Jamie Smith, 24, became the youngest England wicketkeeper to score a Test century as the hosts ended up with a substantial first-innings lead that has put them in command of the Old Trafford Test. Jamie Smith‘s maiden ton saw England finish with 358 that gave them a first innings lead of 122.
For 65 runs, spanning the best part of 50 overs and a wide range of England tactical switches, Angelo Mathews seemed to be playing from memory: his very best memory, in fact, from Sri Lanka’s triumphant Test tour in 2014, when his twin hundreds formed the backbone of a remarkable series win.
By the close, however, Chris Woakes – armed with a lavishly swinging replacement ball, and in a scenario that Australians might recall with a grimace from last year’s Oval Test – had restored the dominance that Jamie Smith’s maiden century had set in motion in the morning session, as England edged ever closer to their fourth win in as many Tests this summer.
Jamie Smith’s maiden ton puts England in command
Jamie Smith, 24, became the youngest England wicketkeeper to score a Test century as the hosts ended up with a substantial first-innings lead that has put them in command of the Old Trafford Test. Smith’s maiden ton saw England finish with 358 that gave them a first innings lead of 122. In response, Sri Lanka were left stunned as Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson struck once each inside the first two overs to leave the visitors reeling at 10/2 by the break.
Jamie Smith didn’t take long to get going on the third day. A couple of full length deliveries from Asitha Fernando were punished in the same over and he rotated the strike alongside Gus Atkinson to move into the nineties. Atkinson was resolute in his defence that enabled Smith to trust his partner. Eventually, Jamie Smith brought up an excellent hundred off just 136 balls as England went past 300.
Sri Lanka finally found some respite as Milan Ratnayake broke the stand with an ordinary delivery as Atkinson got strangled down the leg side. Soon after, Jamie Smith’s fine knock came to an end as well as Prabhat Jayasuriya, who kept bowling at one end continuously was rewarded with the centurion’s wicket. Once again, it was a very ordinary delivery that fetched the wicket as Jamie Smith got a faint edge through to the keeper when he attempted to punish a short and wide delivery.
Mark Wood then came out all guns blazing as he smashed his third and fourth deliveries for boundaries. He hit Jayasuriya for another boundary before pulling Asitha Fernando for a terrific six to offer plenty of entertainment. That little cameo was brought to an abrupt halt in the same over by Asitha as Mark Wood missed one to lose his stumps. Vishwa Fernando then polished off the innings which meant the Sri Lankan openers had to navigate a tricky little period before the lunch break.
That tricky little period of three overs turned into a horror show for the visitors as they lost two wickets. Just the third delivery of the second essay saw Chris Woakes curl back one in sharply to hit the top of off stump as Nishan Madushka departed for a duck. In the very next over, Atkinson drew Kusal Mendis’ outside edge that was caught by the keeper as he returned to the pavilion for a duck as well. The experienced duo of Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Matthews have a massive task in hand once play resumes.
It was all a far cry from the competitive scenario that had seemed in prospect overnight, with England’s lead a slender 23 and most of their hopes of growing that advantage resting on the shoulders of their last – and most junior – recognized batter, Jamie Smith.
After resuming on 72 not out, Jamie Smith was quickly into his stride against a Sri Lanka attack that lacked much of the intensity that they had brought to their endeavors in the first half of England’s innings, and when he crashed two boundaries through the covers in Asitha Fernando’s first over of the day, it seemed he might be in a hurry to notch his three figures.
And yet, having fallen for 95 against West Indies at Edgbaston in his previous Test innings in July, Jamie Smith then throttled back appreciably, settling instead on building a resolute seventh-wicket stand of 66 with Atkinson, whose own score of 20 from 65 was his third such contribution in consecutive England innings.
Once again, England’s progress was aided by some questionable field placings, with Atkinson frequently offered easy singles through the off side to keep the strike rotating, while Smith himself took 27 deliveries to pick off the final 14 runs of his hundred, with the moment coming up with a firm clip off the pads through square leg off Ratnayake. At 24 days and 40 days, that made him the youngest England men’s keeper to reach a Test century.
