England Dominated Sri Lanka on Day 2 at Lord’s with Gus Atkinson’s Stunning Century
England Tightens Grip Despite Kamindu’s Resistance: Atkinson’s Century Shines at Lord’s
England maintained their control on the second day of the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, thanks to Gus Atkinson’s incredible maiden Test century. England decide not to force a follow-on after a stunning maiden century establishes a 231-run advantage.
Key Performances and Match Scorecard
England 427 (Root 143, Atkinson 118, Asitha 5-102) and 25 for 1 lead Sri Lanka 196 (Kamindu 74) by 256 runs.
Match Analysis
After England had started the second day comfortably on 358 for 7 in their opening innings, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope were back on the field in their second, pushing the advantage to an already commanding 256. With 13 runs in his first three innings as captain, Pope needed a score. He experienced some nervousness but managed to finish the game unscathed, even after England’s only truly poor note of the day, Dan Lawrence, was sent out for 7.
Intermittently, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 196 in 55.3 overs, a first-innings deficit of 231 after they had again depended on Kamindu Mendis’ unwavering abilities to pull them out of a well-known top-order tail-spin.
With his sixth fifty-plus score in only eight Test innings, Kamindu had recovered his side from a disastrous 118 for 7 and momentarily restored his incredible Test average above 100 by the time he was last man out for a powerful 74 from 120 balls. But with over three days to go on a field that is already beginning to change, none of his colleagues could manage more than Dinesh Chandimal’s 23 and England never really considered the follow-on.
Though it lasted only briefly, Kamindu’s most recent assault demonstrated the resilience that this Sri Lankan team still possesses, despite yet another dismal performance. Under his leadership, an innings that featured eight fours and three sixes—one of which went through the MCC Committee Room window and another that left a bystander by the pavilion steps in need of medical attention after taking a painful but fortunately non-serious blow to the head—gave the previously formidable England attack a run-around.
Sri Lanka had been playing as badly as they had on the third day of the first Test at Old Trafford, right up until his intervention. Then, as now, their grasp on the game was lost in a chaotic morning with the ball, with Atkinson emerging as the main winner after turning his 74 not out from the previous night into an outstanding century off 103 balls. It was the first of his professional career and, since Stuart Broad’s 169 against Pakistan in 2010, the first by an England ranked No. 8 or lower.
Even though Atkinson had the potential to overthink the situation overnight, his ability to remain composed and focused was almost as impressive as the actual feat. Atkinson was unfazed by the possibility of creating another incredible chapter in Lord’s history, just as he had been on his debut against West Indies in July, when he had amassed three honours board entries with five fours in each innings and twelve wickets in the game.
Despite Kumara straying either side of the wicket, Atkinson began his day with back-to-back boundaries when the ball was only eight overs old. The Lord’s crowd’s collective groaning soon turned to cheers, however, when Atkinson’s review revealed the ball was missing leg.
There was no stopping him after that. A leg-stump from Milan Rathnayake gave him another opportunity, and he tickled through fine leg. After reaching 99 with a pull and a drive off the unpredictable Kumara, Atkinson required just three more balls, as opposed to Joe Root’s 12 on the opening day, before he achieved his milestone from just 103 balls, the sixth-fastest century in a Lord’s Test.
The only faint indication that this was no typical day out came from Atkinson’s astonished smile as he saluted all four corners of the ground. After helping to build an 85-run partnership for the eighth wicket, Matthew Potts was removed quickly when Asitha was finally brought into the attack to hit a third-ball outswinger.
Soon after, Sri Lanka adopted a short-ball strategy, which at first worked well for Atkinson, who smashed two more fours to square off Asitha. However, he eventually failed in his attempt to bowl the same bowler into the Grandstand due to a well timed leap by Rathnayake at deep midwicket, who dove towards the line with his feet in the air to cling on over his shoulder and finish a tremendous century.
Asitha’s abilities weren’t best utilized for the bumper tactic, but at least he got a well-earned moment of personal glory when Stone swung through another short ball to pick out a deep, fine leg for fifteen. He became the first bowler from Sri Lanka to take five wickets at Lord’s since Rumesh Ratnayake did it in 1991 with his 5 for 102 stats.
For the third consecutive innings, Nishan Madushka failed to meet the demands of Sri Lanka, leaving the team with a challenging 45 minutes to negotiate before the interval. When Jamie Smith failed to respond to a snick that Root couldn’t reach at first slip in Woakes’ second over, he should have been dismissed for a duck, but Woakes instead found an inside-edge onto his stumps, and he scored just seven, his lowest score of the series.
Subsequently, in the last over of the session, Stone completed his comeback to the team by taking his first wicket in a Test match in a long three years. This time, he did it by producing another inside-edge, this time off Dimuth Karunaratne, who continued to have a terrible series, scoring seven runs from 26 balls.
After 45 minutes and 5 balls, Stone scored his second. Dan Lawrence’s natural shyness from short leg could have run Pathum Nissanka out on 3, but instead he fell for 12 when he aimed a foolish flick off the toes and picked out Potts, who was positioned for that accurate shot at leg slip.
Two of the cornerstones of Sri Lanka’s comeback at Old Trafford, Angelo Mathews and Chandimal, took the wickets in a fourth-wicket stand of 48. However, Potts entered the attack and performed admirably in the second innings of that first Test, despite not receiving much credit.
Potts immediately struck with the opening delivery of his fourth over, turning Mathews inside-out with a ball that nipped round his edge and into the top of off. He did this with a persistent stump-to-stump line combined with a hint of each-way movement. Then, three balls later, a ball that straightened off the pitch caught Dhananjaya de Silva for a duck off the splice at second slip.
