After an overnight storm that caused Manchester’s tram system problems in the morning came a third day that was no less eventful. Powered by Jamie Smith’s maiden Test century at the start, and ending with two precious Sri Lankan wickets in late sunshine, Ollie Pope was on track for a win in his first Test as England’s stand-in captain.
The tourists had reached stumps on 204 for six for a lead of only 82 but this tells little of the drama across the three extended sessions; drama that included Dinesh Chandimal going to hospital for X-rays on a suspected broken thumb and, once given the all clear, striding out before the close to offer his side a glimmer of hope.
Chandimal, who will resume alongside Kamindu Mendis in the morning with the all-rounder unbeaten on 56, had been hit on the hand by a rasping 89mph ball from Mark Wood after lunch that lifted off this occasionally capricious Old Trafford surface. At the time Sri Lanka were in effect 74 or four in reply to England’s 358 all out and still 48 runs short of making their hosts bat again.
And yet it was not until Chris Woakes removed Angelo Mathews for 65 in the final hour after a ball change reminiscent of last summer’s Ashes finale that England could start to breathe easier. The old warhorse, architect of Sri Lanka’s 1-0 win here 10 years ago with 160 at Headingley, had pushed back masterfully alongside the eye-catching Kamindu in a 78-run stand.
The pair had not only driven their side into the lead but driven England to distraction with it. Joe Root and Gus Atkinson shelled straightforward chances off both men – at slip and backward point respectively – to leave Matthew Potts on the brink of combustion. Potts eventually showed them how it was done, safely holding on when Woakes teased a leading edge from the increasingly tiring Mathews.
Sri Lanka were 173 for five with 45 minutes to go and more twists followed, the surging Woakes twice seeing lbw decisions against both Kamindu and Milan Rathnayake scrubbed off for inside edges. Instead, it took a potentially worrying blow for England to induce the final strike of the day, Wood walking off with an apparent thigh problem mid-over and Rathnayake then inexplicably holing out as Root finished it off.
The extent of Wood’s injury will become clearer on Saturday and England will hope it is simply a repeat of the cramp suffered against West Indies at Trent Bridge. The 34-year-old had delivered another fiery display of fast bowling for his captain, the blow to Chandimal after a wicket with his first ball when Dimuth Karunaratne, having delivered a punchy 27 from opener, sent an inside edge to slip off his hip.
If the Wood injury proves serious, Pope will still have four frontline bowlers with which to work. Shoaib Bashir was slightly targeted by Mathews on day three after the off-spinner’s thrifty first innings performance while Potts grew into his work. He snared Dhananjaya de Silva lbw with a short ball that kept low and, but for a couple of butter-fingered teammates, should have finished with more than just the one.
Chandimal’s re-emergence and Kamindu’s form – the left-hander is a bit of a live wire, as shown when confidently hooking Wood over long leg for six – means Sri Lanka still have a sniff on this pitch. Although it will take a brighter start than the one mustered when England resumed on 259 for six on the third morning.
It began with confusion over who could bowl which end – Asitha Fernando having finished off the night before – and an instant delay for fielding pads to be brought out. And so the tone was set for Smith and his tailend pals to add 99 runs to a slender overnight lead of 23. By lunch, the tourists were already two down for spit.
That final instalment before the break brought with it thoughts of another three-day finish. Woakes wobbled his third ball into Nishan Madushka’s off stump as the opener shouldered arms to an outswinger that was not and, in a continuation of what has been a promising start as England’s new-ball pairing, Atkinson soon induced an edge from Kusal Mendis that Smith gobbled up cleanly on the dive.
Not discounting a missed stumping in the first innings – and a rare no-ball given during a reviewed lbw against Kamindu that showed his gloves were in front of the stumps when Bashir delivered it – it is here where Smith has settled any external nerves about his elevation to Test wicketkeeper, despite not performing the role at Surrey.
The right-hander’s batting was always fancied to thrive a level up and after a couple of succulent drives to get his overnight 72 moving, he set about crafting out a patient seventh-wicket stand of 66 with Atkinson (20) that went largely untroubled.
An hour into play, as he clipped Rathnayake into the leg side and scampered a couple of runs, Smith erased the agony of that near-miss 95 at Edgbaston by becoming the youngest England wicketkeeper to score a Test century. The 24-year-old, three weeks younger than Les Ames back in 1930 and not the type for histrionics when it comes to celebrating milestones, certainly looks like a keeper.
Smith eventually perished for 111 trying to up the ante – a smart piece of bowling for Prabath Jayasuriya’s third of the innings – but momentum was still generated by Potts and Wood. The latter struck three fours and smoked a towering six into the party stand where, with a beer in one hand, a spectator held a contender for catch of the series.
As Chandimal will attest, Wood’s 13-ball 22 was not the only pain he managed to inflict on the day but like that thumb, shaking as it was after being struck flush by the fast bowler, Sri Lanka refused to be broken easily.
