Tag: England vs Sri Lanka

Joe Root scored a record-equalling 33rd Test hundred for England as the hosts established a strong position against Sri Lanka on the first day of the second Test at Lord’s on Thursday.

England, 42-2 when Root came in to bat, reached stumps on 358-7. The star batsman made 143 — his sixth Test century at the ‘Home of Cricket’.

No other England top-order batsman made more than Ben Duckett’s 40.

But fast bowler Gus Atkinson was 74 not out at the close — his maiden Test fifty in just his fifth match at this level — after providing Root with excellent support in a seventh-wicket stand of 92 in 19 overs.

“I think we have had a really good day,” Root told Sky Sports. “Hopefully we can carry that on now and over 400 would be a really good total.”

Root’s 206-ball innings saw him equal the England record of 33 Test hundreds held by the retired Alastair Cook.

“I had to be quite patient and they bowled well for periods of time,” said Joe Root, who made his Test debut in 2012.

Long freed from the burden of captaining England, he added: “I am very much in a really good place at the minute, I am really enjoying everything, I have got a good balance of things.”

Earlier, Ollie Pope was out in single figures for his third successive innings as England’s stand-in captain, with Sri Lanka taking three wickets before lunch after winning the toss.

Despite the sunny conditions, Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva decided to field as his side seek to level the three-match series following England’s five-wicket win in the first Test at Old Trafford.

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It looked a questionable move when left-handed opener Duckett scored three fours in an over off Asitha Fernando.

But makeshift opener Dan Lawrence fell for nine, caught behind off Lahiru Kumara, recalled in place of Vishwa Fernando.

Pope, twice out for six at Old Trafford in his debut match as England skipper in place of injured Ben Stokes, had made one when he top-edged a pull off Fernando. De Silva held a well-judged catch running back from square leg.

Not for the first time in his 145-Test career, the 33-year-old Root, fresh from a match-clinching 62 not out in the first Test, came in with the innings in the balance.

On 11 he was rapped on the pad by a full-length Kumara delivery to spark a raucous lbw appeal.

Paul Reiffel ruled not out. Sri Lanka reviewed but the decision was upheld on umpire’s call.

No reviews were needed when left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya struck with just his fourth ball, Duckett top-edging a reverse scoop to Kumara on the boundary as a 47-ball 40 came to a disappointing end.

At lunch, England were faltering at 97-3.

Root shared stands of 48 and 62 with Harry Brook (33) and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith (21).

Chris Woakes carelessly pulled Fernando straight to long leg on six to leave England 216-6.

Joe Root, 81 not out at tea, spent 12 balls on 99 before elegantly guiding the paceman for four between slip and gully to complete a hundred with his 13th four in 162 balls faced.

He moved into joint-tenth place in an all-time list of Test century-makers headed by India’s Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 51 hundreds in 200 Tests.

After batting in largely classical fashion, Root was out when he skyed an unorthodox ramp off Milan Rathnayake to Pathum Nissanka, with England then 308-7.

Atkinson, who drove Jayasuriya for two superb straight sixes, went to fifty in just 61 balls when he cover-drove fast bowler Rathnayake for a textbook four.

The 26-year-old took a toll of the new ball too, pulling Kumara for six over midwicket.

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Star England batter Joe Root on Thursday added another feather to his cap as he drew level with legendary batter Alastair Cook for the most Test centuries for England in Tests.

The right-handed batter achieved the milestone in England’s second Test of the three-match home series against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.

The 33-year-old, who has been in remarkable form, walked out to bat at No.4 with England 42/2 and anchored the innings with a mesmerizing knock.

He put together important partnerships with Harry Brook and Jamie Smith, who made notable contributions with 33 and 21 respectively.

Enjoying his purple patch in the longest format, Root gave only a half-a-chance to Sri Lanka when Milan Rathnayake’s delivery evaded past his stumps after brushing inside half of the bat.

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With his 33rd Test century, Joe Root has now equalled Alastair Cook’s long-standing record of scoring the most number of tons for England.

Notably, no active player has as many hundreds as Root.

The former England captain also joined an elusive list of batters to score the most number of centuries in the history of Test cricket, becoming joint-tenth in the list, led by Sachin Tendulkar.

Joe Root is now only one century behind Pakistan’s legendary batter Younis Khan and West Indian batting great Brian Lara.

However, he needs 19 more centuries to replace Tendulkar as the batter with the most number of Test centuries.

Most Test hundreds

Sachin Tendulkar: 51
Jacques Kallis: 45
Ricky Ponting: 41
Kumar Sangakkara: 38
Rahul Dravid: 36
Sunil Gavaskar: 34
Mahela Jayawardene: 34
Brian Lara: 34
Younis Khan: 34
Alastair Cook: 33
Joe Root: 33

Root, who recently amassed  12,000 runs in Test cricket to become the seventh-highest run-scorer of all time, has second-placed Ponting and Tendulkar’s overall record within sight.

