quite close at square leg and midwicket looking to cut off his nudges. He doesn’t score from the over.
“Reading the sequence following the lbw shout, does this mean that because the square leg ump called for a look at Smith’s hand position before the review, that England have not lost that review?”
Correct, Dan. As it used to be for checking the front foot, the umpires do their own due diligence before starting the DRS process. Though the ball-tracking was umpire’s call so they wouldn’t have lost it anyway.
40th over: Sri Lanka 146-4 (Mathews 59, Kamindu Mendis 33) Ooh, there’s another ball that keeps low. Bashir this time in at Mathews, who makes contact to swat it off the line of his pads for one. Still, dangerous. Kamindu gallops down to smack through mid off but gets a big inside edge on the bounce into Smith’s ankle. Almost ricochets back onto the stumps for what would have been a miracle stumping. But Kamindu isn’t bothered: chops a cut shot, doesn’t score, then advances again to drive a flighted ball through cover for four. He’s quickly moved into the 30s.
39th over: Sri Lanka 141-4 (Mathews 58, Kamindu Mendis 29) They’ve puffed out Wood. Objective achieved. Atkinson comes on to be Enforcer #2. It doesn’t go so well though, singles ahoy, Kamindu happy to pull, then he flaps a couple of doubles through the off side. Eight from the over, the lead has quickly become 19.
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38th over: Sri Lanka 133-4 (Mathews 56, Kamindu Mendis 23) A profitable over for Sri Lanka, working a few singles before Kamindu bangs away a pulled four from Bashir.
Tom Barrington writes in. “How often do you think no balls would be called if there was a specific eye on the keeper, á la the front foot no ball? It’s moot because it wasn’t out anyway, just that I’ve never seen it called before, so was wondering whether it was sloppy from part-timer Jamie Smith or happens all the time without fanfare. Thanks and enjoying OBOing as per usual.”
Cheers Tom. I don’t think it does happen much with legit keepers, though it does now and then. There was one during the World Cup last year, Joel Wilson got pelters from Ian Smith on comms for calling it, but the call was correct. It is one of the things that square leg is watching for, so I doubt there’s a slew of them not being called. Most keepers don’t get close enough to risk infringing. But a fixed camera for a season would be interesting to see if accepted wisdom is wrong.
37th over: Sri Lanka 126-4 (Mathews 55, Kamindu Mendis 17) Single first ball for Mathews from Wood, perhaps the smart play would be to keep his partner away from the express stuff? Wood doesn’t bowl long spells. Kamindu does ok though, prods a run behind point. Occasionally when Wood bowls fuller, it looks like he’s getting some reverse. That seems the more dangerous option than half-tracking everything.
Sri Lanka lead by 5 runs.
36th over: Sri Lanka 124-4 (Mathews 54, Kamindu Mendis 16) Sri Lanka nudge ahead with a left-handed dab from Kamindu for a couple of runs, but he’s under the microscope two balls later. Flight from Bashir, curve on that line from around the wicket, beats the inside edge, straightens down the line and hits the pad. Umpire says no, England review, and Jamie Smith has his gloves in front of the stumps! Not entirely, but encroaching past the back edge of the stumps as he gets them low with the ball coming down. According to the Laws, the gloves have to be entirely behind the stumps until the ball reaches the batter, so that’s a no-ball.
Good pick-up from the square leg umpire, I think, to ask for that to be checked before the lbw review took place. The lbw shout was umpire’s call on leg stump anyway, so the not-out call would have stood even if not for Smith’s mistake.
A bit rough for the no-ball to go against the bowler, but perhaps it can be payback for all of those bowler-error wides that go against the keeper as byes.
35th over: Sri Lanka 121-4 (Mathews 54, Kamindu Mendis 14) I’m not sure about this from Wood. By all means bomb Kamindu, who is younger and might bite. But Mathews has been the Resolute Desk all day, he’s not likely to fling the bat at a hook. He’s studiously treating Wood with the scant attention he might grant an annoying insect buzzing about, as the bowler wastes all of his effort bowling short from around the wicket at the right-hander, mostly down the leg side.
Guy Hornsby is doing some hometown propaganda. “Afternoon Geoff. Aside from all this 2005 series (epoch-making for England fans, but I found last summer equally compelling) I’m giving a shout to South Manchester as a glorious place to watch cricket, when it gets a few rays. I was at Old Trafford yesterday when it was like an April morning, and I was shivering in three layers, and the game never quite took off. Today, with the sun out, and a fuller house, Jamie Smith stroking a beautiful century with a sparky English tail, and our attack giving plenty for Sri Lanka to think about, it’s a wonderful place to be. I hope the tourists can fight into tomorrow, because there’s a lot to like about this team.”
I’ll be there in a few weeks for the Australia game, Guy, so your joint had better come good that day.
34th over: Sri Lanka 121-4 (Mathews 54, Kamindu Mendis 14) A very nice over from Bashir, he’s getting good shape on the trajectory to Kamindu from around the wicket after an early Mathews single.
33rd over: Sri Lanka 120-4 (Mathews 53, Kamindu Mendis 14) Wood is going short, short, short. Nearly gets Kamindu too, mistiming a pull shot but it lands safely in front of Duckett in the deep. Mathews controls his pull for a single.
James Brough was asking earlier about Chris Woakes home versus away, and greater disparities. If you use a qualification like 1000 balls bowled in away Tests, you can find characters like Nuwan Kulasekera (27.59 at home, 145 away) or Mike Whitney (22 at home, 88.71 away).
