There has been a distinct end‑of‑term feel about England in this Test, an early loosening of the tie before the final school bell rings. And having gone into it hoping to secure what would be their first perfect home summer for 20 years with a sixth successive win, Sri Lanka are now poised to deny them full marks.
Things were certainly shaping up that way at the end of a white-knuckle third day in which 16 wickets fell and the pendulum swung the way of the tourists. Inspired by Vishwa Fernando’s left‑arm swing and a four‑wicket haul from the burly Lahiru Kumara, Sri Lanka turned a first-innings deficit of 62 into a pursuit of 219 that was within striking distance by stumps.
Bad light had once again brought an early close and for England, 156 all out in 34 overs earlier, and staring at 94 for one on the digital scoreboard that was twinkling in the gloom, this call by the umpires to come back in the morning was a sweet relief.
England had been rescued by Jamie Smith’s eye-catching 67 with the tail but then ran into an opener who was not mucking about. Feasting on a leggy attack that had Gus Atkinson attempting to power through a thigh strain, Pathum Nissanka raided an unbeaten 53 from 44 balls. With Kusal Mendis also racing to 30 not out, Sri Lanka were dreaming overnight of a first Test win on English soil for 10 years.
Smith’s earlier counterattack was as breathtaking as it was precious for England and, in their minds, no doubt vindication of the overall approach. And it may yet be that if nine wickets tumble on Monday, he is the toast of SE11. But it has also been hard to escape a sense that, 2-0 up and series secured, the hosts have tipped into one of their ultra-machismo moods, slightly high on their own vibes and playing as if further ahead than in reality.
On the second morning, they batted like the scorecard read 421 for three, not 221 for three, and their approach to a 62-run lead at the start of their second innings was little different. Only this time, chastened by ill‑discipline on day one, and riled up by some short stuff from Olly Stone at the end of their 263 all out, Sri Lanka’s seamers were far more disciplined with their lines and Vishwa got the Dukes ball to move lavishly.
Perhaps in hindsight Ollie Pope should have shut things down on the second evening by insisting he wanted his seamers to bowl and triggering stumps, rather than the 17 overs of spin under floodlights that saw a century partnership. Perhaps this collapse was a case of the percentages playing out given the makeup of England’s team; a makeshift opener in Dan Lawrence and a lower order that starts when five down.
Either way, after a fairly efficient morning mopping up the last five Sri Lanka wickets for 52 runs, including three for Josh Hull on debut, the afternoon was carnage. This felt possible during the 45 minutes before the delayed lunch, too, when Ben Duckett chipped to mid-on attempting to propel Asitha Fernando over the top and Pope saw one of the late cuts that fuelled his first innings century cannon on to the stumps off Kumara.
Once Lawrence’s very likely last outing at opener was over – a run‑a‑ball 35 that felt fatalistic before he eventually nicked off – it was the left-armer Vishwa who blew the match wide open. Joe Root did move ahead of Kumar Sangakkara’s 12,400 Test runs to reach sixth place in the all-time charts, a crisp cover-driven four securing this latest slab of history. But as if to exact immediate revenge for his fellow countryman, – albeit putting a possible return to Yorkshire in jeopardy – Vishwa soon pinned him lbw with a full inswinger.
It was a carbon copy from Vishwa that accounted for Harry Brook, ending a match that seemed to embody the overall restlessness of the hosts. When Woakes and Atkinson swiftly fell for just a run between them, the scorecard read 82 for seven and only the magic of Smith prevented England’s first sub-100 total for three years. For all the talk of Bazball’s inherent risk, this is something they have got out of their system at least.
Sri Lanka slightly let their guard down here too, an attempt to seek short-ball retribution against Stone easily negotiated by the No 9 as Smith burst into life at the other end. In the space of 12 balls, he turned 15 into his latest half-century, cracking 20 off a single over from Milan Rathnayake. While the six he moosed square of the wicket drew the biggest gasps, the backfoot punch that signed off this set of six was the chef’s kiss.
But Smith picked out midwicket to hand the returning Vishwa a deserved third and bring tea at 140 for eight, the last two wickets bringing only 16 more. Sri Lanka, having run through their hosts despite losing the wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal to a back injury, had their final equation. Given the way Nissanka and Kusal set about the run chase, crashing 13 fours between them after the loss of Dimuth Karunaratne to a fine tumbling caught and bowled by Woakes, Chandimal may not be required anyway.
