Joe Root steers England as Sri Lanka continue to chip away

Tea England 200 for 5 (Root 81*, Woakes 6*) vs Sri Lanka

The home side responded with their biggest partnership of the day, Jamie Smith helping Root to add 62 for the fifth wicket. But Milan Rathnayake had Smith caught behind aiming an expansive drive with tea approaching to join Asitha, Lahiru Kumara and Prabath Jayasuriya on the Sri Lanka wicket-takers’ list.

Brook had emerged for the second session full of intent, rattling off a volley of boundaries to put England back on the front foot, only for a marginal lbw – one of which had gone in Root’s favour before lunch – to end his innings. Brook aimed an expansive drive at Asitha only to be defeated by a hint of seam movement back in, with Paul Reiffel agreeing that it would have hit leg stump. To Sri Lanka’s delight on this occasion, DRS returned a verdict of umpire’s call.

Root was joined by Smith in a steady partnership as the Lord’s crowd began to relax again. Smith drove his ninth ball uppishly through point but was largely watchful in approach, waiting until his 33rd to add a second boundary, rocking back to ease the spin of Jayasuriya down the slope towards the Mound Stand.

It was Root who needed a little luck against Rathnayake, surviving on 59 when chopping an inside edge past his stumps that beat the diving Nishan Madushka to go for four, then edging another boundary between slip and gully. Rathnayake had been Sri Lanka’s most-economical seamer during the morning and he finally gained his reward a couple of overs later, moving the old ball up the slope to take Smith’s outside edge.

In all, it was a stuttering effort from England, who would have opted to bat had they not been put in. The new-look opening pair for this series produced their third consecutive stand in the 30s, before Dan Lawrence edged tamely behind trying to walk down the pitch at Kumara. Pope’s dismissal did more to unsettle the St John’s Wood regulars, as the stand-in captain flapped a short ball into the leg side to trail off disconsolately for 1 off 10 balls. Ben Duckett looked assured in making 40 from 47, only to reverse-swipe the fourth ball of spin in the match down the throat of deep point.

Dhananjaya’s decision at the toss caused more than a few raised eyebrows around the ground as it basked in late August sunshine. The Sri Lanka captain spoke of early swing assisting his attack, and while there was not much in the way of lateral movement they nevertheless picked up two wickets inside the first hour and had a third 20 minutes before the lunch break. Had Reiffel been more generous in his interpretation of a Kumara lbw appeal against Root, England would have been in an even dicier position.

When Duckett clipped three boundaries from Asitha’s second over of the morning, it seemed as if England were in the mood to ram home the point about Lord’s being a “look up, not down” ground. But Kumara, brought into the side for Vishwa Fernando, replaced Asitha from the Pavilion End and struck in his first over. Lawrence advanced looking to drive on the up only to tickle through to the keeper, Madushka – another Sri Lanka change, after the blow to the hand sustained by Dinesh Chandimal at Old Trafford.

Pope’s average as Test captain then dipped from 6.00 to 4.33 via a dismissal that would have made for uncomfortable viewing back in the dressing room. Pope had spoken in the build-up about trying to separate captaincy duties from the processes required to bat at No. 3; perhaps he had been wrongfooted at the toss, having seen Dhananjaya call correctly and expecting to be asked to the field.

Whatever the whys and wherefores, there was plenty to interrogate about the choice of shot, as Asitha switched to the Nursery End and induced an ungainly pull across the line that took the top edge and ballooned to Pope’s opposite number at square leg.

Sri Lanka, who have not lost a Test in London since 1991, had their tails up, with Asitha and Kumara probing for openings while Rathnayake kept things tight at the other end. Kumara was wholehearted, pushing the speed gun up towards 90mph, and he might have had a second when bringing one down the slope into Root’s knee roll when the batter was on 11. The bowler bellowed an appeal, fully aware of the fine margins involved in umpire’s call: DRS duly had it clipping the top of leg stump, so Reiffel’s not-out stood.