Sri Lanka v England
1st
Test Day 2: The Beard that is Feared Strikes Back
November 7th 2018
After a remarkable second day of this Test, an England side that looked
horribly underprepared, has bullied and outplayed Sri Lanka now for five
consecutive sessions. It is not something that many fans were expecting. The
script called for something different when England’s last two wickets fell
quickly, but the dark mutterings that England had wasted winning the Toss, would
find themselves chasing a significant first innings deficit and that a third
innings collapse would bring the match to a swift end were found to be
shameless scare-mongering, not to mention, utter drivel. There is still a lot
of work to do to win this Test, but England have made a good start. Sri Lanka
will need to dismiss England for no more than 130 to stay in this match and
even that may be too many: based on what we have seen so far, anything over 250
will be a big chase.
However, there are storm clouds on the horizon… literally. The weather
forecast for the next three days calls for thundery showers, with a rain
interruption almost certain sometime around midday tomorrow. Friday’s forecast
is not much better. However, with three days left to play and the lead 177,
there should be enough time to force a result, even if rain does intervene.
That said, Day 2 could not have gone much better. Ben Foakes reached his
century, albeit in partnership with Jimmy Anderson and then the same
combination got an early breakthrough. The bonus was that Sam Curran also added
an early wicket as the New Ball did swing a little. However, the question of
his ability to bowl a long, holding spell never arose because, after six overs
with the New Ball, broken by a change of ends when Jack Leach came on, he
retired to the outfield as soon as the ball ceased to swing and did not return.
However, 6-1-16-1 was just the opening spell that England needed. Nothing
profligate. No easy runs and, when the spinners came on, with Sri Lanka 30-2
and, as the batsmen tried to break the shackles, first Jack Leach and the Moeen
Ali rammed home the advantage. We then had the one phase of play when it seemed
that Sri Lanka might grab back the advantage: Chandimal and Matthews played
sensibly, milked the bowling and accumulated without risk. Had they been able
to bat for another hour, England might well have wilted, but the bowlers kept
plugging away. Adil Rashid almost removed Chandimal as soon as he came on, but
the edge that he induced dropped just short of Ben Stokes. He was not to be
denied for long though and Ben Foakes showed what a specialist ‘keeper brings
to a side by making a smart stumping as Chandimal was lured out of his ground
by the leggie.
Rashid’s reward was to be whipped straight out of the attack. England
seem to have decided over the last few tests that, rather than bowling him into
the ground, Adil Rashid is to be used as a shock weapon to come on and make
breakthroughs, rather than take the heat of bowling thirty straight overs. It
seems like a strange way to treat your premier strike bowler, but it seems to
be working.
Broken the Chandimal-Matthews stand, Sri Lanka kept losing wickets each
time that a stand started to form. Matthews fell after he and Dickwella seemed
to be getting the innings back on an even keel, while the highest stand of the
innings apart that fourth wicket effort, was just 35. It all pointed to a chronic
lack of patience. Conditions were probably easier than on the first day,
because the ball was spinning less, even if the England bowlers did produce the
occasional jaffa. All three spinners played their part but, in the end, the
plaudits went to Moeen Ali, with 4-66, even if he deserved a 5-for. Gone is the
defeated Moeen of a year ago. The Beard that is Feared is back. He bowled more
overs than all three seamers together and combined well with Leach and Adil
Rashid, but more than anything, bowled with intelligence, variation and
confidence. The three England spinners kept their discipline and hunted as a
pack, taking eight wickets between them and the batsmen really had no answer to
it. Whereas England had gone from 164-6 at the fall of Buttler, to 342ao,
batting another 53 overs, Sri Lanka subsided from 171-6 to 203ao in 8 overs, as
the tail was brushed away.
Sri Lanka needed a devastating response when England batted again.
Instead, Jennings and Burns batted solidly through to the Close. It is far too
early to hail this as the new opening partnership that England have been
longing for, but the openers have the chance to turn the knife in the morning
and cement their places for the foreseeable future… that is, at least until the
end of this series, if they can bat on for an hour or so in the morning. Do
that and they will have the kudos of setting-up an England victory charge.
England need 123 more to set 300 for Sri Lanka to win. That equates to
161ao. Pass 161 and it will be hard to see any way that Sri Lanka will be able
to avoid a crushing defeat, giving England their first ever win at Galle. If
they do so, it will be the marginal choices – Foakes, Curran and, to a lesser
degree, Leach, who set the standard with a mean first spell and early wicket –
who will have set it up.
That though, is something that still needs to be worked for. There is
still plenty of cricket left in this game and England need a good first session
to make sure that the advantage is not squandered.
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