Key events
80th over: England 316-8 (Potts 0, Wood 1) “Apropos Kim Thonger’s musings on cricketers names (over 67) my brother and I were musing along a similar theme during the last Test,” writes Michael White. “The best team we came up with was an Occupational XI as follows
Alastair COOK
Bob BARBER
David SHEPPARD
Ollie POPE
Mark BUTCHER
Nick KNIGHT
Jamie SMITH
Geoff MILLER
Tom CARTWRIGHT
Matthew FISHER
Jofra ARCHER
Not even I could shoehorn Martin McCague into that team.
WICKET! England 315-8 (Smith c Chandimal b Jayasuriya 111)
Nelson strikes. Jamie Smith flashes at a wide, quicker delivery from Jayasuriya and gets a thin edge that is beautifully taken by Chandimal up to the stumps. That ends an outstanding, match-turning innings: 111 from 148 balls with eight fours and a six.
79th over: England 315-7 (Smith 111, Potts 0) Have some of that! Smith clobbers a length ball from Ratnayeke through midwicket for… only three because of the slow outfield. But he still gave it some humpty.
The new batsman Matthew Potts looks solid in defence has the ability to hang around with Smith. He made 150-odd as nightwatchman in a Championship game earlier this season, albeit on a road.
78th over: England 312-7 (Smith 108, Potts 0) It looks like Smith wants to go through the gears. He whacks a Jayasuriya full toss for four, drags two past leg stump and dances down the track to drive a single.
“I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seem of Atkinson so far this summer,” says Tom van der Gucht. “He’d seemed a but shy and diffident when I’d seen him playing ODI’s but seems up for the fight now whether batting or bowling. Watching the BBC highlights, I wasn’t sure if England had done the trick accused or them in the 2005 Ashes and turned up the speed gun. It clocked Woakes and Atkinson at 87MPH and Potts at 89!”
Is that right? Fascinating. As for Atkinson, shyness doesn’t necessarily mean meekness. Another Surrey and England player taught us that.
WICKET! England 305-7 (Atkinson c Chandimal b Atkinson 20)
Gus Atkinson falls two balls later, caught down the leg side by Chandimal. He flicked across the line and got a thin edge that was well taken just above the ground. The umpires checked the catch but it was fine. That’s Milan Rathnayeke’s first Test wicket.
Jamie Smith’s first Test hundred!
76.3 overs: England 304-6 (Smith 100, Atkinson 20) Smith works Rathnayeke for two to reach a splendid maiden century from 136 balls. His celebration is strikingly modest, just a quick raise of the bat to acknowledge a standing ovation from the crowd and the England balcony. “He looks a top, top player,” says Kumar Sangakkara, who knows of what he speaks.
76th over: England 299-6 (Smith 98, Atkinson 17) Smith dances down to drive a single to long off. Another LBW appeal against Atkinson is turned down, then Atkinson edges a flashing drive past slip for three.
One ball remaining in the over. Jayasuriya tosses up a tempter; Smith pushes it to cover.
“2005?” sniffs Sarah Skelding. “I’ll see your 2005 and raise you 1981. I was younger for the first so it made a greater impression on me but I still think that it was objectively better. I’m waiting for someone older than me to gainsay me.”
If we’re going back that far, it’s got to be India v England in 1981-82.
75th over: England 294-6 (Smith 97, Atkinson 13) Rathnayeke replaces Vishwa and also has a big LBW appeal against Atkinson turned own. It was missing leg comfortably, but at least Sri Lanka are getting animated.
Smith walks across to clip through midwicket for two, which makes this his highest Test score. He has three balls to reach his hundred in this over, but they’re all on the money and Smith treats them on merit.
“Is there an international bowler with a run-up more vague and lackadaisical than Jayasuriya?” wonders James Brough. “Granted, slow bowlers have shorter run-ups, but there’s usually a feeling of momentum. Think of Warne striding to the crease, Abdul Qadir bouncing in to bowl or Phil Edmonds (showing my age) flowing into his delivery stride. Jayasuriya looks for all the world as though he’s out for a bit of an amble, notices a batsman 22 yards away and decides he might as well sling something down at him. I find it rather endearing.”
That’s a good spot. He actually slows down just before his delivery stride, almost like a penalty taker trying to dummy the keeper, but it’s part of his walk-up rather than a piece of deception.
74th over: England 291-6 (Smith 95, Atkinson 13) Jayasuriya has a big LBW appeal against Atkinson turned down. It didn’t look great live – it was surely missing leg – and they decide against a review.
