That’s it for our coverage of the second Test at Lord’s. It dragged on a bit, almost going to a fifth day, but England got there in the end. Thanks for your company – see you at the Oval.
Updated
Ollie Pope’s verdict
Really happy to go 2-0 up in the series. There were some special individual performances and some good contributions throughout the side.
This week was very different to last week in terms of the modes of dismissal. At Lord’s you’re always in the game with the slope so it’s about getting creative and putting people in different catching positions.
[On his 0/8 DRS record] They’re not going my way at the moment! What I would say is that I’d rather use them than have three at the end of the innings.
Gus was a standout and will rightly get all the attention. But even the way Matt Potts and Olly Stone played – those contributions down the order can win you Test matches.
We’ve got a few Surrey boys so we’re looking forward to playing at the Oval. It should be a good week.
Dhananjaya de Silva’s reaction
[On the decision to bowl first] The top order was struggling a bit and I wanted to let them see what the pitch was doing before we batted, but that didn’t work out at all.
[Kamindu Mendis] has been awesome, a really positive sign for us.
We have to do better if we want to win the final Test. We need to be at our best in all three departments.
The player of the match is… Gus Atkinson
I couldn’t have asked for much more; to get on both honours boards is incredible and it’ll take a bit of time to sink in. Joe has been excellent this week and it was special batting alongside him in the first innings.
[What is it about Lord’s?] I’m not really sure. They’re my first red-ball games at Lord’s. I enjoy bowling with the slope and it’s gone pretty well. Long may it continue.
It’s great to be able to attack and not worry about runs. Physically it can be demanding, being aggressive every over, but I’m enjoying it very much.
The winning moment
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 1, 2024
England take an unassailable 2-0 lead with one Test to play. It’s a pretty good win, especially as they were in a bit of bother on the first day. The stars were Joe Root and Gus Atkinson, who is encouraged by Root to lead England off the field. Nice guys do finish first sometimes.
The strongest part of the performance was probably the seam attack, who shared 17 wickets and all brought something slightly different to the table. Root carried the batting as only he can, and the only real negatives are the form of Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope. They’ll have another chance at The Oval later in the week.
Another series win! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/KTtJCnjoV8
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 1, 2024
Updated
ENGLAND WIN BY 190 RUNS AND WIN THE SERIES!
WICKET! Sri Lanka 292 all out (Kumara c Stone b Woakes 10) All over. Chris Woakes, who used to be the king of Lord’s until Gus Atkinson appeared, takes the final wicket when Kumara chips an inswinger high to mid-on.
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86th over: Sri Lanka 288-9 (Kumara 6, Avisha 0) Gus Atkinson has grown up a helluva lot since his Cricinfo profile picture was taken. In his first summer of Test cricket he has taken 33 wickets at 18, and he’s average 33 with the bat as well.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 288-9 (Rathnayake c Smith b Atkinson 43)
Another five-for for Gus Atkinson at Lord’s! This is getting really very silly. Rathnayeke hammered successive fours and then bottom-edged a pull through to Jamie Smith. Atkinson raises the ball a little modestly to the crowd; it’s his 19th wicket in two Lord’s Tests, and there are rumours of a Test century as well. What a charming little tale it is.
Updated
85th over: Sri Lanka 280-8 (Rathnayake 35, Kumara 6) Woakes toys with the No10 Kumara, beating him twice outside off stump. Kumara smiles at the futility of it all, then pulls stylishly through midwicket for four. Shot!
Incidentally, Atkinson’s bowling average at Lord’s (11.11) is currently lower than Glenn McGrath’s, and he basically owned the place between 1997 and 2005.
84th over: Sri Lanka 276-8 (Rathnayake 35, Kumara 2) This shouldn’t take long now, although Rathnayake will have his eye on another Test fifty.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 273-8 (Dhananjaya b Atkinson 50)
Gus Atkinson could be about to trouble the engravers again. He’s taken his fourth wicket of the innings, bowling the Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva. It was a decent delivery - bowled stump on stump on a hard, good length - and Dhananjaya dragged a defensive stroke back onto his stumps. He looks suspiciously at the pitch; maybe it kept a touch low but no more than that.
Updated
83rd over: Sri Lanka 273-7 (Dhananjaya 50, Rathnayake 34) A maiden from Woakes to Rathnayake.. Meanwhile…
“Farhan Ahmed’s extraordinary performance against Surrey at the tender age of 16 breaks a remarkable record, perhaps the longest-standing record of all time,” says Chris Bourne. “He’s now the youngest player to take ten wickets in a first-class match in England since that precocious whipper-snapper W G Grace back in 1865. How long will it be before we see him joining his big brother Rehan in an England XI? You’d need a skipper who wants two spin bowlers in the team at once: we might have to wait for our next tour in India.”
I’m confused: did he break the record or does WG still hold it?