Kamindu’s innings had hardly started when, appearing hesitant following another blow to his injured thumb, Chandimal flicked a weak ball off his toes to Lawrence at leg gully, leaving the innings tumbling at 87 for 6.
But after that, things weren’t quite as simple in England. Like Atkinson, Rathnayake is brimming with confidence following his improbable batting exploits at Old Trafford. He started his own innings with 14 runs off of four balls, but Woakes came back to dismiss him for 19, with Smith capping a superb diving catch.
After that, England turned to spin. Shoaib Bashir, who had not played in the West Indies Test, was finally given a spell at Lord’s and settled into a fine rhythm before finally tiring Jayasuriya, who had been resolute until he was bowled through the gate on the charge, for just 8 runs from 46 balls.
Subsequently, Kamindu was dismissed for 62 at Root, deep square leg, after he mishandled a top-edged pull off Stone. With strong backing from Kumara, whose 22-ball duck was halted by a straight-hit run-out from Pope, Kamindu attempted to put back some decency on the surface. But before he could end his day on the high it had earned, Atkinson tricked him into taking one too many liberties.
As the game came to an end, Lawrence’s latest setback as a makeshift opener notwithstanding, it didn’t appear as though the outcome of this match or this series would change.
Gus Atkinson Stays Grounded After Maiden Test Century at Lord’s
Joe Root’s tongue-in-cheek comparison of Gus Atkinson to Jacques Kallis was evident from his smile as he sat in the Lord’s outfield. Although Atkinson is not expected to become an official all-rounder anytime soon, his ability to score his first-ever Test century and first-class hundred was undeniable.
England’s bowler isn’t getting too excited despite his unexpected success in his first innings at number eight.
Throughout his international career, Atkinson has displayed flashes of his batting prowess. He hit 35 runs off of 21 balls in England’s crushing World Cup loss to South Africa last year, and he also hit two 21-run innings from lower down the order against the West Indies in his debut Test series this summer. Even so, he appeared overly tall at No. 8 when England switched around their lineup to accommodate Ben Stokes’ absence.
Nevertheless, he lived up to his promotion at Lord’s on Thursday night, reaching 74 not out after twice lofting Prabath Jayasuriya’s tired short ball over mid-off and midwicket. Laughing, Root remarked, “Being at the other end when he hit those straight sixes, they were unbelievable,” as the play came to an end. “It’s like watching someone like Jacques Kallis play.”
He scared himself a little, but it only took him 22 balls to turn his overnight total into a hundred. He was ruled out LBW by Paul Reiffel after hitting the first two balls of the morning for four with a flick off the pads and a punch through cover. However, a review saved him, as it turned out that the ball had a missing leg. England’s batting coach Marcus Trescothick punched the air with relief from the balcony.
Atkinson showed no such emotion, characteristically unflappable as he cruised to three figures. He has worked hard on his basics with Surrey’s coaches Gareth Batty and Jade Dernbach, attempting to stay as still as possible with his eyes level on release. The clean drives either side of mid-off that got him from 95 to 103 were the culmination of his practice.
At last, Atkinson gave himself a smile, and he charged, fists clinched, towards the pavilion. From a luxury suite in the Grandstand, his father Ed observed in bewilderment, while his teammates stood to cheer from the balcony, all beaming with pride at the improbable accomplishment of a man who this season averaged 6.71 in the County Championship.
On Thursday night, Atkinson had dinner with Zak Crawley and Harry Brook, who gave him a good teasing about the possibility of hitting three figures. “There was a bit of pressure on from them, but thankfully I got there,” he stated. “It was absolutely overwhelming joy. I felt ecstatic and relieved. It was such an odd moment.
Atkinson continued, “I was pretty happy [last night].” I attempted not to put too much pressure on myself because I had already scored about 70, so if I got out, I got out. All I wanted to do was keep playing the same way that I did yesterday. Luckily, I was able to pull it off today. It was wonderful to get there quickly this morning because I feel like I crossed a lot of boundaries today.”
After taking 12 wickets in his debut match against the West Indies last month, Atkinson became one of six individuals to take a ten-for and score a century at Lord’s thanks to his impressive performance. Aside from innings involving nightwatchmen, this was also the first century from England’s lower order (No. 8–11) since Matt Prior in 2013, and it was also the first since Stuart Broad’s 169 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010.
It should serve as a warning that Atkinson’s situation will not always be this simple, given that Broad averaged 15.64 after that hundred, with eight fifties and no hundreds in his 199 innings after that. Despite his composure, he faced a four-man attack that had 57 prior Test caps between them. When he plays Australia and India next year, batting might appear a little less simple.
Atkinson, on the other hand, has stated that he is not seeking a promotion and does not appear to be the kind to accept ideas beyond his station. “I’m happy at eight; eight is good,” he stated. I haven’t given it a lot of thought. I was able to bat at No. 8 this series because Stokesy was obviously absent, and happily I scored a hundred. Naturally, I’d prefer to bat as high as I can going ahead.
I’ve been disappointed with my hitting this season because I haven’t contributed much in the way of runs for Surrey. But I am aware of my potential as a player. I felt like I was moving extremely well and hitting the ball quite cleanly, and I felt like I had such natural skill with the bat. That was just one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong.”
Long-term, his arrival at the bat could allow England to take risks abroad: if Atkinson can consistently contribute from No. 8, they will have the ability to leave Chris Woakes out without significantly jeopardising the balance of their team. More immediately, it has placed them in position to win their second series of the summer and their fifth straight.