Moments later, Ratnayake had a moment of his own to savor, a maiden Test wicket – though perhaps not in the manner that he might have envisaged, as Atkinson feathered a leg-side delivery through to Chandimal, whose low take was confirmed by an umpire’s review.
And when Jamie Smith fell for 111 to an excellent wide grab from Chandimal, standing up to a seaming delivery from Prabhat Jayasuriya, Wood and Potts stepped into the breach in the Bazball-approved manner to blaze a further 43 runs for England’s final two wickets … which was 42 more than Sri Lanka would manage, moments later, for their first two.
England did not imagine, however, that Sri Lanka’s middle order would be quite so generous with their wickets, and their approach after lunch was to go cross-seam – sacrificing the short-term threat of new-ball swing for the long-term gains of a scuffed-up ball and the prospect of reverse-swing. It enabled Dimuth Karunaratne and Mathews to settle into a composed 50-run stand that hinted at better times. But, inevitably, there was a speed-bump to come, and Wood duly delivered it.
As has now become the summer’s norm, the crowd shuffled forward as one as Wood was thrown the ball for the 14th over of the innings, and he rewarded that anticipation with a first-ball Exocet. Round the wicket, back of a length, it arrived in Karunaratne’s midriff so rapidly that he didn’t even know whether he had nicked it before it cannoned off his padding and through to Harry Brook in the cordon. Some choice words over the stump mic confirmed that he’d “hit the cover off it”, and sure enough Snicko confirmed an inside-edge.
Angelo Mathews showed resistance for Sri Lanka but English bowlers chipped in with quick wickets
England continued to chip away at Old Trafford in the opening Test against Sri Lanka with two more key wickets in the post-lunch session. Angelo Mathews put up a resistance for Sri Lanka to bring the deficit down to 15 but with only six more wickets in hand, England continue to hold the upper hand.
Sri Lanka started the session with a boundary as Dimuth Karunaratne drove one to beat the mid-on fielder. England lost a review in the very next over when an lbw appeal against Karunaratne was turned down. Rubbing salt into their wounds, Karunaratne followed that up with another boundary past mid-off to grow in confidence.
Sri Lanka needed their former skipper to bail them out and he did respond in style, taking on Gus Atkinson for two more boundaries. It needed a change from both ends for England to break the partnership as Mark Wood bowled one short, only for Karunaratne to get an inside edge that hit the thigh pad before going straight to Harry Brook at slip.
The wicket didn’t deter Mathews as he responded with a six over long on off Shoaib Bashir. However, a pacy delivery from Wood hit Dinesh Chandimal on the thumb, forcing the batter to retire hurt in a significant blow for the visitors. Dhananjaya de Silva, who delivered in the first innings, was caught by surprise due to a lack of bounce as Matthew Potts trapped him leg-before-wicket. With the uncertainty hanging around Chandimal, Sri Lanka need a massive rescue act in the final session to stay alive in the game.
Three overs later, Wood cranked up his pace for another body blow. Having already broken Kevin Sinclair’s wrist during the West Indies series, this time he twisted Chandimal’s right thumb clean off the bat handle with another vicious lifter. On came the physio, with Chandimal’s hand shaking with pain and his thumb swelling even as he underwent treatment, and it was a significant relief in the Sri Lanka camp when his subsequent hospital visit confirmed no break, rather the aggravation of an old injury.
Potts then struck before the tea break as Dhananjaya de Silva missed a pull to be pinned lbw for 11, but when England re-emerged they quickly turned to a short-pitched approach, perhaps sensing that the life was going out of the 30-over-old ball. Kamindu signaled he was up for the challenge by sliding well inside the line to a Wood bouncer and levering him up and over fine leg for six, and as he and Mathews settled into their 78-run stand for the fifth wicket, Sri Lanka could dare to dream of a defendable total.