Go to the statistician’s preferred cut-off of 2000 and you’ve got Jacob Oram (18.75 at home, 63.89 away) or Asoka da Silva (75 at home, 136.71 away).
Go to where Woakes sits in the 3000+ away delivery club, and only eight players have a worse average full stop than his 51.88. They are Ray Illingworth, Venkatapathy Raju, Jeetan Patel, Maninder Singh, Danny Morrison, Dilruwan Perera, Carl Hooper, and top of the pops with 64.68, the post-war New Zealand bowler Henry (mostly known as Harry) Cave.
None of the first seven though have such a good home record as Woakes, so their disparity in averages doesn’t get over 30 like his. Harry Cave does, he averaged 15.86 at home, but he only bowled 150-0dd overs in five home Tests, so that part of his sample doesn’t satisfy the stattos. In terms of full home versus full away samples, Woakes has the biggest gap as far as I can tell from some homespun analysis. Open to corrections.
Anyway, it always seems perverse to form criticism of a player around the fact that they’re exceptionally good in home conditions. Woakes does have those away numbers, but that doesn’t mean that a bowler of his experience couldn’t use another chance to start to turn those results around later in his career.
32nd over: Sri Lanka 118-4 (Mathews 52, Kamindu Mendis 13) A couple of singles from Bashir, Sri Lanka creeping towards getting their account into the black…
Half century! Angelo Mathews 50 from 86 balls
31st over: Sri Lanka 116-4 (Mathews 51, Kamindu Mendis 12) We’re back after tea with Mark Wood looking to rough up Sri Lanka again, but in the first instance it doesn’t work. Mathews works away two runs through square for his fifty. Keeps out a full ball that was tailing slightly, and gets a single. Then when Wood bumps Kamindu, the batter plays a low-to-high pull shot and sends it sailing over deep backward for six! Lovely contact.
The deficit is down to six runs.
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Tea - Sri Lanka 107 for 4, trailing by 15
So, Angelo Mathews has stood resolute so far, and is the main block between England and a fast victory. He’s on the verge of a half-century and has been playing with complete calm. He has Kamindu Mendis and the bowlers for company, with Dinesh Chandimal still in hospital thanks to Mark Wood’s glove-crusher. England in control.
30th over: Sri Lanka 107-4 (Mathews 48, Kamindu Mendis 6) Mathews, scoring off the second ball… but this time it’s three! Breaks the pattern with an aerial drive through the vacant gully as he reaches for a wider line from Potts. Who comes around the wicket to the left-handed Kamindu Mendis, shovels a ball off a length straight but Wood prevents a run by hustling after the ball from mid on. Should have taken one there, but Ange and speed between the wickets don’t always go together these days. Kamindu makes up for it though, clipping two runs square, then two through extra cover.
That’s tea.
29th over: Sri Lanka 100-4 (Mathews 45, Kamindu Mendis 2) Bashir bowls, Mathews takes a run second ball of the over. No raucous cheers for the hundred coming up.
28th over: Sri Lanka 99-4 (Mathews 44, Kamindu Mendis 2) How many overs in this innings has Angelo Mathews scored a single from the second ball? Feels like he’s in double figures on this tally. Goes to the off side this time from Potts.
27th over: Sri Lanka 98-4 (Mathews 43, Kamindu Mendis 2) Mathews nudges on, one single at a time. Kamindu gets going with a late dab for two. Bashir nearly gets his foot taken off by a zinging throw back to the bowler. Woakes at mid off is in hysterics. Funny when it’s not your ankle. The deficit is 24 runs.
26th over: Sri Lanka 95-4 (Mathews 42, Kamindu Mendis 0) Wicket for Potts in his third over then, that’s one for everybody bar Bashir.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 95-4 (Dhananjaya lbw Potts 11)
That is a horrible ball to receive. Natural variation for Potts, as he bowls short of a length but the Dukes keeps really low. Dhananjaya sees the length and goes back to pull, fair enough. But that ball scuttles on and strikes him just below the knee roll, angling in from the right-armer. Going on to hit the top of middle and leg stumps flush, says the DRS review.
Chandimal is getting x-rays in hospital and won’t be back, so only five wickets in hand for Sri Lanka
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25th over: Sri Lanka 95-3 (Mathews 42, Dhananjaya 11) Getting into his work a little more is Dhananjaya, who batted so well first dig. Plays a good drive from Bashir for a couple through cover, then gets out his sweep for one run.
24th over: Sri Lanka 91-3 (Mathews 41, Dhananjaya 8) Finally for England, Mathews can’t find an early single. Eventually pulls one from the fifth ball. England set a field for Dhananjaya on the pull, Potts bowls a wide though, and the rebowl towards leg stump does nothing.
23rd over: Sri Lanka 89-3 (Mathews 40, Dhananjaya 8) Good bit from the TV camera operators, who find a Ben Stokes lookalike in the crowd, who pops a double thumbs-up on the big screen. So they cut to the real Stokes on the balcony, who copies the gesture. Back to the lookalike, who whips off his jacket and turns around to reveal a Stokes 55 Test shirt. As close as cricket gets to sketch comedy.
Dhananjaya winds up for a big swing at Bashir and clubs it into the ground, but butters up next ball and advances to smite four straight. Down by 33.