“Just wondering,” begins Gary Naylor, “if MCJ Nicholas and Rameez Raja have been in touch yet about judging the Lovely Hair competition?”
73rd over: England 290-6 (Smith 95, Atkinson 12) Smith hasn’t played a shot in anger in the nineties; he doesn’t need to with easy singles on offer. His latest brings up a really good fifty partnership with his Surrey buddy Gus Atkinson.
72nd over: England 287-6 (Smith 94, Atkinson 11) Jayasuriya is starting to toy with Atkinson, who gets a leading edge that plops safely. That was his best over of the morning.
“As people seemed to enjoy the 1990s reminiscing yesterday…” writes Max Williams. “God that 1998 series against South Africa was an epic, wasn’t it? Two iconic teams going toe to toe. England were pulverised in the second Test, scraped a last-wicket draw in the third, the closest of eight-wicket wins in the fourth (ft the Atherton – Donald duel) and clinched the decider by 23 runs!
“Can we go full cricket hipster and anoint it better than 2005 Ashes? Not quite but it was arguably a greater underdog triumph – that was a fearsome SA team and England hadn’t won a five-match series for 12 years. Certainly a lock for the second best series of my lifetime. (Call it 1990 onwards.) I suppose 2023 Ashes is third but it’s a long way back and I’d be delighted if someone could suggest an alternative.”
The first paragraph was perfect but you’ve overstepped the mark with the second. My instinct is that 2023 should be second, though I’d like to think about it. You’re right that 1998 was a dirty epic, cricket’s version of Deadwood, which also had oodles of controversy and a truly hilarious willow-waving contest between Brian McMillan and Dominic Cork. Nothing gets close to 2005 though.
71st over: England 287-6 (Smith 93, Atkinson 11) Out of nothing, Smith is beaten by a terrific cutter from Vishwa that bounces twice before reaching the keeper.
70th over: England 286-6 (Smith 92, Atkinson 11) For now Smith is happy to stroll through the nineties. He drives a hooping full toss from Jayasuriya to deep cover for a single, after which Atkinson batters the ball painfully into the man at silly point. Sri Lanka are letting the game drift, waiting for the second new ball; I’m surprised Asitha only bowled one over, even if it wasn’t the best.
69th over: England 285-6 (Smith 91, Atkinson 11) The Sky commentators are putting the boot in after a very sloppy start from Sri Lanka. As well as the field placing, bowling and changing of plans, I didn’t realise the start was delayed by about 90 seconds because the short leg didn’t have the necessary equipment.
Vishwa is bowling round the wicket now. After an unsuccessful attempt to change the ball, Atkinson continues to demonstrate a pretty sound front-foot defence. He has 11 from 37 balls, Smith 91 from 118. England lead by 49.
“I have a thousand meetings today,” says James Humphries, “and now have about 90 per cent of my mental runtime occupied by ‘lovely hair’ in Dermot Morgan’s voice, so thanks for that. PS Did Thomas Montague get three in a row during his five-fer? There should be a phrase for that…”
C’mon, James, lighten up!
68th over: England 284-6 (Smith 90, Atkinson 11) Smith pats Jayasuriya for a single to move into the nineties for the second successive innings. Jayasuriya is bowling accurately from round the wicket, with a fair bit of drift because of the wind, so Atkinson continue to defend solidly on the front foot.
“In response to the various comments on Kumar Sangakarra and his lovely hair, my cat is called Kumar, after the great man, and also has lovely fur,” writes David Jollie. “He has not yet shown much ability at cricket, sadly.”
67th over: England 283-6 (Smith 89, Atkinson 11) Nope, Vishwa continues and bowls a maiden to Atkinson. Why the hell not?
“I’ve been idling away an hour in the bath reading the cricket reports, until I got distracted by wondering about the origin of the surname Brook,” writes Kim Thonger. “It is apparently a topographic name for someone who lived by a brook, stream, water-meadows or low marshy ground, from the Middle English brook Old English brōc. Seems appropriate for Harry, a veritable flowing stream of runs.
“And of course that led me to discover by accident the oldest known surname in England, which to my surprise is Hatt. An Anglo-Saxon family with the surname Hatt are mentioned in a Norman transcript, and it is identified as a pretty regular name in East Anglia.
“But I cannot find any record of anyone called Hatt playing any sort of professional or even amateur cricket. I feel sure another OBOer can deliver something on this front. And perhaps in the far future if cricket becomes popular in Iceland as the planet warms, Oboersson or Oboerdottir will become a surname…”
I’m surprised you’ve forgotten Thomas Montague Dodd Hatt, who played four games for Oxfordshire in the Minor Counties Championship of 1927. I’d have to check but from memory he took 5 for 59 against Berkshire at Kennington Road, Reading.
