Key events
60th over: England 252-6 (Smith 67, Atkinson 3) Smith, full of beans again after that spell of inertia, clips Jayasuriya into the leg side for two – not once, not twice, but three times. England lead by 16.
59th over: England 244-6 (Smith 60, Atkinson 2) Again, de Silva declines to go in for the kill, keeping Mendis on with his part-time spin. Gus Atkinson settles in with a single or two as Smith, his county colleague, shows as much faith in him as he did with Woakes.
58th over: England 239-6 (Smith 57, Atkinson 0) Well done Prabath Jayasuriya, who has been tireless, accurate and occasionally lethal. He now has two for 50 off 20 overs.
WICKET! Woakes b Jayasuriya 25 (England 239-6)
Remember that wonderball? It wasn’t a one-hit wonderball. Jayasuriya does it again to get rid of Woakes after a very useful quarter-century.
England lead!
57th over: England 239-5 (Smith 57, Woakes 25) Dhananjaya de Silva brings on a second spinner, Kamindu Mendis. It’s gloomy out there, with the lights on, but that’s not the reason apparently. Smith tucks in, cover-driving him for three and then four. And England lead by three runs!
56th over: England 231-5 (Smith 50, Woakes 24) Smith’s 50 comes up off 81 balls with only four boundaries – three fours and a very handsome six.
Fifty to Smith!
After spending what felt like a few hours in the nervous forties, Jamie Smith gets a shortish ball from Jayasuriya and plays a back-foot drive for a single to reach his third Test fifty in only his fifth innings. What an inspired selection he is proving to be.
55th over: England 230-5 (Smith 49, Woakes 24) Remember the daisy-cutter that brought Shoaib Bashir a wicket yesterday? Vishwa Fernando produces another one now, though it’s not on the stumps, so Woakes gets away with a waft. And then Fernando gives him the width he loves and Woakes cashes in with a handsome drive that glides away off a half-open face.
54th over: England 225-5 (Smith 48, Woakes 20) Jayasuriya is fit to continue his long spell. Smith manages another single, though it’s off the edge – the inside of the bat again. Is he playing himself out of form?
53rd over: England 224-5 (Smith 47, Woakes 20) After racking up his 12th successive dot, Smith finds a gap behind square on the off side and cuts for a single. It didn’t seem to bother him: his short Test career so far has disclosed a top-class temperament, although it has yet to meet a top-class attack.
52nd over: England 222-5 (Smith 46, Woakes 19) Drinks arrived in mid-over because Jayasuriya needed some strapping on an injured thumb. He seems OK now and gets through the over, conceding only a single to Woakes.
Drinks: England
51st over and a bit: England 221-5 (Smith 46, Woakes 18) Vishwa Fernando, in a turn-up for the books, gives Woakes the single so he can have a go at Smith, who diligently plays out five dots. That’s 11 in a row for him, rather uncharacteristically: perhaps he felt chastened by those inside-edges. And after two more balls, it’s drinks, with England only 15 behind in terms of runs, and edging ahead in terms of the broader picture. Asitha Fernando has been very effective but he can’t do it on his own – and so far in the match, no bowler on either side has more than three wickets.
50th over: England 220-5 (Smith 46, Woakes 17) Jayasuriya is still wheeling away, wondering where that wonderball came from. He does beat Smith outside off with some nice flight, but can’t find the edge (and the keeper grasses it anyway). The trumpeter switches to Sweet Caroline: the crowd know the words to that one.
49th over: England 220-5 (Smith 46, Woakes 17) The ground wakes up again as Vishwa Fernando returns and Woakes helps himself to successive fours – a classy leg glance and a streaky thick edge that squeezes through the slips. Woakes’s strike rate today soars from the 20s to the 40s, still some way behind everyone else on this England card: they’re all above 70.
48th over: England 211-5 (Smith 45, Woakes 9) Another over, another pair of singles. You know the way the game can suddenly go to sleep? That’s happening now and it even extends to my email. If you’ve ever felt like making your debut as an OBO correspondent, this would be a good time.
47th over: England 209-5 (Smith 44, Woakes 8) Just a couple of singles off Rathnayeke. The trumpeter strikes up Don’t Look Back In Anger and a few spectators do their best to remember that line about Sally.
46th over: England 207-5 (Smith 43, Woakes 7) A third maiden for Jayasuriya, the only bowler to manage one in this innings. Woakes has seven off 29 balls. Now he’s the old man of the England team, is he trying to show the kids what proper creekit looks like?