22nd over: Sri Lanka 84-3 (Mathews 39, Dhananjaya 4) Potts returns, and Mathews cruises on, another easy nudge for one off his legs. Dhananjaya is finding it harder going, still marooned on four. Unlike Adam Levine, who is marooned on five.
Another letter from the past from Michael White.
“The huge difference between 1981 and 2005 was, of course, the OBO. In 1985, I was doing the Inca Trail in South America and had to rely on days-old English newspapers at British Council Libraries in Bogota, Quito and Lima, plus buttonholing newly arrived tourists to find out the latest news of Botham’s latest miracle. Having gone to escape all the fuss about the wedding of Charles and Diana, it was salt in the wound when the only news from UK on TV in Quito was about the wedding.
“In 2005, it was a great communal experience. The last few overs at Edgbaston are seared into the memory, and oh, how we enjoyed the Ponting run out. But most of all we could follow every moment of the match on our computers while praying for rain/pretending to work!”
Michael, I can’t quite fathom why one would be in the glories of the Andes and still thinking about Ian Botham. But I suppose we each have our own peaks to scale.
21st over: Sri Lanka 83-3 (Mathews 38, Dhananjaya 4) Nothing doing for Dhananjaya against Bashir. Mathews shuffles once to drive a run after a stutter, but his partner is only minded for defence.
20th over: Sri Lanka 82-3 (Mathews 37, Dhananjaya 4) Big Ange has been walking at Woakes but stays put against Wood. Nearly gloves a hook to the keeper, too. Gets a single late in the over. Sri Lanka 40 behind.
“Regarding Australia trying desperately to secure that match,” writes Charlie Tinsley of the 2005 finale, “there was also the shameful incident in which Australia tried to hoodwink the umpires into playing on through bad light by flagrantly wearing sunglasses in conditions not unlike those on the far side of the moon.”
Perfidy, Charlie. Let’s not mention the serried ranks of English umbrellas around the ground in Saharan atmospheric aridity.
19th over: Sri Lanka 81-3 (Mathews 36, Dhananjaya 4) Woakes bowling, getting driven by both players. Kumar Sangakkara on comms speaking with some expertise about being a Sri Lankan player having ones fingers pulped against the bat handle on away Test tours. “There is nowhere for the force to dissipate, so it fractures the finger from underneath,” he says, having pondered it with a doctor after Mitchell Johnson busted him up at the MCG in 2012. “I took off the glove and the digit was S-shaped.”
Yuck. Terrible game, cricket. Why does anyone do it?
18th over: Sri Lanka 75-3 (Mathews 33, Dhananjaya 1) Wood nearly knocks over DDS first ball, angling in to smash the pads but tending down the leg side. The SL captain eventually gets a run in that direction to end the over. The score is effectively 75 for 4, can’t see Chandimal returning. He’s supposed to keep wicket in this match too, four catches in the first innnings. Sri Lanka have yet to make England bat again though, still 46 runs short of that.
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Dinesh Chandimal retired hurt on 10
Oh, crumbs, Danger Mouse. Just as we speak about how well he’s going, this next ball is ugly. Chandimal might have broken his thumb. It’s Mark Wood, the digit cruncher, who lays a heavy blow on him. Length ball that kicks up at the bat handle and squashes the thumb against the bat handle. The physio comes out to attend to him, but the thumb is visibly swelling even in the time the cameras are on him, and Chandimal can’t control a series of violent shakes through his hand and forearm. He wants to find a way to continue but his body won’t cooperate, and eventually he walks off to be replaced by his captain Dhananjaya de Silva.
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17th over: Sri Lanka 74-3 (Mathews 33, Chandimal 10) Chris Woakes comes back looking to add to his early wicket. Chandimal is looking great, 10 from 10 now as he nudges a single to leg.
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16th over: Sri Lanka 72-3 (Mathews 32, Chandimal 9) The Sri Lankans deal with Wood competently, Mathews jamming three off his pads.
On that ‘05 Ashes chat from Max earlier, I’ll throw in one contro suggestion that will rile up a few people, which is that the ending to that series might have been a bit drab. It ended up being great for the story of England’s drought ending. But if Australia had tied it up, it would not only have been deflating for England, but I can’t imagine Australians of that era (players or spectators) lost in delirium at retaining a trophy at the last gasp.
They would of course have preferred that to losing, but they had already failed to win the series by then. Thinking back over the flat way that Langer and Hayden ground out runs, and moments like choosing to come off for bad light while desperately needing a win, it felt like the fire of a series on the line wasn’t there for them, because for them the series wasn’t. And Pietersen’s ton is great, but the series ends up in a draw rather than a grandstand finish and a win either way.
So, 2005 has three perfect Tests in the middle, but isn’t a perfect series. Take that.
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15th over: Sri Lanka 68-3 (Mathews 29, Chandimal 8) Big Ange loves a straight hit. Considers himself experienced enough to take down the spinners, so after Chandimal gives him strike with a flicked three, Mathews crunches Bashir down the ground for six. Gets off strike, and Chandi takes a similar approach, but doesn’t get the middle as he skews a hit through midwicket for a couple.
14th over: Sri Lanka 57-3 (Mathews 22, Chandimal 4) Dinesh Chandimal in next at 70 runs behind. He’s a very good player, I have strong memories of the double ton he crashed against Australia at Galle last time they visited. Different patch here, but he’s into his work quickly with a single through the leg side and a pull for three, no trouble with Wood’s pace in the early stages.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 52-3 (Karunaratne c Brook b Wood 27)
The bowling change does the trick immediately. Wood’s pace around the wicket angles in at the left-hander, and the former captain can only get an inside edge into his thigh that balloons to slip. Paul Reiffel doesn’t bother signalling until Karunaratne hangs around for a while, but the batter doesn’t challenge the call.
