Jamie Smith (72n0), Joe Root (42), and Harry Brook (56) were the pick of England's batters as they took a 23-run lead; Rain delayed play till 1.15pm; Watch day three from Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 10.15am, Thursday (first ball, 11am)
Thursday 22 August 2024 23:56, UK
Jamie Smith led the way with his third Test half-century as England battled hard to take a 23-run lead against Sri Lanka on day two of the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford.
In typical Manchester fashion, the rain delayed the start of play for two hours and 15 minutes and it was a tough start for the home outfit too, Asitha Fernando (3-68) and Vishwa Fernando (1-51) striking early on as England slipped to 69-3.
Smith (72no), plus Joe Root (42) and Harry Brook (56), who put together a crucial fifty partnership for the fourth wicket, toughed it out on a difficult pitch to give their side the slight advantage, but all is to play for heading into day three after England closed on 259-6.
With bad light an issue once again, the umpires told Sri Lanka they could remain on the field and use only spinners, an option they declined to take. And as the rain returned, the day's cricket was brought to an end.
After the rain stopped and play finally got under way at 1.15pm following an early lunch break, Dan Lawrence (30) and Ben Duckett (18) resumed with England trailing by 214.
Sri Lanka had struggled on the surface on day one and it looked like England were finding it tricky early in the first session too, allowing the visitors to make an early breakthrough after two reviews in the space of three balls.
Lawrence was saved from the lbw dismissal via an England review but then a smart review from Sri Lanka saw Duckett walking in just the third over of the day, Asitha Fernando with the crucial delivery for the lbw.
It wasn't long until the same bowler struck again, a perfect delivery going straight through to Ollie Pope's (6) stumps to leave England sat on 40-2, the stand-in captain left with no defences against it.
A change of ends then worked for Vishwa Fernando as he removed Lawrence, the England opener nicking it behind to diving wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal, putting England on 67-3 after 14.3 overs and presenting a big opportunity for Sri Lanka.
Root and Brook steadied the ship and brought up a fifty stand plus England's century in the 19th over, building a crucial partnership that left the Sri Lanka fielders looking for answers.
After ticking along nicely, former England captain Root nicked an Asitha Fernando delivery behind in the 26th over to leave England 125-4 and trailing by 111.
With Root gone, Brook then stepped up to the plate with Smith as his support batter, bringing up his ninth Test half-century from 59 deliveries with a drive down to extra cover and leading his side in on 176-4 at tea.
Following the break, Prabath Jayasuriya (2-58) became the star man as he found an unplayable jaffa out of nowhere to remove Brook, elevating Sri Lanka's doggedness that had been on display throughout the innings.
Chris Woakes (25) and Smith then battled hard to take England into the lead after 56.4 overs, the latter bringing up a solid half-century in 84 deliveries with three boundaries on the tough surface.
It continued Smith's fine start to Test cricket, bringing up his third 50 in just five Test innings as he learns on the job.
Despite England taking the lead, Jayasuriya picked his moment once again to remove Woakes with another unplayable ball just five deliveries later and put the home outfit on 239-6, bringing an end to the 52-run partnership and exposing the England tailenders.
Gus Atkinson (4) saw out the day alongside Smith before bad light and then rain intervened.
Former England quick Stuart Broad on Sky Sports Cricket:
"England have done pretty well.
"When we saw the first ball being bowled, there was some good movement and cloud cover and in England with a Dukes ball you expect the bowlers to have an impact.
"England will be happy to get the lead with a recognised batter in. It's a longer tail than usual with no Ben Stokes so you wouldn't expect the lower order to score as many runs as they can do or have done, but Smith is still there and batting well.
"Sri Lanka are still in this game. If I was in their dressing room, I would be really happy with the way the day has gone.
"Yes, it could've gone better and they could've been more aggressive at times but they've bowled some wicket-taking deliveries and got some really good players out."
Watch the third day of England's first Test against Sri Lanka, from Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.15am on Wednesday (11am first ball)
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