Jamie Smith’s Stunning 72* Keeps England Ahead Against Sri Lanka on Day 2
Jamie Smith’s Resilient 72* Anchors England as Asitha Fernando Shines in 1st Test Against Sri Lanka.
England was up against Sri Lanka’s relentless bowling attack on a soggy second day of the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford. With two outstanding deliveries that had England’s middle-order reeling, Asitha Fernando gave a masterclass in seam and swing, taking vital wickets to keep his team in the match. Prabath Jayasuriya also contributed significantly.
Match Scorecard
England 259 for 6 (Smith 72*) lead Sri Lanka 236 by 23 runs.
Match Analysis
At the end, England owed a lot to their young keeper, Jamie Smith, who secured a spot at No. 6 by scoring a solid 72 not out, his third half-century in five innings since replacing Ben Foakes, his Surrey teammate, at the beginning of the summer. England rallied from a precarious 125 for 4 to close on 259 for 6, with a narrow lead of 23 in the bank, thanks to another fifty from Harry Brook.
After two days of play, England looks like they should still win this match fairly easily, as they had throughout the West Indies series earlier in the summer. However, the quality and spirit of the visitors’ bowling has forced them to work a little harder than they may have in earlier Bazball eras. Across his 14 overs, which were divided into three major periods, Asitha in particular was outstanding. Among his many highlights was a cutting mid-innings reverse-swing attack that defied the dank circumstances.
When play eventually started at 1.15pm on a wet morning in Manchester, Asitha was ready to make money since the Old Trafford pitch was ready for seam bowling after she had spent several hours sweating under the covers. Under still substantial cloud cover and with the floodlights full, he presented a concern from the start with his bustling approach and determination to a full length.
When umpire Paul Reiffel pinned Dan Lawrence on the pad and declared him leg before wicket (LBW) on the opening ball of his second over, his performance took a dramatic turn. The ball was revealed to be skimming over the bails, successfully overturning the ruling, but the bowler perfectly processed and stored the information.
After Ben Duckett was on strike for two balls, Asitha threw the ball two feet fuller. This time, the review was successful, as it was proven that the ball was both pitching on and striking leg stump, turning Duckett inside out on his attempted flick across the line.
The highlight of Asitha’s new-ball spell came in his very next over when he pitched a superb wobble-seam delivery that was half a foot broader than the ball Lawrence hit and straightened off the field to smash into the top of Ollie Pope’s off stump. With their skipper out for six and their side struggling to recover at 40 for 2 in the ninth over, England had some work ahead of them.
Naturally, Root is accustomed to narrow top-order scorelines. Lawrence launched England’s counterattack as he settled in for the long term, sending two strong whips into the leg side of Asitha as she wandered in length. After a change of ends, Vishwa Fernando took advantage of his vulnerability in the channel to score just four of his thirty runs through the off side. He did this by using the breeze from the James Anderson End to force a lifter across his bows from his left-arm angle.
The usual rough Old Trafford surface gave way to some noticeable reverse-swing despite the conditions, so Root and Brook had to be at the top of their game as their 58-run partnership moved at a rate of more than five runs per over. As he struggled for that swinging full length, Milan Rathnayake, Sri Lanka’s first-day star, was dismissed for three fours in an over, but Asitha’s return to the attack would result in the day’s most important wicket.
When he was undone expertly, climbing into a wider line from Asitha while still going for the inswing that had been the hallmark of his over up to that point, Root had reached 42 from 56 balls in another subtle show of touch and timing. Nevertheless, this ball stayed on course and went straight ahead, leaving England reeling at 125 for 4, thanks to a low edge collected by Dinesh Chandimal.
Even so, Brook continued to apply his trademark forcefulness, manipulating the gaps well and driving with heavy timing when the ball was over-pitched. Given England’s penchant for hunting boundaries, Sri Lanka’s field was still leaning towards the defensive. As expected, he cruised to a 59-ball half-century, his 14th in just 25 Test innings. If it looked like something exceptional would be required to unseat him, Jayasuriya delivered soon after tea.
For the majority of the day, Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner had been hardworking without posing a threat. Then, without warning, he delivered an impossible delivery: a precisely timed ripper that gripped and bounced on middle and leg to clip the top of off. Brook was stunned and so was Chris Woakes, who fell nearly exactly in the same way to the only other spinning delivery of the day that veered from the straight. Both men blinked in shock.
But in the interim, there was Smith, in the third fifty of his nascent career and certainly the most hard-earned yet. Earlier in his innings, he had to graft against the swinging ball, but he showed no fear after smashing six consecutive balls off Jayasuriya. His cunning came into play at the midpoint of his innings, particularly when he was able to grind through the 40s after Rathnayake had induced two inside edges in three deliveries with his probing fourth-stump line outside the rookie’s eyeline.
In Ben Stokes’ absence, England was light on bat and preferred to bat for extended stretches of time rather than racing to an early lead, thus Woakes was the perfect partner for a defensively oriented reconstruction. Although Sri Lanka’s bowlers were dominating the game during this time, their methods may not have kept them in the game, as they were able to reduce the other player to a run-rate of less than three an over during their 52-run stand.
And there was never any consideration of Sri Lanka bowling spin in the dark to try to fill the overs, as had been England’s strategy at the same point on day one, even as the light started to fade, minutes after Woakes’ removal. With six wickets under his belt and the promise of a restful night ahead of his quicks, Dhananjaya de Silva marched his team straight to the pavilion to resume their quietly captivating match.