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Thanks Rob. And we’re straight into the action with a wicket…
13th over: Sri Lanka 52-2 (Karunaratne 27, Mathews 21) Shoaib Bashir, who had one over from the other end after lunch, replaces Chris Woakes (6-2-20-1). His first ball kicks to hit Mathews high on the leg, a promising sign for the rest of the innings.
Kumar Sangakkara thinks Sri Lanka need to target Bashir, though for now they’re playing the ball not the bowler. A single for Mathews brings up the fifty partnership from 66 balls; it’s been a great advert for experience.
With that, it’s time for me to welcome Geoff Lemon back to the OBO bunker. Thanks for your company, see you tomorrow.
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12th over: Sri Lanka 50-2 (Karunaratne 26, Mathews 20) Karunaratne, who looks in complete control just now, drives Atkinson between mid-on and midwicket for three more. Still loads to do but the 45 minutes after lunch couldn’t have gone much better for Sri Lanka.
It shouldn’t be long before we see Mark Wood.
11th over: Sri Lanka 44-2 (Karunaratne 22, Mathews 18) Woakes shakes his head in frustration when a ball hits Mathews on the buttock, beats leg slip and runs away for four byes.
“I’m having trouble balancing the top order of my World Workers XI,” writes Ant. “Does anyone know if there’s a verb ‘to Tendulk?’ I’m hoping the weight of runs trumps the obvious grammatical faux-pas.
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10th over: Sri Lanka 36-2 (Karunaratne 21, Mathews 15) Atkinson turns Mathews into an S with a nasty delivery that lifts and straightens to hit the back thigh. Too high for an LBW appeal but it was a serious delivery.
This is a really good contest. Karunaratne and Mathews are proper batsmen, with around 15,000 Test runs between them, and they’re scrapping to get Sri Lanka back in the game.
“This game has prompted me to get the excellent book Chinaman: the legend of Pradeep Mathew down off the shelf,” writes Simon Longstaffe. “ Well worth a read if you haven’t.”
I haven’t, for I’m a vulgarian, but I’ve always wanted to and have only heard good things about it.
9th over: Sri Lanka 35-2 (Karunaratne 21, Mathews 14) Close! Mathews turns Woakes just wide of leg slip at catchable height. The ball runs away for four. I’ll be honest, I missed the rest of the over as I was attending to the below. Watch the ball, Robert.
“Oh we’re gonna do this eh?” says Max Williams, dukes up. “Yes, 2005 is peerless. The 2023 Ashes was a ridiculously entertaining series but can a draw ever be a satisfactory result? Especially as the Ashes were gone by the fifth Test - so 20% of the series was kind of a dead rubber. Not entirely dead - 2-2 sure beats 1-3 - but heavily wounded.
“1998 is narrative perfection: England look doomed in the third Test and then win two epic matches. Last wicket escapes, titanic duels, heroic performances, dizzying stakes -and it all went down to the wire. You’ve kinda made my argument for me with your piece on the Headingley decider.
“A caveat: I was 8 during that SA series. I followed it religiously but I can’t pretend to be in a position to offer an informed, dispassionate appraisal. I have some hazy, doubtless rose-tinted memories augmented by YouTube highlights and retrospective articles (thanks again). But I like my stories finished and 2023 feels like someone disfigured the final chapter - while 1998 ended on a high.”
I do love 1998 but 2023 had four classic finishes to 1998’s two. The stakes were higher and it just felt weightier. I take your point about the draw but the series was… if not a winning draw then at least a fulfilling draw.
You’re right about the narrative perfection, and there was a classic intro from Tim de Lisle in the Almanack. I guess you could argue the opposite – that the Old Trafford rain made for a more nuanced, bittersweet narrative. The lovely thing is that we can see the same two series through slightly different eyes, and there’s no right or wrong. Well, most of the time.
8th over: Sri Lanka 30-2 (Karunaratne 21, Mathews 9) Karunaratne edges a good one from Atkinson for four. His Fairy Liquid hands ensured it wouldn’t have carried anyway.
He tenses those hands to thump a short, wide ball through point for four. Sri Lanka needed to start with authority after lunch; they’ve done so.
7th over: Sri Lanka 22-2 (Karunaratne 13, Mathews 8) “Looking at Woakes’ stats after his wicket before lunch,” says James Brough. “At home, he has 128 wickets at 21.45. Away, he has 36 wickets at 51.88. This provokes a couple of questions. Do any other bowlers have a comparable record in England? And is there anyone else with such a disparity between home and away?”
His record in England is the best since Fred Trueman, of those with 100 wickets. Our great lost talent, Ollie Robinson, has 50 at 20.26. As for the disparity, it’s extremely rare for it to be that pronounced.
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The Sky commentator Mark Butcher is 52 today. Between overs, Mel Jones does a glorious number on him, talking the viewers through photos of Butch as a kid, player and commentator. Then he is presented a long, rectangular, slightly phallic birthday cake. “Thank you,” says Butch. “It looks like, well it looks like something…”
It was funnier than I’m making it sound, hopefully they’ll put it on online in a bit.