82nd over: Sri Lanka 273-7 (Dhananjaya 50, Rathnayake 34) Dhananjaya times Atkinson down the ground for three to bring up a confident, dignified fifty from 68 balls. Rathnayake drives through extra cover four and is then dropped by Root at first slip. It was essentially a sitter but I think Root was beaten by the lack of pace and the ball looped towards him in slow motion. He’d still take it eight or nine times out of ten.
81st over: Sri Lanka 265-7 (Dhananjaya 47, Rathnayake 29) Rathnayake treats the new ball just like the old one, driving Woakes stylishly through extra cover for three. England will probably win this series 3-0 but have found a decent player in Rathnayake.
“Whoever is writing the script has set this up perfectly for Gus to take the last three wickets with a hat trick to finish the match,” says Kim Thonger. “A finale worth of Succession.”
Chris Woakes has the second new ball in his hand, which means only one thing.
Tea: Sri Lanka need 223 runs to win
80th over: Sri Lanka 260-7 (Dhananjaya 44, Rathnayake 26) A nice delivery from Bashir hits Dhananjaya high on the bat a5d loops down the ground for a single. There was never much chance of a catch but it was a lovely bit of flight. That’s tea. Sri Lanka are almost certainly going to lose the game, but they’re making England earn it and have won the second innings for whatever that’s worth.
“Yes,” says Gary Naylor, “it’s England vs Sri Lanka and the spinner with the most bizarre action is... English.”
78th over: Sri Lanka 258-7 (Dhananjaya 44, Rathnayake 25) Dan Lawrence comes on to bowl his unusual offspin. He turns the ball a fair way, particularly for an occasional spinner, and one such delivery beats everyone on its way for four byes. That’s a pretty good over actually, including a couple of deliveries that Dhananjaya inside-edges onto the pad. Lawrence is definitely an option at No7 if there are turning pitches in Pakistan later in the year.
Rathnayake is not out! Ollie Pope is now 0/8 on reviews, but at least there are no more he can lose in this innings. Rathnayake pushed defensively at a ball from Bashir that skidded straight on from round the wicket. England were convinced but it didn’t straighten enough, or indeed at all, and would just have missed leg stump.
England review for LBW against Rathnayake!
I’m not sure this is out, though it is close.
Updated
77th over: Sri Lanka 249-7 (Dhananjaya 42, Rathnayake 22) A slightly weary short ball from Stone is pulled languidly for four by Dhananjaya. Yeah, Stone has flogged himself into the ground. Later in the over he sends down a wide half-volley that is belted to the extra cover boundary by Rathnayake. He’s such a good lower-order batter.
76th over: Sri Lanka 240-7 (Dhananjaya 37, Rathnayake 18) Bashir returns in place of Potts, who will be needed with the new ball if Atkinson stays off the field. I don’t think he’s back on, though I wouldn’t put the farm on it.
Bashir starts around the wicket to the right-handed Dhananjaya with a slip, leg slip and short leg. Dhananjaya hammers a sweep or four, then skids back to glide three more to third man. Brook did extremely well to save the boundary.
75th over: Sri Lanka 231-7 (Dhananjaya 28, Rathnayake 18) The timing of tea is good for England, with the new ball due almost straight after the break. Stone almost gets the eighth wicket with a ball that keeps low to beat Rathnayake and fan the off stump; Rathnayake then misses an attempted pull down the leg side.
Late Gate Tickets available 🎟️
— Lord's Cricket Ground (@HomeOfCricket) September 1, 2024
From 15.45 today, tickets to watch the rest of today's play will be available to purchase online or from the North Gate at £15 for adults and £5 for U16's ⤵️
Please note there are no refunds for late gate tickets.
Click here to buy:… pic.twitter.com/mEbEMyQmnF
74th over: Sri Lanka 230-7 (Dhananjaya 27, Rathnayake 18) A maiden from Potts to the boy Rathnayake.
Updated
73rd over: Sri Lanka 230-7 (Dhananjaya 27, Rathnayake 18) Rathnayake, a brave and talented lower-order batter, belts Stone for three boundaries in four balls: a top-edged pull, a smooth cut and an even smoother swivel-pull. Ricky Ponting would have been happy with that last shot.
Updated
72nd over: Sri Lanka 217-7 (Dhananjaya 27, Rathnayake 5) Potts replaces Atkinson, who has gone off the field for a minute, and has an appeal for a leg-side catch turned down. Dhananjaya flicked across the line, and there was certainly a noise, but Pope decides not to risk his last review. Good decision: it brushed the pad.
Dhananjaya ends the over with a beautiful drive over mid-on for four, holding the pose like any self-respecting stylist.
Incidentally tea is at 4.10pm.
Updated
71st over: Sri Lanka 213-7 (Dhananjaya 23, Rathnayake 5) Dhananjaya sways back in his crease to uppercut Stone expertly for four. I guess it helps when you know what’s coming but it was still a very skilful shot.
In case you missed it, Rehan Ahmed’s younger brother Farhan has taken a ten-for on his County Championship debut for Nottinghamshire. Aged 16, against the best team in the country, AGED 16.