66th over: England 283-6 (Smith 89, Atkinson 11) Sri Lanka are already chasing their tail. Jayasuriya is back in the attack, which probably means Asitha will change ends for the second time inside the first half-hour. A pretty good over from Jayasuriya, two from it.
65th over: England 281-6 (Smith 87, Atkinson 11) Atkinson gets off strike with an easy single to deep point from Vishwa. “Bizarre” says Athers of the Sri Lankan field. Stuart Broad sees that and raises him a “woeful”.
Sri Lanka haven’t started at all well this morning. Smith takes a single and then Atkinson cuts a wide ball between slip and gully for four. It was finer than intended but safe enough as he smacked it into the ground.
“I think it’s important that we celebrate the good-kind-of-weird OBO as a place where glorious captions such as ‘Kumar Sangakkara and his lovely hair’ can be written and enjoyed,” writes Ant. “Thanks, Rob et al.”
There’s a bad kind of weird? I can’t take credit for the caption – that was our picture editor John Windmill. I’m now distracted by the thought of a Lovely Hair competition on Craggy Island.
64th over: England 273-6 (Smith 86, Atkinson 4) The reason Asitha didn’t bowl is that he wanted to change ends from last night. His first ball of day three is driven beautifully whence it came for four by Smith, a shot that takes him into the 80s.
The last ball of the over brings an even better shot, a pristine drive between extra cover and mid off. With each emphatic boundary it becomes a little harder to not get carried away about what Jamie Smith might achieve in this thing of ours.
“Just an update on Darren Stevens,” writes Sam Smith, who got in touch on day one. “He led the English Over 40s to defeat yesterday in Dublin. Ireland chased 262 to win by five wickets with 11 balls to spare, Darren scored 12 runs. Scorecard here. And match report here. I won’t share the videos of the after match karaoke, to spare your readers and the participants alike.
63rd over: England 263-6 (Smith 76, Atkinson 4) Sri Lanka start with the left-armer Vishwa Fernando, a bit of a surprise given the success of Asitha yesterday. Smith flicks him wristily for two, a shot which, as Mike Atherton notes on Sky, has a touch of Kevin Pietersen about it.
Vishwa has to abort his run-up when the heavy bails are blown off by the wind. His second attempt is a good delivery that beats Atkinson.
“Talking about wind” is the rather ominous start to Krishnamoorthy’s email. “In our college team we had a pace bowler who was extremely thin. As our college ground was close to the Arabian Sea, strong winds were the norm. This guy used to start his run up aiming for over the wicket and ended up bowling round the wicket.”
I hope he had a Bob Willis run-up for maximum comedy, being blown of course with his arm going everywhere.
62nd over: England 260-6 (Smith 73, Atkinson 4) Jayasuriya starts around the wicket to Atkinson, with a slip and short leg. Tight line, bit of turn; Atkinson defends solidly on the front foot.
The players are about to take the field on a very blustery morning in Manchester. Imagine Shane Warne bowling in this; he’d be drifting it square.
In other news, the TMS overseas link is here. Thanks again to Ruth for that.
It looks like play will start on time. As I type, Kumar Sangakkara’s usually immaculate hair is being buffeted while he chats with Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward on the outfield, but it doesn’t seem too bad. No such problems for Nasser #baldcommunity.
Read all about it
Preamble
As a great man once said: there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that it’s dry at Old Trafford and should stay that way. The bad news is that there could an outside chance of wind stopping play this morning. Oh, behave.
There’s a yellow warning for wind in Manchester, specifically the beast known as Storm Lilian. We know for sure there are no cricket fans at the Met Office, because the urge to christen it Storm Lilian Thomson would have been irresistible.
At some stage, hopefully 11am, England will resume on 259 for six, a lead of 23, with the impressive Jamie Smith needing 28 for his maiden Test century. Smith’s last two innings have had an undeniable aroma of Gilchrist. Dynamism is one thing but Adam Gilchrist’s greatest quality was his ability to seize the initiative before the opposition knew what day it was.
In his last two innings Smith has arrived with England in bother and left with them in the ascendancy; he made 95 from 109 balls at Edgbaston and 72 not out from 97 yesterday. It’s important we don’t get carried away, as tougher challenges await. But nor should we sit still and act like nothing is happening.
