England on top in first Test despite Sri Lanka rally

Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir took three wickets apiece as England ended day one of the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford on top, despite a lower-order fightback from Sri Lanka which helped them reach 236 all out.

Woakes (3-32), Bashir (3-55), and Gus Atkinson (2-48) made key breakthroughs early on as Sri Lanka collapsed to 92-6 after choosing to bat, the visitors unable to cope with the line and length on display from the England attack.

In what was Ollie Pope’s first Test – in both senses of the word – as England’s stand-in captain, he displayed his leadership skills as his bowling attack led the way in tough windy conditions, continuing the philosophy championed by the injured Ben Stokes to help his side get on top.

However, it was a case of experience and youth combining for Sri Lanka as they tried to rebuild from a tough start. Dhananjaya de Silva was a shining light as he epitomised the term ‘captain’s knock’ with 76 runs from 84 deliveries and Milan Rathnayake (72) had a debut to remember to help bring his side back into the contest.

England faced spin as they got their first innings underway for just four overs before bad light forced an end to proceedings, closing the day on 22-0 and in a comfortable position.

England strike early as Sri Lanka blend youth and experience

It was a dismal start for Sri Lanka after they opted to bat having won the toss, with Woakes securing a double wicket maiden and Atkinson striking too as the visitors slumped to 6-3 after just seven overs – both Nishan Madushka (4), Dimuth Karunaratne (2) and Angelo Mathews (0) unable to make an impact.

Kusal Mendis (24) started the recovery for Sri Lanka but Mark Wood (1-31) quickly struck to remove the No 3 batsman, the half-century then following for Sri Lanka but at the expense of four wickets in just 17.2 overs.

As the grey clouds took over the sky and the wind was strong, off-spinner Bashir managed to clinch a wicket just before lunch, removing Dinesh Chandimal (17) lbw as he kept the ball extremely low for a daisy cutter.

With the visitors 80-5 heading into the afternoon session, it wasn’t long until England picked up where they left off as Woakes came round the wicket to claim his three-fer, Kamindu Mendis (12) nicking it through to keeper Jamie Smith, Sri Lanka slumping to 92-6.

Mendis had two half-centuries and two centuries from his four Tests prior to this series but could not get properly up and running in the first innings, with the home team’s bowling attack continuing to dominate.

Pope then decided to follow the Stokes script of going on the attack in the afternoon session and it delivered early on, Atkinson removing Prabath Jayasuriya (10) with a fuller-length ball after hammering him with short deliveries.

The dismissal for Atkinson came just two balls after his first dismissal of Jayasuriya was rescinded and called as a no-ball due to the height of the bouncer.

Sri Lanka rallied through captain De Silva, who found eight boundaries and 74 runs alongside the supporting debutant Rathnayake, but Bashir finally found the breakthrough just before tea to remove the skipper and leave Sri Lanka on 178-8 at the break.

Rathnayake battled on and showed composure on a big day, bringing up his half-century with a massive sweep behind for six much to the delight of his teammates cheering him on.

With just two wickets needed and the light fading, England had to turn to Bashir and Joe Root (0-18) but Sri Lanka’s tailenders dug in, the former finally removing dangerman Rathnayake in the 71st over before Vishwa Fernando (13) was run out from a solid Pope throw to ‘keeper Smith, Sri Lanka posting 236 thanks to their tailenders.

England’s openers Ben Duckett (13) and Dan Lawrence (9) managed just four overs before bad light stopped play for the day, with the home outfit firmly in the driving seat heading into day two.

What they said: Woakes: It was a good day for us

England bowler Chris Woakes, speaking to Sky Sports Cricket:

“I think it’s a good day. When you bowl on day one on a Test surface like that, to be batting at the end of the day I think you’re really happy.

“It would have been nice to bowl them out earlier than what they got, but with the bad light we couldn’t bring our quick guys on to mop up the tail.

“We wanted to stay out there and feel we could bowl them out.

“Thankfully we did in the end. It could have been for 30 less than they got, but still really happy.”

Watch the second 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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Source : Sky Sports