45th over: England 207-5 (Smith 43, Woakes 7) After starting so well, Smith threatens to let his monster average go to his head. Facing Milan Rathanayake, he plays not one but two inside-edges – a thin one for four, a thicker one for a single. But he survives and now England trail by just 29.
44th over: England 201-5 (Smith 38, Woakes 6) Three singles off Jayasuriya’s first three balls, and Jamie Smith’s average is now even higher than Harry Brook’s. Following his dismissal, Brook has crashed to 59.75, while Smith has sneaked up to 60.
43rd over: England 198-5 (Smith 36, Woakes 5) This over begins with a rare short ball from Asitha, and he may not try another for a while as Smith responds with a jab-pull for three. Woakes follows that with a steer for two, taking the deficit down to 38.
42nd over: England 193-5 (Smith 33, Woakes 3) Another testing over from Jayasuriya, albeit without a wonderball. “That one must have landed perfectly on the seam,” says Mark Butcher, “and gripped and turned.” Jayasuriya has 12-2-42-1, good going in the first innings against Ben Stokes’s blasters.
41st over: England 192-5 (Smith 32, Woakes 3) Smith shows some faith in Woakes, wisely, by taking a single off the first ball of this over from Asitha Fernando. Woakes, as is his wont, waits for some width outside off and then carves for three. “I really don’t like this field,” mutters one of the commentators: too defensive again. Dhananjaya de Silva seems like a good captain, but has he ever heard of the jugular?
40th over: England 187-5 (Smith 30, Woakes 0) It’s not just that ball that turned, it’s the game too. England are only 49 behind, but their young superstar has gone and Jamie Smith has only the bowlers for company now. Chris Woakes, no mug at all, begins watchfully, playing out five dots from Jayasuriya. And that’s a wicket maiden.
WICKET! Brook b Jayasuriya 56 (England 187-5)
It takes a good delivery to bowl Harry Brook… and this is it! A wonderball from Prabath Jayasuriya, pitching middle-ish, hitting the top of off.
39th over: England 187-4 (Brook 56, Smith 30) With England only about 50 behind, back comes Asitha Fernando, Sri Lanka’s man of the day. He finds some reverse inswing, as Brook signals to Smith, but it doesn’t bother them. Smith plays that crunching cover drive again, for three this time, and Brook takes two singles.
38th over: England 182-4 (Brook 54, Smith 27) Jayasuriya continues with his slow left-arm and Smith immediately helps himself to a single down the ground. Brook takes a single too and then Smith hits a cover drive like a rocket that just eludes the two men in the deep converging on it. The commentators were making the point just now that Dhananjaya de Silva, who had done well at first, posted a 7-2 field after Root was out, going on the defensive when he could have gone for the jugular. That could be a costly decision.
The umpires are out in the middle under brooding skies. Dear old Manchester, playing up to its reputation.
Tea! England asserting themselves again
37th over: England 176-4 (Brook 53, Smith 22) Just a single from Vishwa Fernando’s over, and it’s time for tea. Sri Lanka were on top as the right-armed Fernando, Asitha, reduced England to 67-3 and they were delighted to dismiss Joe Root for 42 to make it 125-4. But that was the moment when they needed one more wicket, to get down to England’s longish tail, and they couldn’t manage it. Harry Brook has been majestic, bar one failed ramp shot, and Jamie Smith has continued his assured start to his Test career. For England, the future has already begun.
36th over: England 175-4 (Brook 53, Smith 21) Jayasuriya tries going over the wicket. It works in terms of sixes (no more as yet), but not in terms of singles (two to each batter). The fourth one brings up the fifty partnership, off 10.3 overs – almost sedate by England’s standards.
Fifty to Brook!
35th over: England 171-4 (Brook 51, Smith 19) Vishwa continues and Brook, still flowing, strokes a cover drive that deserves four, only gets three, but brings him to yet another fifty. It’s his 14th in only 16 Tests, and five of those have been over 100. His average inches up to 62, the highest by any Englishman ever with 1000 Test runs.
34th over: England 168-4 (Brook 48, Smith 19) Jamie Smith is very good too. That maiden a few minutes ago was just his way of getting the measure of Jayasuriya, whom he now swings for a straight six. That’s gorgeous – though Mike Atherton points out that it was a six from Smith in the last series that helped West Indies’ bowlers to find some reverse swing, as the ball took a battering. And the Sri Lankan seamers have already found a bit of reverse by themselves…
33rd over: England 160-4 (Brook 47, Smith 12) Brook is just so fluent. Facing Vishwa, he plays another straight drive for four, a tuck for two, and a dab for two more. It didn’t feel like a bad over, yet it’s gone for eight.