6th over: Sri Lanka 22-2 (Karunaratne 13, Mathews 8) The Bashir experiment lasted only one over. Gus Atkinson replaces him, with the Sky commentators noticing that his average speeds have been down in this game. He’s still bowled pretty well, though, and he got Karunaratne with the short ball in the first innings. It’ll be coming again soon, but he keeps it in the locker for now.
“I have an idea who might keep wicket in the world workers XI,” says Paul Griffin. I understand Nari Contractor been controversially omitted because he is not permanent. Furious.”
5th over: Sri Lanka 21-2 (Karunaratne 13, Mathews 8) Karunaratne drives Woakes handsomely through mid-off for four. He’s such a good player; in the last five years he has the most runs of any Test opener: 2597 at 50.92. Of those who have opened in more than five innings, only Yashasvi Jaiswal has a higher average.
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Karunaratne is not out It was missing, in fact, so England lose a review. Not the greatest piece of captaincy from Pope, because I think Jamie Smith said it looked high.
“Pope now – third reviews, all wrong,” spits Nasser. There’s a pause before he and Mark Butcher suddenly start giggling. “That came out all wrong!” says Nasser.
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England review for LBW Woakes has a big shout turned down when Karunaratne pushes around a snarling nipbacker. Pope reviews even though it looked high. I think this will be umpire’s call at best for England and therefore not out.
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4th over: Sri Lanka 16-2 (Karunaratne 9, Mathews 7) A loosener from Bashir is driven through mid-on for four by Karunaratne. England have an attacking field - slip, leg slip and silly point – and Bashir finds his length for the rest of the over.
Hello again. The players are back out and Shoaib Bashir is coming on in place of Gus Atkinson, who bowled a lamentable spell of 1-0-4-1.
Jamie Smith’s century aside, the highlight of the morning session was arguably – yep – a crowd catch.
Lunch: Sri Lanka trail by 112
Mike Atherton’s analogy of the Test match as arm wrestle was summed up by the morning session. Sri Lanka, so competitive on the first two days, succumbed to England and will do well to take this game into a fourth day.
Jamie Smith made a thrillingly assured 111 to give England a lead of 122, then Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson each struck in their first over. Sri Lanka aren’t out of it – they were in a not dissimilar position in their glorious win at Headingley 10 years ago – but they can’t afford to lose any mor wickets to the new ball.
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3rd over: Sri Lanka 10-2 (Karunaratne 4, Mathews 6) An unthreatening final over before lunch. Mathews walks down the track to negate Woakes’ swing, pushing three runs down the ground with the aid of a misfield. Karunaratne works off the hip for two and then one.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 4-2 (Karunaratne 1, Mathews 3) Angelo Mathews gets off a pair by clouting his first ball through mid-off for three. If he can make 160 from 249 balls, anything’s possible.
“The occupational XI for Australia are, as you might imagine, no slouches either,” says Geoffrey Smith. “(Ron Archer wasn’t a familiar name to me, but he seems to have been very highly thought of…)
Mark Taylor
Michael Slater
Steve Smith
Michael Clarke
Bob Cowper
Keith Miller
Greg Dyer
Ron Archer
Max Walker
Herbert Ironmonger
Terry Alderman
Oh yes he was apparently a fine player; had to retire very young because of injury I think. That’s a helluva team. I was going to say the bowling is slightly weak but then I was reminded of the fella at No6. Imagine him harassing you with the new ball at one end while Alderman hypnotised you from the other.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 1-2 (Kusal c Smith b Atkinson 0)
This is outstanding from England. Gus Atkinson gets Kusal Mendis with an excellent delivery, fullish and cutting back just enough to take the edge as Kusal pushes tentatively. Jamie Smith embroiders his morning with a very good low catch.
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1st over: Sri Lanka 0-1 (Karunaratne 0, Kusal 0) A wicket maiden finishes with a beauty that beats the new batter Kusal Mendis. This game will be done today if Woakes carries on like that: it was an outstanding first over.
BOWLED HIM ❌
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 23, 2024
Nishan Madushka is out third ball as Chris Woakes strikes early 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Ay3qC3RLn1
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WICKET! Sri Lanka 0-1 (Madushka b Woakes 0)
Sri Lanka’s morning goes from abysmal to even worse. Madushka has been bowled third ball, offering no stroke to a nipbacker from Woakes. It was a cracking delivery, mind; Woakes is close to the top of his game at the moment.
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Chris Woakes is about to open the bowling. Lunch is at 1.15, so we should get three overs in.
An exchange on Sky Sports just now
Mel Jones You’ve had your eye on Sri Lanka this morning, Nasser, what did you make of them?
Nasser Hussain Not a lot, to be honest.
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The greatest crowd catch ever
“That crowd catch deserves a full commentary on its own,” says Mark Hooper. “It should be shown from all angles and studied in school.”
I can hear Nasser’s commentary in my mind’s ear: ‘No! No way! You cannot do that whatever your name is!’
Mark Wood hits a huge six which is caught in the crowd before he is bowled by Fernando for 22 🔥 pic.twitter.com/T4ZZ0MzMSn
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 23, 2024
Jamie Smith is back on the field practising his keeping. Presumably there is an extended morning session, to make up some of the time lost yesterday, because it should be lunch.
England lead by 122 runs, thanks mainly to a terrific 111 from Jamie Smith. Bashir aside, the lower order all made valuable contributions, with Woakes, Atkinson, Potts and Wood scoring 84 between them. Sri Lanka let themselves down this morning: they made a half-arsed start and were playing catch up from the off.