70th over: Sri Lanka 205-7 (Dhananjaya 17, Rathnayake 3) Rathnayake is fine to continue and decides to take on the short ball, pulling Atkinson for a single. Nothing else to report.
69th over: Sri Lanka 203-7 (Dhananjaya 16, Rathnayake 2) Stone comes on for Bashir, which suggests England want to get Sri Lanka out of there as soon as possible. The pitch is two-paced, which is both a blessing and a curse for batsmen trying to deal with a bumper barrage, and Rathnayake is hit nastily on the helmet as he tries to duck a bouncer that doesn’t get up. He looks okay but there will be a concussion test.
Updated
68th over: Sri Lanka 200-7 (Dhananjaya 15, Rathnayake 0) The replays show that the ball from Atkinson wasn’t really full enough to drive, but England encouraged Mendis by leaving a big gap in the covers. Good captaincy, and another round-the-wicket dismissal for Kamindu.
“After the gripping Root-watches of this Test, I’m now hooked on his Test catches for an outfielder tally,” writes Matt Williams. “He’s in third all-time at 200, second is 205 and the record is Rahul Dravid with 210. Every wicket now I’m hoping for a Root catch.”
WICKET! Sri Lanka 200-7 (Kamindu c Duckett b Atkinson 4)
Kamindu Mendis has failed! Repeat: Kamindu Mendis has failed! He flashed outside off at Atkinson, bowling round the wicket, and snicked to Duckett at second slip. It was a good, sharp catch to give Atkinson yet another Lord’s wicket: he now has 17 at an average of 11.
Updated
67th over: Sri Lanka 195-6 (Dhananjaya 15, Kamindu 4) Dhananjaya drags Bashir over wide mid-on for four, a slightly mistimed stroke but perfectly safe. That, ladies and germs, is drinks.
Updated
66th over: Sri Lanka 195-6 (Dhananjaya 11, Kamindu 3) Those hard-earned, old-ball wickets will give Atkinson such satisfaction. In his short Test career he’s demonstrated a wicket-taking range that is hugely exciting for England.
The new batsman will be the hardest wicket of all to earn: Kamindu drives his first ball breezily through mid-on for three.
Updated
WICKET! Sri Lanka 192-6 (Chandimal c Lawrence b Atkinson 58)
Excellent bowling and planning from England. Atkinson nips a fullish delivery back into Chandimal, who gets a thick inside edge onto the pad. The ball loops up and is easily caught by Lawrence at short leg.
Updated
65th over: Sri Lanka 192-5 (Chandimal 58, Dhananjaya 11) Dhananjaya sweeps Bashir this far short of Stone, diving forward at backward square leg, then slaps a boundary through the covers. Bashir, always looking for an angle, switches to round the wicket for the last two balls of the over. Good contest, this.
64th over: Sri Lanka 187-5 (Chandimal 57, Dhananjaya 7) Cheers Jim, afternoon all. This is another useful lesson for England’s young attack, far more beneficial than rolling Sri Lanka for 120. The more hard yakka in the next 18 months the better. Atkinson hustles through a wicket-to-wicket over that yields four singles.
Updated
63rd over: Sri Lanka 183-5 (Chandimal 55, Dhananjaya 5) Just a single off Bashir from Dhananjaya. Gus Atkinson is replacing Chris Woakes and it is time for Rob Smyth to replace me, thanks for your company and correspondence. Over to you Rob!
62nd over: Sri Lanka 182-5 (Chandimal 55, Dhananjaya 4) Chris Woakes, the Solihull Metronome sends down his seventh maiden.
Updated
61st over: Sri Lanka 182-5 (Chandimal 55, Dhananjaya 4) Dhananjaya uses his feet to dance down and loft Bashir for four. That’s one way to get off the mark. Sri Lanka are trying to find the balance between attack and defence.
Updated
60th over: Sri Lanka 178-5 (Chandimal 55, Dhananjaya 0) Chandimal continues on his merry way, driving Woakes uppishly through extra-cover for four. HUGE APPEAL! Woakes nips one back into Chandimal and it is given out on the field by Umpire Reiffel. This just looks out. Oh. What do I know? Nuthin. The DRS shows a tiny spike as the ball passed the bat and so the decision is reversed and Chandimal survives. England are nonplussed, they were convinced they had their man.
59th over: Sri Lanka 174-5 (Chandimal 51, Dhananjaya 0) Brilliant wicket maiden by the increasingly impressive Shoaib Bashir. Dan Lawrence gives the spinner a playful hair ruffle to show his thanks. Dhananjaya de Silva arrives in the middle with plenty to do.
WICKET! Mathews c Woakes b Shoaib Bashir 36 (Sri Lanka 174-5)
Well bowled Shoaib Bashir! The young spinner kept Mathews tied down and then went around the wicket, tossing the ball up with his fielders up and Mathews couldn’t resist taking him on. Mathews didn’t get a decent piece of it and could only find Chris Woakes at mid on. England prise out the wicket and need five more to win.
