Jamie Smith gives England lead in first Test against SL
Jamie Smith, promoted to bat at No. 6 in the absence of injured skipper Ben Stokes, remained unbeaten on 72 – the 24-year-old wicketkeeper’s third half-century in four Tests. Jamie Smith’s latest Test half-century gave England a slight first innings lead in the series opener against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Thursday.
England were 259/6, a slender 23-run lead, in reply to Sri Lanka’s 236 when bad light and rain ended play early on the second day of the three-Test series. Smith, promoted to No. 6 in the absence of injured skipper Ben Stokes, remained unbeaten on 72 – the 24-year-old wicketkeeper’s third half-century in his four Tests.
Smith showed his ability to score runs while batting
Together with Harry Brook (56) and Chris Woakes (25), Jamie Smith shared stands of 62 and 52 runs respectively before both batsmen were bowled by superb deliveries from left-arm spinner Prabhath Jayasuriya, who took an economical 2-58 from 21 overs.
After Thursday’s morning session was washed out by rain, England were tottering at 67-3 in the 15th over, with pacer Asitha Fernando taking 3-68 from 14 overs to take the lead. Sri Lanka had collapsed to 6-3 on Wednesday after losing their first three wickets for no runs in the space of 10 balls.
But their bowlers still had runs to make, as captain Dhananjaya de Silva made 74 after winning the toss and batting first, while Milan Rathnayake made 72 to set a new record for the highest score by any Test debutant batting at No. 9.
Dan Lawrence given LBW for 10
Shortly after play resumed on Thursday, Asitha Fernando thought he had given Dan Lawrence LBW for 10. But Lawrence, who was called up to open after Zak Crawley was ruled out with a broken finger, successfully reviewed umpire Paul Reiffel’s decision on height.
Two balls later, however, the pacer delivered an inswinger to Ben Duckett, who added just five runs to his overnight 13, trapping the left-hander lbw and on this occasion Sri Lanka overturned Reiffel’s original not out decision.
Pope bowled
Asitha Fernando’s day got even better when he dismissed Ollie Pope, who was captaining England for the first time since Stokes was ruled out with a hamstring tear, off a delivery that came back between bat and pad.
Although Lawrence looked in good touch on 30, he edged a delivery from left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. Pope’s dismissal gave Root the opportunity as the former England captain has an impressive record of over 1,000 runs in 11 Tests against Sri Lanka, including four centuries, at an average of nearly 60.
Asitha Fernando ended a valiant 58-run partnership when Root, who typically made 42, hit an inside edge off an intended drive which Chandimal dived forward to take a superb low catch. But new batsman Smith confidently hit a six off Jayasuriya and Brook reached his half-century off 59 balls.
Ball of the Century
But on the same ground where Shane Warne had bowled Mike Gatting with the ‘Ball of the Century’ in 1993, Jayasuriya pulled off a modern-day equivalent by catching Brook in stunning style. The 25-year-old rising star had added just three runs to his unbeaten 53 when he was dismissed by left-arm spinner Jayasuriya. The ball was on the line of middle and leg stump and turned sharply to bounce over the off stump.
Once again he showed his ability to support an established batsman and score runs batting down the order. Along with Harry Brook (56) and Chris Woakes (25), Smith shared stands of 62 and 52 runs respectively before both batsmen were bowled by superb deliveries from left-arm spinner Prabhath Jayasuriya, who returned economical figures of 2-58 in 21 overs.
England falter at 67-3 in 15th over
After Thursday’s morning session was washed out due to rain, England were faltering at 67-3 in the 15th over, with pacer Asitha Fernando taking 3-68 in 14 overs to take the lead. Sri Lanka were reduced to 6-3 on Wednesday after losing their first three wickets in 10 balls for no runs.
Shortly after play resumed on Thursday, Asitha Fernando thought he had given Dan Lawrence LBW for 10. But Lawrence, called in to open after Zak Crawley was ruled out with a broken finger, successfully reviewed umpire Paul Reiffel’s decision on height.
Conclusion
Jamie Smith’s latest Test half-century gave England a slight first innings lead in the series opener against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Thursday. England had made 259-6 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 236, a slender 23-run lead, when bad light and rain forced an early end to play on the second day of the three-Test series.
Smith, promoted to No. 6 in the absence of injured skipper Ben Stokes, remained unbeaten on 72 – the 24-year-old wicketkeeper making his third half-century in four Tests.