WICKET! England 358 all out (Potts c Kamindu b Vishwa 17)
Potts ramps Vishwa for four before clothing a pull to Kamindu Mendis, running in from deep square to take a good catch.
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85th over: England 354-9 (Potts 13, Bashir 3) Bashir, who spoke yesterday about his desire to improve his batting, has started pretty well. A quiet over from Asitha; one from it.
England lead by 118.
84th over: England 353-9 (Potts 11, Bashir 3) “The 2005 Ashes remains the one and only series I watched the whole way through, having just left school and signed on, and if I hadn’t moved back to Scotland would have stood a damn good chance of making me a cricket tragic in my middle age,” says James Humphries. “It had absolutely everything, and I’m confident I’d feel the same if I hadn’t been stoned the whole summer.”
We were all high that summer, mostly on cricket.
83rd over: England 348-9 (Potts 10, Bashir 0) “McCague is a variant of McTadhg,” writes Liam Garvey. “Tadhg is a Gaelic name which means poet/philosopher so shoehorn away!”
It’s on! Jofra, I’m sorry mate…
WICKET! England 348-9 (Wood b Asitha 22)
How many times: DO NOT BOWL SHORT TO MARK WOOD. Asitha tries it, at 81mph, and is swatted into the crowd at square leg, where a supporter takes a nonchalant one-handed catch while holding a pint in the other. That’s the best crowd catch I’ve ever seen!
An overthrow adds another detail to Sri Lanka’s shabby morning, then Potts gets his first boundary with a delightful off drive. Jamie Smith would have been happy with that.
Avisha Fernando, who was so good yesterday, has bowled like me today – but as I type that he picks up his fourth wicket of the innings when Wood misses an attempted cut and is bowled, Thus ends a typically jaunty cameo of 22 from 13 balls.
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82nd over: England 334-8 (Potts 3, Wood 15) Wood, always entertaining, larrups four more off Jayasuriya, who is sufficiently affronted to dart a quicker ball that hits Wood on the glove.
Wood has raced to 15 off 10 balls. Not quite 24 off 7, as he was against Australia at Headingley last year, but still a fast start.
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81st over: England 327-8 (Potts 2, Wood 9) Asitha Fernando returns to the attack armed with the second new ball. Wood blooters the first ball to the cover boundary, then shows a deft touch to glide the second for four more. Potts gets off the mark with a wristy clip for two. England lead by 91.
A replay of Jamie Smith’s dismissal confirms the commentators’ suspicion that the ball didn’t spin away from the bat; it hit a crack and deviated.
“Part of Sangakkara’s genius is that, just like his batting, his hair improved the older he got,” writes Pete Salmon. “Definitely a high 30-ish average early, then 60-ish for the last few years. Only equivalent I can think of is Jimmy, whose hair average was mid-30s at the start, and a lean 22 when he finished.”
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80th over: England 316-8 (Potts 0, Wood 1) “Apropos Kim Thonger’s musings on cricketers names (over 67) my brother and I were musing along a similar theme during the last Test,” writes Michael White. “The best team we came up with was an Occupational XI as follows
Alastair COOK
Bob BARBER
David SHEPPARD
Ollie POPE
Mark BUTCHER
Nick KNIGHT
Jamie SMITH
Geoff MILLER
Tom CARTWRIGHT
Matthew FISHER
Jofra ARCHER
Not even I could shoehorn Martin McCague into that team.
WICKET! England 315-8 (Smith c Chandimal b Jayasuriya 111)
Nelson strikes. Jamie Smith flashes at a wide, quicker delivery from Jayasuriya and gets a thin edge that is beautifully taken by Chandimal up to the stumps. That ends an outstanding, match-turning innings: 111 from 148 balls with eight fours and a six.
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79th over: England 315-7 (Smith 111, Potts 0) Have some of that! Smith clobbers a length ball from Ratnayeke through midwicket for… only three because of the slow outfield. But he still gave it some humpty.
The new batsman Matthew Potts looks solid in defence has the ability to hang around with Smith. He made 150-odd as nightwatchman in a Championship game earlier this season, albeit on a road.
78th over: England 312-7 (Smith 108, Potts 0) It looks like Smith wants to go through the gears. He whacks a Jayasuriya full toss for four, drags two past leg stump and dances down the track to drive a single.
“I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seem of Atkinson so far this summer,” says Tom van der Gucht. “He’d seemed a but shy and diffident when I’d seen him playing ODI’s but seems up for the fight now whether batting or bowling. Watching the BBC highlights, I wasn’t sure if England had done the trick accused or them in the 2005 Ashes and turned up the speed gun. It clocked Woakes and Atkinson at 87MPH and Potts at 89!”
Is that right? Fascinating. As for Atkinson, shyness doesn’t necessarily mean meekness. Another Surrey and England player taught us that.
WICKET! England 305-7 (Atkinson c Chandimal b Atkinson 20)
Gus Atkinson falls two balls later, caught down the leg side by Chandimal. He flicked across the line and got a thin edge that was well taken just above the ground. The umpires checked the catch but it was fine. That’s Milan Rathnayeke’s first Test wicket.
Jamie Smith's first Test hundred!
76.3 overs: England 304-6 (Smith 100, Atkinson 20) Smith works Rathnayeke for two to reach a splendid maiden century from 136 balls. His celebration is strikingly modest, just a quick raise of the bat to acknowledge a standing ovation from the crowd and the England balcony. “He looks a top, top player,” says Kumar Sangakkara, who knows of what he speaks.