58th over: Sri Lanka 174-4 (Matthews 36, Chandimal 51) Chandimal is living by the seat of his undercrackers! He edges for four wide of the slips off Woakes and then tries to flick over the leg side extravagantly, a leading edge soaring over the slips for four more. Half century for Chandimal off just 42 balls. Punchy.
57th over: Sri Lanka 166-4 (Matthews 36, Chandimal 43) Chandimal is playing the role of aggressor and Mathews the anchor, three swept off Bashir by the former to bring up the fifty partnership by this pair.
Updated
56th over: Sri Lanka 163-4 (Matthews 36, Chandimal 40) Chris Woakes to Angelo Mathews. Maiden over. Nasser Hussain on the tv commentary cheekily suggest England might be looking for change of ball. Safe to say Mathews was ticking about this very issue duriung the Old Trafford Test last week.
55th over: Sri Lanka 163-4 (Matthews 36, Chandimal 40) Chandimal is happy to play his strokes, he takes three boundaries off Bashir. The spinner throws up the ball above the eyeline but is driven through the covers twice and swept away. The ball went in the air from all three shots but safely in the gap.
54th over: Sri Lanka 151-4 (Matthews 36, Chandimal 28) Woakes delivers a maiden to Angelo Mathews.
53rd over: Sri Lanka 151-4 (Matthews 36, Chandimal 28) Five dots from Bashir to Chandimal before another aggressive stroke to finish the over, Chandimal pouncing on a whiff of a leg-side line and sweeping away in the gap for four.
52nd over: Sri Lanka 147-4 (Matthews 36, Chandimal 24) Chris Woakes from the other end with a leg side trap in place… close! Chandimal throws the kitchen sink, kettle and fridge at a wide full ball and just clears the diving man at point. The next ball nearly sees him caught down the leg side off the face of the bat but the ball flies wide of the leg gully and away for the second boundary of the over. Risky business from Chandimal.
Updated
51st over: Sri Lanka 138-4 (Matthews 36, Chandimal 15)
The players emerge for the afternoon session, Shoaib Bashir is going to start with the ball with England needing six more wickets for victory.
Angelo Mathews clips a couple off his pad down past the leg slip to open the scoring in the afternoon.
Updated
Oh, just leaving this here:
Worth adding, Lord’s reported a profit of £67.8m last year, up 15% from the previous 12 months.
— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) September 1, 2024
Lunch - Sri Lanka 136-4
A morning of resilience shown by Sri Lanka, England had to graft for their two wickets in the session. Potts nearly picked up another on the stroke of lunch by luring Chandimal into a loose drive but fortunately for the batter he connected only with only fresh London air.
LUNCH 🍽️
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 1, 2024
Sri Lanka 136-4 🇱🇰🏴 pic.twitter.com/cJzY9vp1rT
50th over: Sri Lanka 136-4 (Matthews 34, Chandimal 15)
Updated
49th over: Sri Lanka 133-4 (Matthews 33, Chandimal 13) Chandimal shows all of his class by standing tall and punching Stone for four off the back foot. We’ll have one more before the delayed lunch break as we make up time for yesterday.
48th over: Sri Lanka 125-4 (Matthews 32, Chandimal 6) Potts is called back by Pope. He pitches one up to new batter Chandimal who plays with real timing to drive down the ground for four.
47th over: Sri Lanka 120-4 (Mathews 32, Chandimal 1) Dinesh Chandimal is the new batter and he get off the mark in the most curious fashion – evading a Stone one first up the ball hits his bat in a vertical periscope position and runs away behind square. That could have gone anywhere.
Stone is bowling well here. Another short ball is swivelled away by Matthews but hew wasn’t in control of it and the ball narrowly evades Ben Duckett at leg-gully. We’ve got ten minutes or so until lunch, England would dearly love another before then.
Updated
WICKET! Karunaratne c Smith b Stone 55 (Sri Lanka 115-4)
Olly Stone gets the breakthrough! A well directed 87mph short ball raps Karunaratne on the glove and goes through to Jamie Smith. England needed that, it was just starting to get a little bit flat out there.
Updated
46th over: Sri Lanka 114-3 (Karunaratne 55, Mathews 27) Bashir is varying his pace well to keep the Sri Lanka batters on their toes. All the while he chews his gum like a young Sam Allardyce and looks completely unfazed.
Updated
45th over: Sri Lanka 111-3 (Karunaratne 53, Mathews 26) Sri Lanka knuckle down still further, a couple off Stone’s latest.
Elsewhere…
Sensational https://t.co/voT2n2zAA6
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) September 1, 2024
Updated
44th over: Sri Lanka 109-3 (Karunaratne 52, Mathews 25) Anglelo Matthews releases some pressure with a powerful slog sweep for four. Bashir throws his head back, he knows that if the batter missed that then he was stone dead LBW.
Plenty of you coming off the long run vis a vis Lord’s ticket prices. James Syme writes that – “It’s also just terrible economics: there’s a huge difference between average ticket price and average revenue per attendee. Lord’s crowds typically spend a fortune on food, drink and merch, and (like Ryanair), a business with high fixed costs and high revenue per user needs to be sold out.
