England head into the final match of the series with a 2-0 lead; Gus Atkinson scored his maiden Test century and took a five-fer at Lord's in the second Test; watch the third and final Test of the series at The Oval live on Sky Sports from Friday September 6
Sunday 1 September 2024 18:22, UK
England's Gus Atkinson is having a Test summer to remember and admits being on both of the Lord's honour boards will "take a while to sink in".
The Surrey seamer first got on the board in July in the first Test against West Indies, claiming a sensational 12 wickets in Jimmy Anderson's retirement match.
Now he has added to that tally by taking 5-62 against Sri Lanka, plus his maiden Test century in England's first innings, to get his name across all the Lord's accolades.
With that, he joins an exclusive club - Vinoo Mankad and Ian Botham are the only other players to have taken a five-fer and scored a century in the same Test.
Despite reaching such milestones, one of Atkinson's main highlights was getting his teammate Joe Root to his incredible moment, breaking Sir Alastair Cook's record for the most Test centuries as he scored his 34th on day three.
"Obviously I couldn't have asked for much more. To get on both honours boards is incredible," Atkinson told Sky Sports.
"It will take a while to sink in.
"He (Root) has been excellent this week and batting alongside him in the first innings was pretty special.
"Getting him to his 100, he was excellent.
"It is my first red ball games at Lord's and it has gone pretty well.
"I enjoy bowling with the slope but it has just gone my way. Long may it continue.
"I think the way we go about the game, we like to attack, and as a bowler it is great to attack and not worry about runs too much.
"But physically it is quite demanding running in over after over being aggressive.
"I have enjoyed it so much so I am looking forward to it going forward."
It was also a Test to remember for Olly Stone who has battled back from multiple injuries and surgeries to work his way back into the England side.
Prior to Lord's, Stone had won the most recent of his three Test caps in an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand at Edgbaston in June 2021.
Now, he walks away from the home of cricket with four wickets for 126 runs, admitting that there is "no better feeling" than playing for England in red ball cricket.
"It is amazing. I think you can tell by the smile on my face it has been a great few days and I have just loved being back," Stone told Sky Sports.
"Going out there and doing what I love, there is no better feeling.
"It is special to play here and the crowd has been brilliant.
"Those tough times, it makes it worthwhile being out there and celebrating this victory."
Watch the third and final Test of the series between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Friday September 6 (first ball, 11am).
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