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Interim England Test captain Ollie Pope sought to follow former captain Joe Root’s footsteps to maintain the responsibilities of captaincy and batting after a challenging outing in the first Test against Sri Lanka.

Pope, who replaced injured Ben Stokes as England captain for the three-match series against Sri Lanka, led the home side to a convincing five-wicket victory in the opening fixture.

However, the right-handed batter struggled to make a mark with the bat as he could score six runs in each innings. His dismissal in the second innings came while attempting to play a reverse sweep.

As England bid for the series-clinching victory, Ollie Pope shared to have sought advice from Joe Root on how to excel while performing dual responsibilities.

“I really enjoyed the week. “The runs didn’t come for me, but hopefully in the next two weeks, I can separate my roles as captain and batsman and focus more on my batting,” said Pope.

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“We talked about how being in the field as captain can be more taxing, but it’s about finding a little routine and doing small things to keep the roles separate.

“Chatting to Rooty, who’s obviously got a great cricket brain and is England’s best batter, we just bounced a few ideas off each other.”

The England and Wales Cricket (ECB) on Tuesday, announced their lineup for the second Test against Sri Lanka and made just one change to their side which soared to a five-wicket victory.

Right-arm pacer Olly Stone would play his fourth Test for England, coming in as a replacement for Mark Wood, who suffered a thigh injury on the third day of the opening Test in Manchester.

England’s playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka

Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir.

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LONDON: Right-arm Durham speedster Mark Wood has been replaced by Olly Stone in England’s Playing XI for the second Test of the ongoing three-match series against Sri Lanka.

The England and Wales Cricket (ECB) on Tuesday, announced their lineup for the second Test against Sri Lanka and made just one change to their side which soared to a five-wicket victory.

Right-arm pacer Olly Stone would play his fourth Test for England, coming in as a replacement for Mark Wood, who suffered a thigh injury on the third day of the opening Test in Manchester.

The 34-year-old Durham quick left the field at Old Trafford just two balls into his 11th over

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.Following a thorough assessment by the England medical staff, the injury-prone pacer was advised to rest.

An ECB statement said: “England pace bowler Mark Wood has sustained a right thigh muscle injury late on the third day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

“He will not return to the field today and will continue to be assessed by the England medical team to determine the full extent of the injury.”

Later, it was revealed that Mark Wood has been ruled out of the series remainder against Sri Lanka.

England’s playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka

Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir.

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England fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out of the fourth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka with a thigh injury, it was announced before play on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Durham quick left the field at Old Trafford just two balls into his 11th over late on Friday.

Following an assessment by England medical staff, the injury-prone paceman has been advised to rest.

England will hope they can still go 1-0 up in this three-match series without Wood’s express speed, with Sri Lanka resuming on 204-6 in their second innings — a lead of just 82 runs.

An England and Wales Cricket Board statement said: “England pace bowler Mark Wood has sustained a right thigh muscle injury late on the third day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

“He will not return to the field today and will continue to be assessed by the England medical team to determine the full extent of the injury.”

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England faced a target of 205 to win the first Test against Sri Lanka after dismissing the tourists for 326 in their second innings on Saturday’s fourth day at Old Trafford.

Kamindu Mendis top-scored for Sri Lanka with 113 — his third hundred in just four Tests — having coming in with his side in trouble at 95-4 after they had been in the even worse position of 1-2.

Together with Dinesh Chandimal (79) he shared a seventh-wicket stand of 117 in 30 overs.

But Mendis’s dismissal sparked a collapse. Sri Lanka lost their last four wickets for 19 runs, with wicketkeeper Chandimal the last man to fall when he holed out off Matthew Potts.

Durham paceman Potts, recalled after England captain Ben Stokes was ruled out with a torn hamstring, took 3-47 in 17.3 overs.

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Jamie Smith’s half-century England into a narrow first-innings lead in their series opener against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Thursday.

England were 259-6 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 236, a slender advantage of 23 runs, when a combination of bad light and rain forced an early close to the second day of the three-Test series.

Smith, promoted up the order to No 6 in the absence of injured captain Ben Stokes, was 72 not out — the 24-year-old wicketkeeper’s third fifty in his four Tests.

Once again he demonstrated his ability to both support an established batsman and keep the runs coming batting with the lower order.

Together with Harry Brook (56) and Chris Woakes (25), Smith shared stands of 62 and 52 respectively before both batsmen were bowled by superb deliveries from left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who enjoyed an economical return of 2-58 in 21 overs.

“I think we’re in a decent position,” England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick told reporters after stumps. “Being ahead of their total with four wickets left, we’re pretty pleased with where we are.”

Meanwhile, former England opening batsman Trescothick praised Smith’s temperament by saying: “We talk about being positive and aggressive and putting teams under pressure, but the skill is to identify moments when it’s the right time.”