There’s also the sporting element in that, if this were to get tight, England would want a twelfth man in the footballing sense, dragging them towards the win.”
And here’s James Taylor:
“I live in North London and was seriously considering going down to the match today but £95 is seriously obstructive. When you factor in drink and food and travel (minimal though that may be) you’re looking at £150 each easily. As per one of your earlier contributors why the MCC can’t lower prices when they have so many tickets available is beyond me.
If they want to spread the appeal of the game they are going about it, putting it kindly, in an exclusionary way. Get bums on seats and it not only makes them money but also enhances the atmosphere in the ground. Stinks of exceptionalism to me.”
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43rd over: Sri Lanka 103-3 (Karunaratne 51, Mathews 20) Olly Stone replaces Matthew Potts and sends down some short stuff. England having to dig in here as they continue to seek the breakthrough. The partnership from this pair heads into its second hour and 18th over.
It’s been bugging me who Matthew Potts reminds me of and I think I’ve cracked it; Henry V. pic.twitter.com/GYNbo5cU0n
— daniel norcross (@norcrosscricket) September 1, 2024
Maybe Potts’ hairdoo has more historical influences than Paul Mescal?
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42nd over: Sri Lanka 102-3 (Karunaratne 51, Mathews 19) Bashir gives a couple of deliveries some air and slides a few onwards. A yelp or two of excitement as Karunaratne and Mathews play him from the back foot in front of the stumps. Good resistance this from Sri Lanka.
Updated
41st over: Sri Lanka 101-3 (Karunaratne 51, Mathews 18) Potts keeps things tight, just a Mathews inside edge for one off the over.
“On the subject of the sparse crowd - my father & brother in law took our youngest and his cousin to Lords yesterday” emails Andy Townsend. “Tickets for all four cost £350. The boys tickets were £15. Throw in a beer at £9.50 a pint and a cardboard tray of mediocre chicken wings and chips at £15 and thats easily a £400+ day out. It was a great day to be there but was it worth that much..? Our astute 15 year old described it as a “ toff rinsing machine “. I don’t think the Northamptonshire father in law will ever get over the beer prices.”
‘Toff rinsing machine’. There’s a spot on the Guardian’s OBO for your young lad one day, Andy.
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40th over: Sri Lanka 100-3 (Karunaratne 51, Mathews 17) Bashir probes away with catchers on the leg side. A single to each batter sees Sri Lanka bring up their hundred. 3.8 more of those and they’ve done it. Simple.
£95 for adult day 4 tickets at Lords v Sri Lanka (with huge respect) and people wonder why it’s empty?! Sports tickets/concert tickets/train tickets/eating out. The screwing of the British punter is seemingly never-ending…
— Mark Pougatch (@markpougatch) September 1, 2024
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39th over: Sri Lanka 98-3 (Karunaratne 50, Mathews 16) Potts is looking dangerous when he pushes the ball a bit fuller, a shorter ball dies on the surface on the way through to Jamie Smith. A maiden.
"There's no point people banging on about Test cricket and how wonderful it is when this is the scene. If the Home of Cricket on a day like this is virtually deserted, then what's the message?"
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) September 1, 2024
Strong words from Aggers on the crowd size and Lord's ticket prices.#bbccricket pic.twitter.com/w3Nr454HfS
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38th over: Sri Lanka 98-3 (Karunaratne 50, Mathews 16) Bashir again in hot September sun. Just a Mathews single. Lord’s does look a picture, probably due to the sunlight bouncing off the empty seats…
“I’m similarly exasperated at the ticket pricing James” writes Guy Hornsby.
“I know Lord’s will say that these are the prices for games, but there’s a realism needed here, that not all opposition are the same. I don’t think it’s an insult to Sri Lanka to acknowledge that either. I’d imagine they’d want a full ground (at, say £30 a ticket for Day 4) than a few thousand in, when both make the same cash for the MCC. But it’s obviously bigger than that: the MCC and ECB can’t claim to grow the game then all charge most adults well over £100 a ticket irrespective of the opposition. It just jars, and they’ll have known in advance what ticket sales were. I went to Old Trafford last week and it was £55 for a decent ticket that would be double in North West London. It just doesn’t make sense, whatever the prestige of Lord’s to players and fans. It’s tone deaf.”
Let’s hope the powers that be are following the OBO. You’d hope others are in their ear about this right now too.
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37th over: Sri Lanka 97-3 (Karunaratne 50, Mathews 15) Potts begins after the electrolytes have been slurped and there’s nearly another run out between this pair! Chaotic running from experienced Sri Lankan heads.
Gary Naylor is one of plenty emailing in with a solution to the high ticket prices that currently sees Lord’s sitting more than half empty with England looking to press for Test match victory.
