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Dhananjay De Silva and debutant fast bowler milan rathnayake The duo scored superb half-centuries as Sri Lanka recovered from a dramatic top-order collapse to register a big win on the opening day of the first Test against England at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Sri Lanka were 6-3 after skipper de Silva won the toss and lost their first three wickets in 10 balls for no run.
Nevertheless they were bowled out for 236, with de Silva top-scoring with 74 and tailender Rathnayake making 72, his third first-class half-century.
The pair put on 63 for the eighth wicket to halt England’s progress, and no other Sri Lankan batsman scored more. Kusal Mendis24. “The captain wanted me to stay there and support him,” No. 9 Rathnayake told reporters, speaking through a translator after stumps. “That’s what I did and when he got out, I played my natural game.”
Chris Woakes He picked up two wickets in one over to finish with 3-32 in 11 overs. De Silva’s brilliant innings came to an end when he edged a fast delivery from off-spinner Shoaib Bashir straight into his hands. Dan Lawrence The 20-year-old, batting at leg slip, took 3 for 55 in 23 overs.
‘Good day’ for England
Ben Duckett and Lawrence was called back to replace the wounded Jack CrowleyThat gave England a 22-0 lead before bad light ended the day’s play at 5:52 pm (1652 GMT). “I think it’s a good day,” said Woakes, now the leader of England’s attack. james anderson“I don’t want to talk about his retirement,” he told Sky Sports.
“When you bowl on a Test surface like this on day one, then be batting at the end of the day I think you are really happy.
“It would have been nice to get them out earlier but because of the poor light we couldn’t get our fast bowlers in to bowl them out in the final overs.”
Sri Lanka’s opening defeat ensured a dream start for England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope, who was leading his country for the first time. ben stokes He was ruled out because of a torn hamstring.
The visitors, playing their first Test in England in eight years, had played just one practice match – a defeat to second-string England Lions – and it soon became apparent that some of their batsmen should have spent more time on the field.
Surprising recession
Sri Lanka’s downfall began in the sixth over when Dimuth Karunaratne Hook on a delivery from a fast bowler and the ball was made to go up Gus Atkinson to the wicket keeper jamie smithWoakes took two wickets in the next over. Nishan MadushkaThe other opener, driving loosely at an outswinger and getting the edge Joe Root He was caught at first slip for four runs.
Five balls later, angelo mathews He was trapped LBW without playing a shot off a Woakes delivery that was moving back off the pitch. In contrast, Mendis could do little more than hold on to a superb 93 mph (150 km/h) delivery. Mark Wood Which bounced from short length to second slip.
However, de Silva hit a boundary off Atkinson to complete a brilliant half-century off just 56 balls. He was given a reprieve on 65 when Smith missed a difficult stumping chance off Basheer but was dismissed soon after to leave Sri Lanka at 176-8.
Nevertheless, the 28-year-old Rathnayake remained unperturbed by his captain’s death, scoring a half-century off 96 balls when the left-hander smashed a straight six off Bashir to take Sri Lanka past 200.
Basheer, however, got his revenge when Rathnayake edged him to Woakes at mid-on. There was a minute’s applause in his honour before play resumed. Graham ThorpeThe former England batsman and assistant coach, along with both teams as well as the match officials wore black armbands in his honour.
Thorpe died after being hit by a train earlier this month at the age of 55. His wife Amanda confirmed he committed suicide after suffering from depression for several years.
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