For 65 runs, spanning the best part of 50 overs and a wide range of England tactical switches, Angelo Mathews seemed to be playing from memory: his very best memory, in fact, from Sri Lanka’s triumphant Test tour in 2014, when his twin hundreds formed the backbone of a remarkable series win.
Bowlers deliver again to put England in command on Day 3
The morning session completely belonged to Smith, who brought up his maiden Test ton. Smith joined forces with Gus Atkinson, who looked resolute in defence, as the pair kept Sri Lanka waiting for a breakthrough in the morning session. Smith reached his landmark off 136 deliveries and became the youngest England wicketkeeper to score a ton before Milan Ratnayake broke the stand. Soon after, Smith’s fine knock came to an end as well as Prabhat Jayasuriya, who kept bowling at one end continuously was rewarded with the centurion’s wicket.
Mark Wood then provided the crowd some entertainment with a cameo to add to Sri Lanka’s frustration before England finally ended their innings at 358, 122 ahead of Sri Lanka. The visitors then received a jolt just before the lunch break as they couldn’t negotiate those three tricky overs without damage. Chris Woakes bowled a beauty to knock over Nishan Madushka whereas Atkinson dismissed Kusal Mendis as both the batters went back without opening their accounts.
The experienced trio of Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal had a huge task in hand after that poor start. Karunaratne began the post-lunch session in positive fashion with a flurry of boundaries and Mathews looked steady at the other end. Their promising stand was broken only when England made bowling changes at both ends as Wood prized out Karunaratne with a short delivery. Wood caused more damage as Chandimal got hit on the thumb and was forced to retire hurt shortly.
Mathews at the other end looked unperturbed and even launched Shoaib Bashir for a six. Mathews found a reliable partner in the form of Kamindu Mendis as the pair first erased the deficit and gave Sri Lanka the lead. Mendis in particular looked in solid touch as Sri Lanka made it through to the drinks break in the final session without further damage. Luck appeared to favour the visitors as both the batters received reprieves at one point. But just when the lead past 50, Sri Lanka received a blow as Woakes ended Mathews’ resistance.
Milan Ratnayake, Sri Lanka’s hero with the bat in the first innings, couldn’t replicate his feats this time as he went for a needless slog against Joe Root, only to get a top edge. Mendis at the other brought up his fifty and the visitors were also boosted by Chandimal’s return to the crease following confirmation that he didn’t sustain a fracture. Chandimal rounded off the day with a boundary from the final ball and Sri Lanka would need a lot more of that on the fourth day in order to set the hosts a challenging target.
Day 4 Prediction for England and Sri Lanka
Jamie Smith leads the team off the field as the sparse crowd applaud rhythmically. Sri Lanka are effectively 82/6. England were a bit sloppy in the final session, dropping a couple of straightforward chances (Mathews on 65 and Kamindu Mendis on 39 – both off the bowling of Potts) and eventually, allowing the visitors build a slender lead.
Both Mathews and Mendis put up an inspired fight, getting involved in a 78-run stand association for the 6th wicket. It was around the 42nd over, the umpires changed the ball as the older one lost its shape. The changed ball certainly started to hoop and offered encouraging signs for the hosts, as Pope brought in his pacers to try and dislodge the partnership.
Mathews was picked up by Woakes and Ratnayake gifted his wicket away to Root after Wood hobbled off the field during his 11th over. Chandimal, who copped a blow to his thumb earlier in the day, will have to perhaps repeat his Galle (vs Australia in 2022) heroics to try and crush the opposition from here. His partner, Mendis, looks increasingly confident as well. Easier said than done. England will be raring to chew the tail up early on Day 4.
Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis hit fighting fifties for Sri Lanka on the third day at Old Trafford but England remained in control following another solid display with both bat and ball. Jamie Smith ensured England’s first innings lead went over 100 before the bowlers picked key wickets to put Sri Lanka under the pump. By stumps, the visitors had a lead of 82 but have only four more wickets to add to that on Day 4.