“The solution to the tickets problem is dynamic pricing. It gets a bad rap, but anyone who remembers how much they paid to sit on a half-empty plane in the 90s, will understand how pricing tix to sell every seat can lower prices. If punters want a guaranteed spot, they can go online and pay the £95 in March and plan a Saturday evening in Regent’s Park watching Fiddler on the Roof and a Sunday afternoon round the corner at Lord’s. But if someone else looks at the weather forecast and is at a loose end on a late summer Sunday, why can’t they buy a seat for £30? There’s thousands available.”
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36th over: Sri Lanka 95-3 (Karunaratne 50, Mathews 14) Shoaib Bashir comes on for a twirl, the first sight of spin as we tick into the second hour. Shot! Mathews dances down and drives through mid on to pick up four.
Time for a drink, Sri Lanka making England work hard. Just one wicket – that of Jayasuriya the nightwatchman - in the first hour.
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35th over: Sri Lanka 91-3 (Karunaratne 50, Mathews 10) Dimuth Karunaratne opens the face to glide Potts away for four and then runs the single he needs to go to fifty. A very small celebration and then very nearly a run out off the final ball! Mathews belatedly called for a third run down to third and his partner has to motor to make his ground, Jamie Smith gathered the throw and whipped off the bails. The replays show the batter made it by a quarter of his blade. Too close for comfort.
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34th over: Sri Lanka 82-3 (Karunaratne 45, Mathews 6) Stone goes back of a length and even shorter as England try a new tactic and spread the field on the leg-side. Stone has lost a touch of pace since suffering those horrible back injuries. It’s a testament to him that he is back out there at all in an England Test shirt.
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33rd over: Sri Lanka 80-3 (Karunaratne 44, Mathews 5) Potts continues, Mescal-esque mullet blowing in the breeze. Am I right in thinking the long bit of a mullet is called a ‘cheddar’… or am I just getting peckish? Karunaratne takes a solitary single to cover off the over.
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32nd over: Sri Lanka 79-3 (Karunaratne 43, Mathews 5) Stone is over the wicket to a packed cordon. Mathews gets a leading edge on a back of a length delivery but it evades the fielders and he picks up a couple of runs.
“Hello Jim, is there another captain to challenge the unenviable record of losing 7 reviews on the trot?”
I feel like there must be (Maybe another Joe Root record?) and will try and look it up shortly unless the OBO hive-mind can send in the answer… anybody?
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31st over: Sri Lanka 77-3 (Karunaratne 43, Mathews 3) Matthew Potts replaces Woakes and the over sees a couple of singles, the first of which was a shocker and would have seen the demise of Karunaratne had Olly Stone’s throw hit the stumps as he swooped in from mid on. Hands on heads as the replay is shown on the big screen. Stone is now coming on for his first bowl of the morning. He could do with a few wickets to supplement his three in the match so far.
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30th over: Sri Lanka 75-3 (Karunaratne 42, Mathews 2) Dimuth Karunaratne says enough is enough and decides to throw the blade at a couple of Atkinson deliveries to get Sri Lanka moving. He picks up a beautiful boundary through the covers, bending the back knee and following through with a flourish. He then rocks back to pull a shorter ball square of the wicket for four more. Atkinson responds by nipping one away that Karunaratne follows, the ensuing edge flying wide of gully for the third boundary of the over.
They all count, well batted that man.
With that boundary off Atkinson, Dimuth Karunaratne has now become the fourth leading run scorer for Sri Lanka in Test match cricket. He’s gone past his coach Sanath Jayasuriya (6973).
— Rex Clementine (@RexClementine) September 1, 2024
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29th over: Sri Lanka 61-3 (Karunaratne 29, Mathews 1) England are well and truly putting the squeeze on. Woakes is probing away on a good length, honing in on the stumps and the front pad. Another maiden. The pressure cooker hisses at HQ.
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28th over: Sri Lanka 61-3 (Karunaratne 29, Mathews 1) Atkinson is finding some bounce off the custard cream coloured wicket, he reels off his third maiden of the morning.
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27th over: Sri Lanka 61-3 (Karunaratne 29, Mathews 1) Angelo Mathews is the new batter, this could well be his final innings at Lord’s. He tickles a single off his pads to keep strike for the next over.
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WICKET! Jayasuriya c Brook b Woakes 4 (Sri Lanka 60-3)
The pressure tells in the end! Light/ nightwatchman Jayasuriya goes for an expansive drive and serves only to get a meaty edge to Harry Brook in the cordon. Brook takes a sharp chance and England have their first of the day.
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26th over: Sri Lanka 60-2 (Karunaratne 29, Jayasuriya 4) Atkinson keeps the pressure on for England with another maiden but Ollie Pope loses another review, his seventh on the trot. England were confident Karunaratne got a tickle through to Jamie Smith attempting a cross batted shot to a back of a length delivery. Dan Lawrence at short leg was particularly convinced. The replays showed… zilch. Nada. Nowt. England lose their second review. Tricky this captaincy lark.
25th over: Sri Lanka 60-2 (Karunaratne 29, Jayasuriya 4) Woakes is nagging again, another maiden from the Wiz.
