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England face their toughest fight of the summer after a ragged display at the Kia Oval allowed Sri Lanka to seize control on day three of the third Test.
The hosts imploded at breakneck speed, rounded up for 156 in just 34 overs as combination of reckless strokes and a vastly-improved performance from the touring attack changed the complexion of the match.
After three heavy wins over the West Indies and a pair of comfortable victories against the Sri Lankans, England had been eyeing a first clean sweep of Test triumphs since 2004 but a chastening day has left them hunting from behind.
Jamie Smith was a lone voice of resistance, peppering the boundary as he thrashed 67 in 50 balls to leave a chase of 219, but Sri Lanka romped along to 94 for one in reply.
An England attack featuring the raw debutant Josh Hull, a young spinner in Shoaib Bashir and Gus Atkinson nursing a quad injury now need nine more wickets in a hurry, with a slender 125 to defend.
If they do manage to negotiate their way out a tight corner, Smith will take a large part of the credit. Arriving at the crease with scoreboard pressure bearing down at 66 for four, and in the midst of a sequence that saw five wickets tumble for 26 runs, he unleashed 10 fours and a six to save his side from a more comprehensive capitulation.
England had earlier established a first-innings lead of 62, mopping up Sri Lanka’s last five wickets as they closed 263 all out.
Hull bounced out Dhananjaya de Silva in his second over of the day and pinned Dinesh Chandimal with an inswinger to bank encouraging figures of three for 53, with Olly Stone good value for his own three-wicket haul.
England had an opportunity to bat their opponents out of the game but repeated some of the careless batting which drew sharp words from former captains Michael Vaughan and Sir Alastair Cook on day two.
Vaughan worried that England were “taking the mick out of the game” and Cook felt them “complacent”, words that began to echo as they lost two of their top three in a half-hour stint before lunch.
Ben Duckett drove lazily to mid-on and Ollie Pope followed his first-innings century by dragging on with a loose swish of the bat.
They still carried a 97-run lead into the break but the vulnerability of their position was soon exposed. Dan Lawrence made 35 but lacked the wherewithal to turn a flighty start into a significant contribution.
At one stage he stepped away and left all three stumps exposed as he looked to open up the leg side and only survived by a tiny margin.
He landed one wonderfully sweet six but was too eager to show authority, swinging furiously at Lahiru Kumara and nicking behind. The seamer, who took four for 21, appeared slighted by the flashy nature of the stroke and offered a send off as Lawrence thumped his bat in disgust.
Joe Root’s presence should have settled England and normal service appeared to resume when he punched a classy cover drive to overtake Kumar Sangakkara as the sixth highest run-scorer in Test history.
Only Cook stands between him and a place in the top five but that will have to wait until next month’s tour of Pakistan after Vishwa Fernando surprised him with an inswinging yorker.
The ball crunched his left boot on the full, with a hopeful DRS call offering no salvation. Like Root, Harry Brook was a fraction late to one that shaped in through the air and thudded into the front pad. Like Root, he burned a review on his way.
The tension was tangible as England’s plight saw them flail to 82 for seven, Woakes caught behind for a duck and Atkinson lbw for one. Smith was their last real hope and he accepted the challenge with a daring knock.
After seeing a leading edge narrowly escape the man at mid-off he entered T20 mode, smashing 52 off just 17 deliveries. Another 30 minutes of his best work might have turned the tables entirely but he drilled the last ball before tea straight to midwicket to Sri Lanka’s visible relief.
England dragged their lead past 200 but all the momentum lay in the visiting dressing room. Nissanka made sure it stayed there, taking on the new ball with a series of increasingly assured drives.
Woakes chased up his own chance to knock off Dimuth Karunaratne but it was a moment of joy for an England attack pressed back into service too quickly. Atkinson’s niggle saw him labour through his spell and new man Kusal Mendis picked off three fours in an over as Woakes tired.
Hull and Stone fared little better as Nissanka breezed to his half-century in 42 balls and when bad light intervened at 6.45pm it was England who were happiest to depart.