After rain washed out Thursday’s morning session, England were faltering at 67-3 in the 15th over, with Asitha Fernando leading the way during a haul of 3-68 in 14 overs.

Sri Lanka fast-bowling coach Aaqib Javed, said Asitha Fernando reminded him of his fellow former Pakistan quick Mohammad Asif.

“I said to him (Asitha) I saw the same quality as Mohammad Asif, the ability to make the ball move both ways with very little change in wrist position.

“A good length that is the key. If he is hitting regularly on that spot, I think Asitha is the one to watch.”

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Sri Lanka had collapsed to 6-3, losing their first three wickets for no runs in 10 balls on Wednesday.

But they still had runs to play with after captain Dhananjaya de Silva made 74 after winning the toss, with Milan Rathnayake’s 72 a new record for the highest score by any Test debutant batting at No 9.

Shortly after play resumed Thursday under grey skies, Asitha Fernando had left-hander Ben Duckett lbw for 18 on review of a decision by umpire Paul Reiffel.

That wicket came two balls after Dan Lawrence, opening in place of the injured Zak Crawley, had successfully denied Asitha Fernando an lbw by challenging former Australia paceman Reiffel’s original verdict of out.

Asitha Fernando’s day got even better when he dismissed Ollie Pope, captaining England for the first time after Stokes was ruled out by a torn hamstring, for six with a ball that nipped back through a gap between bat and pad.

Pope’s exit, however, had brought in Root, with the former England captain boasting a superb record against Sri Lanka of more than 1,000 runs, including four hundreds, in 11 previous Tests at an average of nearly 60.

Asitha Fernando, though, ended a promising stand of 58 when Root, who had made a typically elegant 42, inside-edged an intended drive, with Chandimal diving forward to hold a fine low catch.

New batsman Smith, however, drove Jayasuriya for a straight six before Brook completed a 59-ball fifty.

But on the same ground where Shane Warne bowled Mike Gatting with the ‘Ball of the Century’ in 1993, Jayasuriya made a bid for the modern-day equivalent by snaring Brook in stunning style.

The 25-year-old rising star had added just three runs to his tea score of 53 not out when he was turned inside out by a ball from left-armer Jayasuriya that dipped in on the line of middle and leg stumps before spinning sharply and bouncing to clip the top of off stump.

Brook’s exit left England 187-5 and Woakes fell in similar fashion when clean bowled by another hard-spun delivery from Jayasuriya.

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Dhananjaya de Silva and debutant fast bowler Milan Rathnayake both made fine fifties as Sri Lanka recovered from a dramatic top-order collapse on Wednesday’s opening day of the first Test against England at Old Trafford.

Sri Lanka were in dire straits at 6-3 after skipper De Silva won the toss, losing their first three wickets for no runs in 10 balls.

Yet they recovered to 236 all out, De Silva top-scoring with 74 and tailender Rathnayake, with only his third first-class fifty, close behind in making 72.

The pair checked England’s progress during an eighth-wicket partnership of 63, with no other Sri Lanka batsman making more than Kusal Mendis’s 24.

Chris Woakes struck twice in an over on his way to 3-32 in 11 overs.

De Silva’s impressive innings ended when he turned a quicker ball from off-spinner Shoaib Bashir straight to Dan Lawrence at leg slip, with the 20-year-old taking 3-55 in 23 overs.

Ben Duckett and Lawrence, recalled in place of the injured Zak Crawley, guided England to 22-0 before bad light ended play for the day at 5:52 pm (1652 GMT).

Sri Lanka’s initial collapse ensured a dream start for stand-in England captain Ollie Pope, leading his country for the first time after Ben Stokes was ruled out with a torn hamstring.

The tourists came into their first Test in England in eight years on the back of just a solitary warm-up fixture — a defeat by the second-string England Lions — with De Silva insisting Tuesday that Sri Lanka had wanted at least one more game before the series started.

“The conditions are quite different to Asian countries,” he said. “We wanted to play a few matches, but that’s what we get.”

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Sri Lanka’s collapse began in the sixth over when Dimuth Karunaratne top-edged a hook off fast bowler Gus Atkinson to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.

Woakes then took two wickets in the next over, with Nishan Madushka, the other opening batsman, driving loosely at an outswinger and edging to Joe Root at first slip as he fell for four.

Five balls later, Angelo Mathews was plumb lbw for a duck playing no shot to a Woakes delivery that nipped back off the pitch.

Mendis was undone by express fast bowler Mark Wood, with Mendis gloving a superb 93 mph (150 km/h) delivery that reared up from short of a length to second slip.

De Silva, however, pulled Atkinson for a commanding four and completed an impressively quick fifty off just 56 balls.