Here’s today’s overseas TMS link courtesy of Wayne Trotman: https://www.youtube.com/live/vyk5dzYTniQ
“What a glorious day to be at Lord’s” emails Tom Driscoll. “Took a glance at ticket prices for today - £95 for the cheapest adult ticket. It’s all fine to say kids’ tickets are £15 but when you consider that those kids will need at least one adult with them, the cost goes up exponentially. That’s before you start adding in travel costs and the prices of food and drinks (which is a separate issue in and of itself). The test grounds really do need to look at their ticket prices - I was recently at The Hundred finals and that ticket, in the top of the grandstand, was £55 for a day’s cricket (equivalent to roughly 66.4 overs). The same ticket costs £140 today. What is the difference in terms of the amount of cricket between the two days?
Nothing against Sri Lanka but they are not a box office team, and if Lord’s/the MCC/the ECB really cared about the future of Test cricket in this country they’d seriously be looking at their prices and working out how they can attract more people to Test matches like this one. Games against teams like Sri Lanka, West Indies and others should be perfect to bring youngsters along to because England should dominate those games, which excites the kids and makes them want to come back. You can see how much passion the players have for it but they will soon be playing in front of empty stadiums if their bosses are not careful.”
Articulately put, Tom. They definitely do need to look at this issue, it’s been rumbling for a number of years and simply isn’t good enough from a governing body that is responsible for growing the game.
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24th over: Sri Lanka 60-2 (Karunaratne 29, Jayasuriya 4)
Atkinson continues. Mike Atherton did an interesting segment on the Surrey bowler yesterday. He’s obviously has an incredible start to his Test career but his speeds have dropped off game on game. That will be something the England bowling coaches look. Atkinson’s won’t have experienced such high intensity workloads before and will need to be looked after. He will also be desperate to play a first Test match on his home ground next week.
Drop! Karunaratne cuts another rising ball from Atkinson and Root spills a hard chance in the slips. Tough chance that flew quickly but Root did get a good hand to it. He punches the turf in frustration as the ball whistles away to the boundary.
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23rd over: Sri Lanka 55-2 (Karunaratne 25, Jayasuriya 3) Woakes sends down a maiden of his own, stitching together six balls outside off stump with a hint of movement back in. Karunaratne defends solidly.
Honestly, more embarrassing than Oasis because at least a governing body isn’t desperate to get people interested in Oasis. https://t.co/LwC53nsUX8
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) September 1, 2024
Not many shadows being cast by supporters at Lord’s today.
22nd over: Sri Lanka 55-2 (Karunaratne 25, Jayasuriya 3) Gus Atkinson, with his chlorine affected stylishly bleached hairdo, from the other end. Jayasuriya is still there after coming in as a light/nightwatchman at about 4pm yesterday in the gloom. He does well not to glove a couple of sharply lifting balls from Atkinson. Decent bounce on this four day wicket. A maiden from Gus-Gus.
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21st over: Sri Lanka 55-2 (Karunaratne 25, Jayasuriya 3) Chris Woakes gets the day started, Karunaratne flicks off his pads and down the slope for a couple to open the scoring.
Close! Woakes then spears one into Karunaratne’s back pad and England like the look of it… Umpire Reiffel says Not Out on the field but Pope gives the T-sign and calls for a review. Ah – the DRS shows that the ball pitched outside leg and so that’s the end of that. England lose a review in their first over.
The players head out onto the field under sunny skies at an extremely sparsely populated Lord’s. That could have *something* to do with this…
Cheapest adult ticket today - £95 🤷🏿♂️ pic.twitter.com/2CLp7V8LTl
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) September 1, 2024
That story about Root not being able to hit it off the square when he was a stripling comes from a book he put out back in 2015. I mined it a few years back for some nice bits of detail to accompany a piece about how he always finds a way with the bat.
A century Down Under is the final piece of the puzzle for Root, there’ll be no question of him hanging up his cap until he’s had another crack down there at the end of next year.
An 11-year-old boy wears his cap everywhere, pulled low down over his brow, all the better for displaying the white rose stitched above his eyeline. He wears it when he accompanies his mum, Helen, around the shops in Sheffield. He wears it when he goes with his younger brother, Billy, to watch his dad, Matthew, play at the local cricket club. Being the older brother, the boy bats first, in his cap, while his brother bowls at him on the boundary edge.
A few months later the headwear in question, a Yorkshire schoolboy’s cricket cap, is still firmly perched atop the boy’s bright blond hair on a family trip to Trent Bridge to watch Nasser Hussain’s England play India. It’s still there after the close of play as he waits with his mum in the car park for the players to emerge. One of them, Craig White, notices the small boy’s head gear.
“Is that a Yorkshire cap?” White asks the lad. “Yes it is” replies the boy, beaming underneath its brim. “Brilliant,” White shoots back. “Maybe one day you’ll get to play with me.”
Five years later the boy, now a few inches taller but still small for his age, is about to make his debut for Yorkshire’s second XI. White is also playing. The boy plucks up the courage to remind White of their previous encounter. White is kind but it is clear he doesn’t remember. The boy does. It’s a special moment in the early age of Joe Root.”
