Nick Brookes, ... with highlighting imposed by The Editor,Thuppahi
The collective cry of consternation went up from the press box, the stands and living rooms across Sri Lanka, as news filtered through that Dhananjaya de Silva had won the toss and elected to bowl.
The old adage is hackneyed, but perhaps with good reason. At Lord’s, look up not down. Dhananjaya’s eyes were somewhere else. It was a perfect summer’s morning. Any blades of grass which once lived on the pitch had disappeared. All the signs said bat first.
Maybe, Sri Lanka’s captain was influenced by recent history. Six of the last nine toss-winners at Lord’s have chosen to field. Four of them have emerged victorious. At the start of play, there was talk of Hussain’s call in Adelaide – and Gower’s 40 years ago here. For much of the day, it felt Dhananjaya had been vindicated: after all, his bowlers claimed seven wickets and for long periods shackled England. Impressively, they did so with little assistance through the air or off the pitch. Yet, after tea, the three-pronged seam attack ran out of gas. With England reaching 358, the hosts arguably ended up in the driver’s seat.
Dhananjaya expected early swing; instead, the ball came on gun-barrel straight. From the moment Ben Duckett pushed Asitha through mid-off in the third over, you felt it would be a very long day for Sri Lanka.
But, this team are just so unpredictable. Lahiru Kumara’s inclusion would have excited and worried fans in equal measure. No doubt, his ceiling is sky high; but the off days seem to come as often as cloudy ones in England. Like Dhananjaya’s decision at the toss, this was a risk-and-reward pick. Sri Lanka were serving up chaos cricket, looking to bring Colombo’s carnival vibes to this urbane corner of North-West London.
Introduced early in the seventh over, fans would have groaned as Kumara served up a loose first ball. It was full, on the pads and short of 140 kmph. Fears were instantly realised: if Kumara was going to be a liability, Sri Lanka’s attack could look very short-handed.
Yet, from that moment on, he sparked into life – bowling 11 dots on the bounce. The ball seamed both ways, he bent his back and drew extra bounce – and looked far more threatening than Fernando or Rathnayake had done first up. Third ball of his spell, one whistled past Lawrence’s outside edge; two balls later, he found seam and had his wicket. Straight up, he beat Pope twice in three balls, the second a nip-backer which flew past the inside edge and left England’s captain in a tangle. Suddenly, Kumara was up at 145 kmph. Today, there was no sign of the garden sprinkler. The gas man was rolling.
His energy was infectious – although in truth, England batted themselves into trouble. Pope’s short stay was skittish; his dismissal ugly: a top-edged pull off Asitha which hung in the sky and fell into Dhananjaya’s hands. Duckett tried to dominate Jayasuriya from the off, but premeditated a slog sweep to a ball that was perhaps straighter than he expected. He could only find Kumara at deep backward square: somehow, Sri Lanka had the three wickets they would have dreamed of when play began.
England’s sloppiness should not undermine Kumara’s excellence: today, he was exactly what Sri Lanka hope he can be. The lines were tight, the length was hard and the pace was up. He nibbled the ball about, beat the bat and twice before lunch troubled Root with straight ones. Rightly, he was rewarded with a second spell, and clung onto the ball after the break.
He probably deserved greater rewards; when replaced, he seemed to have inspired Asitha, who bowled faster than he had done all series. Fifth ball of his spell, he went full and straight and trapped Brook dead in front. With England 130-4, Sri Lanka had a firm foothold in the game.
The Root-Smith partnership felt crucial; and through the afternoon session, the cricket became a fraught game of cat and mouse. Jayasuriya bowled cannily from the Nursery Ground End, while Rathnayake returned with a sharper second spell. England went 6.3 overs without striking a boundary; unusually, Smith batted 41 balls for his first 10 runs.
As the hosts sought to break free, Root rode his luck. Rathnayake almost got him to chop on, and in his next over, drew a thick outside edge which flew past gully. Both balls could have been wickets, but instead went to the boundary. Still, for the first time this series, it felt as if all four Lankan bowlers were threatening.
Eventually, Rathnayake got his reward for bowling good areas – getting Smith to nick off with a wobble-seam delivery just before tea. After the break, Woakes hooked Kumara to deep backward square: the ball popped straight out of Asitha’s hands, yet he gratefully managed to gobble it up on the rebound.
Jayasuriya, still plugged in from the Nursery Ground End, was getting the odd ball to turn and bounce – though the crowd cheered heartily as Root completed a famous hundred, Sri Lanka were still on top of the game.
The teas in the press box
They will be frustrated that they let their grasp slip in the evening session. Atkinson pumped Prabath for a pair of sixes; Kamindu came on and leaked 27 in his first three overs. Some wondered why he was bowling at all – seemingly lacking the confidence to send down his left-armers in Tests, he looks a lesser off spinner than Dhananjayaa.
Often at Old Trafford, Sri Lanka played their best cricket when they were facing disaster. Here, they were ragged when they had their foot on England’s throat. Understandably, the seamers were sagging – Asitha, Milan and Lahiru had bowled more than 50 overs between them. But their captain seemed to have few ideas beyond waiting for the new ball. It almost felt reminiscent of that third morning, when Sri Lanka were sloppy and just let the game slip. Root and Atkinson had added 92 in 18-and-a-half overs. The tourists looked desperate for sunset.
A moment of madness brought them right back into the game. In the 78th over, Root brought out his beloved reverse-scoop and made a horrible mess. We likely won’t see it again for a while; as beautifully as Root batted, he’ll be livid to have thrown his wicket away so cheaply.
But the new ball brought runs, rather than further inroads. Atkinson raced to 74 and proved a thorn in their side. The seamers looked sapped; despite Root’s wicket, the last session proved an ugly one for Sri Lanka. At 358-7, it was probably England’s, rather than Sri Lanka’s day.
Nonetheless, the tourists will take hope from the fact that it looks a very good batting wicket. And they will draw further inspiration from another bold decision. 26 years ago, Arjuna Ranatunga won the toss at The Oval and inserted England. When they reached 445, most assumed Sri Lanka were beaten. But Dhananjaya’s men would have to beyond their best to get anywhere close to that effort.
If nothing else, Sri Lanka have again proven that the chasm that many felt existed between them and England at the start of the series is a much narrower gap. And if they somehow win here, I’ll be cancelling my holiday next week.
******************