32nd over: England 152-4 (Brook 39, Smith 12) Three more singles from this over as Brook works his first ball from Jayasuriya to leg, Smith soon follows suit, and then Brook adds a restrained cut. England pass 150 and trail by 84 now.
31st over: England 149-4 (Brook 37, Smith 11) The other Fernando, Vishwa, replaces Rathnayake, who won’t remember his spell with much fondness (7-0-45-0). The batters content themselves with three singles.
“Please could your scorecard let us know which Fernando got the dismissals,” says Gary Amer. “If memory serves, when the Overton brothers play and get wickets, we get the info who it is by their forename initial letter. Keep up the work Guardian.” It’s a good point, Gary, but it presumes that we have some control over the scorecard, which is, I’m afraid, above my pay grade.
It’s a maiden!
30th over: England 146-4 (Brook 35, Smith 10) The Sri Lankan captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, takes the hint about Asitha being weary and brings on a spinner, for the first time today I think. Prabath Jayasuriya, slow left-arm, keeps Smith quiet and manages the first maiden of the innings.
29th over: England 146-4 (Brook 35, Smith 10) Rathanayake is supposed to be primarily a bowler, but he’s been less impressive with the ball than he was with the bat. Smith steps across his stumps to helps himself to a slice of Viv Richards, and then Brook plays an off-drive that is so classical, the purists may even recover from that ramp shot.
28th over: England 138-4 (Brook 30, Smith 7) Smith picks up a couple into the covers and a single to backward square. “Asitha just tiring a bit now,” says Mark Butcher, so comfortable at the mic as ever. He’s sharing it with Stuart Broad, who is also good but just popped up on a jarringly naff ad for a wine merchant, possibly scripted in America in 1957.
27th over: England 134-4 (Brook 29, Smith 4) Harry Brook is now the last man standing from England’s regular top six (two out with injury, three back in the hutch). Will he let this cramp his style? Hell no. He dabs Rathnayake to third man for two, pushes past cover for two more, then tries a ramp shot – a tribute, perhaps, to the departed Root. He’s rapped on the pad and there’s an appeal for LBW, on the optimistic side.
26th over: England 129-4 (Brook 25, Smith 4) Jamie Smith, in the top six for the first time in an England helmet, flicks his first ball for four. Asitha was going for the toe-crusher, but useful as he is, Waqar Younis he isn’t. Good figures, though: three for 42 off just nine overs.
26th over: England 129-4 (Brook 25, Smith 4) This is a good test for Jamie Smith, promoted to No6 in the absence of Ben Stokes. Asitha tries a first ball yorker, overdoes the line and length and is flicked to fine leg for four.
Time for me to hand over to the great Tim de Lisle for a few hours. Thanks for your company and emails. You can contact Tim at tim.delisle@theguardian.com.
Afternoon everyone and thanks Rob. When Rob turned up as the intern at Wisden Cricket Monthly, a year or two ago now, we soon got the impression of a big talent with a small ego. He hasn’t changed a bit.
WICKET! England 125-4 (Root c Chandimal b A Fernando 42)
Another twist in this compelling contest! Avisha Fernando gets his third wicket, the big wicket: Joe Root, trying to drive outside off stump, has got the thinnest inside-edge through to Chandimal.
Stuart Broad was just saying on commentary that he thought there was a soupçon of reverse swing, and that ball certainly moved in the air. It was a low catch so Root stayed around while it was checked, but Chandimal got his gloves under the ball in time. Well, well.
25th over: England 123-3 (Root 42, Brook 24) A half-grubber from Rathnayeke is kept out well by Brook, who then drives classily through extra cover for three. England are in control at the moment.
“I’m not sure I agree with me about Jacks either,” says Felix Wood, “but I’ve put it out there as my opinion now so it looks like I’m stuck with it, and I’ll defend it to my last breath.”
Imagine if we all had to do that, if stating an opinion on cricket was like a gangster taking an oath. I’d have spent the last 15 years pleading that Jimmy Anderson wasn’t up to the job.
Or I’d have gone to see Lawrence Booth, given him a Boost and asked that I be allowed to change my opinion on Anderson. “You took an oath, Smyth…”