“Hi James, thank you for steering us through the morning.”
Pleasure Rob Durbin. Thanks for tuning in.
“My aging memory may be playing me false but I’m pretty sure that in 2004 the visitors were New Zealand and West Indies and England won all seven tests. So don’t think Vaughan got his two centuries against India unless it was in their previous tour in 2002.”
You are absolutely right Rob. I stand corrected (‘said the man in the orthopaedic shoes’) Vaughan got a ton in each innings against West Indies in 2004 after having a batting mirabilis in 2002. He didn’t even get man of the match either – The King of Spain took nine wickets to pip him to that accolade.
Incidentally, 2004 was the last summer in which England’s men won every single home Test, a feat they can repeat with victory here and at the Oval next week.
“Worried” emails Nick Way. “Am I the only one not taking this victory for granted? It’s a monstrous (and unprecedented) target, but if anyone could chase it down, it would be Matthews, Chandimal and Mendis, so while any of those are still at the crease, England shouldn’t be complacent.”
Worried wouldn’t be the word I use Nick. If Chandimal, Matthews, Mendis and whoever else come to the party with the bat today then it will be great to watch. At the moment, I’m more worried for anyone with day five tickets though.
Simon Burnton took at a rubbish shot selfless approach from Ollie Pope:
What Pope needed in this situation was clear: any kind of score, at any kind of speed, that would keep his critics quiet and let him see out the remainder of his three-game captaincy in peace and in credit – and in doing so position himself as the obvious candidate when England are next in need of a full-time leader. But what his team wanted was something different: runs at decent pace, and for their lead to grow quickly enough to allow them to end their innings in the mid-afternoon, to profit from the best bowling conditions of the match, and to be on the golf course by Monday. And Pope chose team.
In his first press conference as captain, Ben Stokes described his vision for the side: “In terms of on-the-field stuff, a great starting point for me is I want to have selfless cricketers who make decisions based on what they can do to win a game.” The manner in which he lost his wicket was a failure for Pope, but it was also an affirmation, proof of something. It was a poor shot, accomplishing the unlikely task of taking a crowded leg-side field out of play only to perfectly find the solitary deep fielder on the off. But attempting it was so obviously against his interest that he has to emerge with some kind of credit.”
Catch up on our reports from yesterday’s history making day at Lord’s.
Ali Martin focused on Root:
In his current form, there is every chance. Since that third Test against India in February, when his reverse scooped demise triggered a series-defining collapse and an outcry with it, Root has compiled 884 runs in 12 innings at an average of 88.4 and in gimlet-eyed, albeit easy-on-the-eye fashion. The reverse scoop came out here – fresh air met when he was on 69 – but that day in Rajkot has increasingly felt like a pivot point in the 33-year-old’s relationship with so-called Bazball.
Root is too selfless a cricketer to get full-blown tunnel vision, but his hunger since has seldom felt greater. Following that crucial 143 on day one, this was the first time Root has made a century in both innings of a Test and by doing so at Lord’s, where feats seem to take on an even greater significance, he joined an elite club that featured George Headley (106 & 107 in 1939), Graham Gooch (333 & 123 in 1990) and Michael Vaughan (103 & 101* in 2004). Root also went past the latter pair for Test centuries in NW8 by turning a joint-record six into an outright record seven.”
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Preamble
“Quite simply England’s greatest” Sir Alastair Cook had no qualms about anointing Joe Root thus after the latter went one better than his former captain and teammate in notching up an incredible 34th century in Test match cricket at Lord’s yesterday.
In scoring both his 33rd and 34th tons on the hallowed and sloping turf, Root became the first Englishman in two decades to do the double at HQ. Michael Vaughan was the last, in 2004 against India West Indies. The 2005 Ashes winning England captain also called Root England’s greatest player* after his record-breaking exploits yesterday.
Root himself was having none of it.
“They’re all things you want to try and put to the back of your mind and just concentrate on what’s next,” he said to the press after stumps. “It’s nice to get the plaudits like that off two of England’s greatest players. But I feel like there’s a lot more work to be done and a lot more to contribute. When that peters out, I guess I’ll start thinking about that then.”
England will look to wrap up the match and series today, they need to take eight wickets in order to do so. The Oval will host the final Test of the English summer next week and - what do you know – the south London ground may well witness another slice of English cricket history.
Alastair Cook’s 12,472 runs put him as the highest runs scorer for England in Test cricket, Root needs 96 more runs to eclipse his lantern jawed former teammate (once again) and go to the top of the pile. Not bad for a slight kid from Sheffield who couldn’t hit the ball off the square for much of his youth.
The perfect angle of Joe Root's record-breaking century doesn't exis- pic.twitter.com/zXeojPXpF0
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 31, 2024
Play begins today at 11am, do drop us a line with your thoughts on the golden genius of Joseph Edward Root or, within reason, anything else, the OBO mailbag is open.
*Vaughan did also call Oasis Britain’s greatest ever band earlier in the week, but, well – Whatever.
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