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76th over: England 299-6 (Smith 98, Atkinson 17) Smith dances down to drive a single to long off. Another LBW appeal against Atkinson is turned down, then Atkinson edges a flashing drive past slip for three.
One ball remaining in the over. Jayasuriya tosses up a tempter; Smith pushes it to cover.
“2005?” sniffs Sarah Skelding. “I’ll see your 2005 and raise you 1981. I was younger for the first so it made a greater impression on me but I still think that it was objectively better. I’m waiting for someone older than me to gainsay me.”
If we’re going back that far, it’s got to be India v England in 1981-82.
75th over: England 294-6 (Smith 97, Atkinson 13) Rathnayeke replaces Vishwa and also has a big LBW appeal against Atkinson turned own. It was missing leg comfortably, but at least Sri Lanka are getting animated.
Smith walks across to clip through midwicket for two, which makes this his highest Test score. He has three balls to reach his hundred in this over, but they’re all on the money and Smith treats them on merit.
“Is there an international bowler with a run-up more vague and lackadaisical than Jayasuriya?” wonders James Brough. “Granted, slow bowlers have shorter run-ups, but there’s usually a feeling of momentum. Think of Warne striding to the crease, Abdul Qadir bouncing in to bowl or Phil Edmonds (showing my age) flowing into his delivery stride. Jayasuriya looks for all the world as though he’s out for a bit of an amble, notices a batsman 22 yards away and decides he might as well sling something down at him. I find it rather endearing.”
That’s a good spot. He actually slows down just before his delivery stride, almost like a penalty taker trying to dummy the keeper, but it’s part of his walk-up rather than a piece of deception.
74th over: England 291-6 (Smith 95, Atkinson 13) Jayasuriya has a big LBW appeal against Atkinson turned down. It didn’t look great live – it was surely missing leg – and they decide against a review.
“Just wondering,” begins Gary Naylor, “if MCJ Nicholas and Rameez Raja have been in touch yet about judging the Lovely Hair competition?”
73rd over: England 290-6 (Smith 95, Atkinson 12) Smith hasn’t played a shot in anger in the nineties; he doesn’t need to with easy singles on offer. His latest brings up a really good fifty partnership with his Surrey buddy Gus Atkinson.
72nd over: England 287-6 (Smith 94, Atkinson 11) Jayasuriya is starting to toy with Atkinson, who gets a leading edge that plops safely. That was his best over of the morning.
“As people seemed to enjoy the 1990s reminiscing yesterday...” writes Max Williams. “God that 1998 series against South Africa was an epic, wasn’t it? Two iconic teams going toe to toe. England were pulverised in the second Test, scraped a last-wicket draw in the third, the closest of eight-wicket wins in the fourth (ft the Atherton - Donald duel) and clinched the decider by 23 runs!
“Can we go full cricket hipster and anoint it better than 2005 Ashes? Not quite but it was arguably a greater underdog triumph - that was a fearsome SA team and England hadn’t won a five-match series for 12 years. Certainly a lock for the second best series of my lifetime. (Call it 1990 onwards.) I suppose 2023 Ashes is third but it’s a long way back and I’d be delighted if someone could suggest an alternative.”
The first paragraph was perfect but you’ve overstepped the mark with the second. My instinct is that 2023 should be second, though I’d like to think about it. You’re right that 1998 was a dirty epic, cricket’s version of Deadwood, which also had oodles of controversy and a truly hilarious willow-waving contest between Brian McMillan and Dominic Cork. Nothing gets close to 2005 though.
71st over: England 287-6 (Smith 93, Atkinson 11) Out of nothing, Smith is beaten by a terrific cutter from Vishwa that bounces twice before reaching the keeper.
70th over: England 286-6 (Smith 92, Atkinson 11) For now Smith is happy to stroll through the nineties. He drives a hooping full toss from Jayasuriya to deep cover for a single, after which Atkinson batters the ball painfully into the man at silly point. Sri Lanka are letting the game drift, waiting for the second new ball; I’m surprised Asitha only bowled one over, even if it wasn’t the best.
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69th over: England 285-6 (Smith 91, Atkinson 11) The Sky commentators are putting the boot in after a very sloppy start from Sri Lanka. As well as the field placing, bowling and changing of plans, I didn’t realise the start was delayed by about 90 seconds because the short leg didn’t have the necessary equipment.
Vishwa is bowling round the wicket now. After an unsuccessful attempt to change the ball, Atkinson continues to demonstrate a pretty sound front-foot defence. He has 11 from 37 balls, Smith 91 from 118. England lead by 49.
“I have a thousand meetings today,” says James Humphries, “and now have about 90 per cent of my mental runtime occupied by ‘lovely hair’ in Dermot Morgan’s voice, so thanks for that. PS Did Thomas Montague get three in a row during his five-fer? There should be a phrase for that...”
C’mon, James, lighten up!
68th over: England 284-6 (Smith 90, Atkinson 11) Smith pats Jayasuriya for a single to move into the nineties for the second successive innings. Jayasuriya is bowling accurately from round the wicket, with a fair bit of drift because of the wind, so Atkinson continue to defend solidly on the front foot.
“In response to the various comments on Kumar Sangakarra and his lovely hair, my cat is called Kumar, after the great man, and also has lovely fur,” writes David Jollie. “He has not yet shown much ability at cricket, sadly.”