He was reprieved on 65, when Smith missed a difficult stumping chance off Bashir, but was out shortly afterwards to leave Sri Lanka 176-8.

But the 28-year-old Rathnayake, undaunted by the loss of his skipper, went to a 96-ball fifty in style when the left-handed batsman drove Bashir for a straight six that also took Sri Lanka past 200.

With the floodlights piercing increasingly gloomy skies, Pope turned to part-time spinner Root in a bid to snatch a wicket at a time when deploying the fast bowlers might have seen the umpires halt play for bad light.

Rathnayake, however, responded by launching Root for six over long-off. He also drove Bashir through extra cover before hitting him to Woakes at mid-on.

Before play started there was a minute’s applause in honour of Graham Thorpe, the former England batsman and assistant coach, with both teams, as well as the match officials, wearing black armbands in his honour.

Thorpe died aged 55 earlier this month after being hit by a train. His wife Amanda confirmed he had taken his own life having suffered from depression for several years.

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Stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope said Graham Thorpe was a “great man” as English cricket prepared to honour the stylish run-scorer before Wednesday’s start of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

Thorpe, widely regarded as the outstanding England batsman of his generation, died aged 55 earlier this month after being hit by a train, with his wife Amanda confirming he had taken his own life having suffered from depression for several years.

Before the first of a three-match series gets underway, the giant screens at Old Trafford will show a series of videos recalling Thorpe’s career.

There will also be a minute’s applause, with England wearing black armbands in Thorpe’s memory for the duration of the Test.

It will be the first time the side have publicly honoured Graham Thorpe, who later became an England assistant coach since his death sent shockwaves throughout the world of cricket.

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For Ollie Pope, who has followed in Thorpe’s footsteps at both Surrey and England and will be captaining his country for the first time in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes, it promises to be a particularly poignant occasion.

“We’ll have our black armbands on throughout the course of the game and there’ll be a tribute to him before the game,” he said during a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

“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.”

The 26-year-old Pope added: “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.”

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Ollie Pope is prepared to “do his own thing” as England Test captain but accepts he is in caretaker charge of what is still effectively Ben Stokes’s side.

Pope will become the 82nd man to take up the captaincy when he leads England out in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford starting Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Surrey batsman was promoted from vice-captain after Stokes was ruled out after suffering a torn hamstring playing in the Hundred.

Stokes is set to miss the three-match series against Sri Lanka. Ollie Pope’s elevation caps a rapid rise for a cricketer who was not certain of his place when Ben Stokes took charge two years ago alongside coach Brendon McCullum.

Stokes first led England, in 2020, deputising for father-to-be Joe Root who left a message reading “do it your own way”.

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Ollie Pope has no qualms about sticking with the basic ‘Bazball’ approach and will also be able to call directly on Stokes, who will be with the England squad for all three Tests.

“It’s a great opportunity for me, one of the greatest honours in English cricket,” Pope told a pre-match press conference at Old Trafford on Tuesday. “But I think it’s still Stokesy’s team.

“That’s probably the difference. I’ve had no message in my locker but I’m sat next to him in the changing room!

“It’s going to be great to have him around. If I want to lean on him, I can lean on him and I think he’s going to let me do my own thing for the course of this Test series as well.

“I’ve picked his brains a little bit on that moving forward. It’s a lot of the same messages but from a different voice and in my own way.

“He’s obviously going to be watching, chatting, so I can have those conversations in the intervals if I think anything needs to change and we can bounce a few ideas off each other.

“We’ve got some great coaches and obviously he’s just another brain in the changing room.”

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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday, announced their Playing XI for the first Test of the three-match home series against Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on August 21.

England made two forced changes to their Playing XI as their Test skipper Ben Stokes and opener Zak Crawley were sidelined due to injuries.

Stokes suffered a hamstring injury during The Hundred fixture between Manchester Originals and Northern Superchargers.

He underwent scans in Leeds last week and it was determined that he will miss the three-match home series against Sri Lanka.

Crawley, on the other hand, was ruled out of the series due to a fractured finger. He sustained the injury while attempting a catch in England’s last Test of the three-match series against West Indies.

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Stokes will be replaced by Durham seamer Matthew Potts, who made his return to the team for the first time since June 2023 while Dan Lawrence will open the innings for the home side.

“With Ben Stokes (hamstring) and Zak Crawley (finger) both missing through injury, Durham seamer Matthew Potts returns to the side for the first time since June 2023. Surrey batter Dan Lawrence will open the batting in Crawley’s absence,” ECB stated.

Young middle-order batter Harry Brook has been named England’s vice-captain and will support interim captain Ollie Pope.

“Yorkshire middle-order batter Harry Brook has been named vice-captan for the three-match series and will support captain Ollie Pope,” ECB added.

England XI for the first Test vs Sri Lanka: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook (vc), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.

Sri Lanka Squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (vc), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Nisala Tharaka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake.

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