Player of the Match
Player of the Match

3.12pm Right, the batsmen are out in the middle, let's play some cricket. Lakmal to get first dibs

3.02pm Right, that's the prologue out of the way. Now the real Test begins. Sri Lanka's spinners will surely not be as toothless as England's proved to be, and England's openers had an uncomfortable first outing in Galle last week. Will Lasith Embuldeniya be handed a burst with the new ball? I'd be tempted if I was Chandimal.

As Mike Selvey points out on Twitter, there are potential shades of England's 2012 visit to Galle in this Test, where Anderson claimed a hard-fought five-for in the first innings, but England's batsmen were turned over inside two sessions in reply. Whatever they do, they need to allow their bowlers time to rest their weary limbs.

***

2.52pm That's tea. All ten wickets to the seamers. And fittingly it is Anderson who leads the visitors off the field, drawing warm applause from the backroom staff. Perera has done his job, too, for Sri Lanka, his stubborn half-century dragging them closer to 400. We will be back in about 20 minutes for England's reply.

Peter Morley: "I hope for Mark Wood's sake that England bat for a long time. Poor lad needs a rest."

Ammar: "Just realised all three changes from the first test got out for ducks, Fernando, Mendis, and Lakmal "

139.3
W
Curran to MDK Perera, OUT, Perera finally holes out, with Leach taking it at deep square leg. Banged in short, looks like a slower-ball legcutter from Curran, Perera goes for a hook, and winds up dragging it to the outfielder

MDK Perera c Leach b Curran 67 (224m 170b 8x4 1x6) SR: 39.41

139.2
4
Curran to MDK Perera, FOUR, full-toss on middle, Perera clears his front leg and belts it away past the bowler. Curran ducks as the ball flies past his right and into the straight boundary
139.1
0
Curran to MDK Perera, no run, full-toss on off, Perera clears his front leg and hacks it behind point

END OF OVER:
139 | 1 Run | SL: 377/9

  • Dilruwan Perera63 (167b)
  • Asitha Fernando0 (10b)
  • Mark Wood28-4-84-3
  • Sam Curran18-3-56-0
138.6
1
Wood to MDK Perera, 1 run, wide of the crease, full on off, Perera opens the face and glides it through backward point
138.5
0
Wood to MDK Perera, no run, good length and skidding in at off stump, Perera stoops and keeps it out

Fergie: "Where would England be without Jimmy? SL would end up about 1000/3 without him."

138.4
0
Wood to MDK Perera, no run, full and angling in at off, opens the face and plays it up to point
138.3
0
Wood to MDK Perera, no run, wide of the crease, back of a length and angling in at off stump, punched on the up to extra-cover
138.2
0
Wood to MDK Perera, no run, back of a length and bending in at off stump, blocked to the leg side
138.1
0
Wood to MDK Perera, no run, slower offcutter, raises a puff of dust from the surface, Perera hangs back and defends

With SL nine down, the post-lunch session has been extended

END OF OVER:
138 | 1 Run | SL: 376/9

  • Asitha Fernando0 (10b)
  • Dilruwan Perera62 (161b)
  • Sam Curran18-3-56-0
  • Mark Wood27-4-83-3
137.6
0
Curran to AM Fernando, no run, full and outside off, Asitha pokes and it does not carry to gully
137.5
0
Curran to AM Fernando, no run, back of a length and angling in, Curran has the No.11 hopping and fending off to the leg side
137.4
1
Curran to MDK Perera, 1 run,
137.3
0
Curran to MDK Perera, no run, full, angling in at off, and straightening to take the edge and roll down to third man
137.2
0
Curran to MDK Perera, no run, short legcutter outside off, 111ks, Perera backs away and stabs it away through the point region

England 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st17DP SibleyZ Crawley
2nd45JM BairstowDP Sibley
3rd22JE RootDP Sibley
4th5DP SibleyDW Lawrence
5th75JC ButtlerDP Sibley