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67th over: England 283-6 (Smith 89, Atkinson 11) Nope, Vishwa continues and bowls a maiden to Atkinson. Why the hell not?
“I’ve been idling away an hour in the bath reading the cricket reports, until I got distracted by wondering about the origin of the surname Brook,” writes Kim Thonger. “It is apparently a topographic name for someone who lived by a brook, stream, water-meadows or low marshy ground, from the Middle English brook Old English brōc. Seems appropriate for Harry, a veritable flowing stream of runs.
“And of course that led me to discover by accident the oldest known surname in England, which to my surprise is Hatt. An Anglo-Saxon family with the surname Hatt are mentioned in a Norman transcript, and it is identified as a pretty regular name in East Anglia.
“But I cannot find any record of anyone called Hatt playing any sort of professional or even amateur cricket. I feel sure another OBOer can deliver something on this front. And perhaps in the far future if cricket becomes popular in Iceland as the planet warms, Oboersson or Oboerdottir will become a surname...”
I’m surprised you’ve forgotten Thomas Montague Dodd Hatt, who played four games for Oxfordshire in the Minor Counties Championship of 1927. I’d have to check but from memory he took 5 for 59 against Berkshire at Kennington Road, Reading.
66th over: England 283-6 (Smith 89, Atkinson 11) Sri Lanka are already chasing their tail. Jayasuriya is back in the attack, which probably means Asitha will change ends for the second time inside the first half-hour. A pretty good over from Jayasuriya, two from it.
65th over: England 281-6 (Smith 87, Atkinson 11) Atkinson gets off strike with an easy single to deep point from Vishwa. “Bizarre” says Athers of the Sri Lankan field. Stuart Broad sees that and raises him a “woeful”.
Sri Lanka haven’t started at all well this morning. Smith takes a single and then Atkinson cuts a wide ball between slip and gully for four. It was finer than intended but safe enough as he smacked it into the ground.
“I think it’s important that we celebrate the good-kind-of-weird OBO as a place where glorious captions such as ‘Kumar Sangakkara and his lovely hair’ can be written and enjoyed,” writes Ant. “Thanks, Rob et al.”
There’s a bad kind of weird? I can’t take credit for the caption – that was our picture editor John Windmill. I’m now distracted by the thought of a Lovely Hair competition on Craggy Island.
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64th over: England 273-6 (Smith 86, Atkinson 4) The reason Asitha didn’t bowl is that he wanted to change ends from last night. His first ball of day three is driven beautifully whence it came for four by Smith, a shot that takes him into the 80s.
The last ball of the over brings an even better shot, a pristine drive between extra cover and mid off. With each emphatic boundary it becomes a little harder to not get carried away about what Jamie Smith might achieve in this thing of ours.
“Just an update on Darren Stevens,” writes Sam Smith, who got in touch on day one. “He led the English Over 40s to defeat yesterday in Dublin. Ireland chased 262 to win by five wickets with 11 balls to spare, Darren scored 12 runs. Scorecard here. And match report here. I won’t share the videos of the after match karaoke, to spare your readers and the participants alike.
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63rd over: England 263-6 (Smith 76, Atkinson 4) Sri Lanka start with the left-armer Vishwa Fernando, a bit of a surprise given the success of Asitha yesterday. Smith flicks him wristily for two, a shot which, as Mike Atherton notes on Sky, has a touch of Kevin Pietersen about it.
Vishwa has to abort his run-up when the heavy bails are blown off by the wind. His second attempt is a good delivery that beats Atkinson.
“Talking about wind” is the rather ominous start to Krishnamoorthy’s email. “In our college team we had a pace bowler who was extremely thin. As our college ground was close to the Arabian Sea, strong winds were the norm. This guy used to start his run up aiming for over the wicket and ended up bowling round the wicket.”
I hope he had a Bob Willis run-up for maximum comedy, being blown of course with his arm going everywhere.
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62nd over: England 260-6 (Smith 73, Atkinson 4) Jayasuriya starts around the wicket to Atkinson, with a slip and short leg. Tight line, bit of turn; Atkinson defends solidly on the front foot.
The players are about to take the field on a very blustery morning in Manchester. Imagine Shane Warne bowling in this; he’d be drifting it square.
In other news, the TMS overseas link is here. Thanks again to Ruth for that.
It looks like play will start on time. As I type, Kumar Sangakkara’s usually immaculate hair is being buffeted while he chats with Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward on the outfield, but it doesn’t seem too bad. No such problems for Nasser #baldcommunity.
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Preamble
As a great man once said: there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that it’s dry at Old Trafford and should stay that way. The bad news is that there could an outside chance of wind stopping play this morning. Oh, behave.
There’s a yellow warning for wind in Manchester, specifically the beast known as Storm Lilian. We know for sure there are no cricket fans at the Met Office, because the urge to christen it Storm Lilian Thomson would have been irresistible.
At some stage, hopefully 11am, England will resume on 259 for six, a lead of 23, with the impressive Jamie Smith needing 28 for his maiden Test century. Smith’s last two innings have had an undeniable aroma of Gilchrist. Dynamism is one thing but Adam Gilchrist’s greatest quality was his ability to seize the initiative before the opposition knew what day it was.
In his last two innings Smith has arrived with England in bother and left with them in the ascendancy; he made 95 from 109 balls at Edgbaston and 72 not out from 97 yesterday. It’s important we don’t get carried away, as tougher challenges await. But nor should we sit still and act like nothing is happening.
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