Anderson strikes but rain rules
Kaushal Silva was the first Sri Lanka wicket to fall as a mere 3.4 overs were possible up to tea on a rain-wrecked final day at Lord's
Kaushal Silva was the first Sri Lanka wicket to fall as a mere 3.4 overs were possible up to tea on a rain-wrecked final day at Lord's
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Andrew Miller
5.50pm So, that's the end of that. A damp squib on the day, but a fun Test in between whiles. Read David Hopps' soggy missive from today's action, and tune in later for the series round-up from Jarrod Kimber, George Dobell, Melinda Farrell, Andrew Fernando and, of course, Mahela Jayawardene. From myself, Andrew Miller, and my colleagues, Andrew McGlashan and Alan Gardner, cheerio, see you for the one-dayers.
5.36pm Right, here we go with some presentations. Medallions for the match officials ... except they aren't in the pavilion, so scratch that! Instead, the Man of the Match award and the Man of the Series award goes to Jonny Bairstow
"Very pieasing to back up my form for Yorkshire in an England shirt," he says. "I wouldn't say it's been a conscious decision to [change by batting stance] but being dropped spurred me to get back in the side and prove people wrong. The people who say you aren't good enough, you want to say I am."
"I was disappointed to drop a couple but pleasing to get 19 catches in the series. Now we move onto the rest of the summer. I'm delighted to be back in the [one-day squads]. I feel like I've done okay and will put on a show."
Sri Lanka's man of the series, with honorable mentions for Rangana Herath and Nuwan Pradeep, the honour goes to Kaushal Silva.
"They've got a really quality fast bowling line-up but from the second innings at Durham I have tried to be positive and it's paid off for me in this Test. Especially Headingley, it was seaming a lot and uneven bounce at times. But the skills they have as fast bowlers is remarkable. But I enjoyed the challenge. I have missed out on a hundred three times now at Lord's but next time hopefully I will go on."
Angelo Mathews: "We started off pretty poorly but came into the series in the second innings at Durham. It would have been an interesting chase, and a result, but unfortunately the weather had the final say. We wanted to go for it, we'd rather lose 3-0 while trying to win the game."
"There are lots of positives even though we lost the series., Rangana was brilliant, 38 and going strong, and lots of positives with Kusal Mendis and Karunaratne and Chandimal ..."
On the no-ball. "It was a human error, unfortunately we were on the receiving end but we have to move on."
Up comes Alastair Cook: "It would have been a good day's cricket, would have been good to see our guys under pressure but the English weather got in the way. Pretty good three games, two wins by an innings and a declaration, but always room for improvement."
On the top order: "Alex Hales has come in and done really well, from what happened in South Africa, a real desire to play Test cricket has been seen in those two 80s and a 90. There is always room for improvement, but one of our strengths is we do bat deep. We've scored the runs but our top order have struggled in tough conditions."
Pakistan is now the one Test trophy that England don't hold, because off goes Cook to pick up the one that eluded him against Sri Lanka in 2014. Fair to say he's feeling significantly more chipper than he was at Headingley two years ago ...
5.24pm So, what do we make of all that? Don't forget to badger Jarrod and George with your #PoliteEnquiries ... they will be recording as soon as they can find somewhere warm and dry... and don't forget the hashtag!
Jonas: "David Malan! Are the selectors having a laugh? " He was impressive for the Lions in the UAE this winter. His leggies were useful too ...
5.19pm Andrew Brooks: "Unbeaten in 25 years if one way of putting it. Never won a test doesn't sound quite as impressive" Alright, no need to split hairs. England would settle for that sort of a record at the WACA.
5.16pm Some news before the presentations. England have included Jonny Bairstow in their limited-overs squads, and Tymal Mills, Dawid Malan and Liam Dawson have all been picked for the T20 squad. Full report to follow...
5.13pm Match drawn That is the end of that. The weather is too minging and the contest too meandering so the captains have shaken hands.
Chanuka Damz: "So Sri Lanka is unbeaten at Lords for past 25 years and it will continue??" That, of course, is the real story of today's limp finish. It is an incredibly proud record that they have built at the world's grandest venue.
5.04pm Marc: "How about using the D/L method for the 4th innings in a test match, based on the minimum overs left? That'll put the cat among the pigeons...." Pigeons? Blowers would have a fit!
Pelham Barton: "I have seen the Mousetrap. The murderer did it." You swindler!
Richard O'Hagan: "Absolutely chucking it down here in Bucks. If you get any more play today I will buy Doris a port and lemon." You've got to be careful about making rash promises in this Test. Doris can tell you that...
4.52pm Well, this is a whole lot of rubbish.
Yorkie Dave: "If you'd posted my comment of 2 minutes ago your readers would have known that rain was going to happen !" Why ruin the surprise? I bet you're the type of guy who would tweet whodunnit in The Mousetrap ...
david: "(@4.40 pm) - Long time since I saw the word 'japes' in modern usage. Cripes, Bunter! You're back in fashion! " What ho!
RamG: "See, I already told that it will rain at 5. Even though European weather model isn't as accurate as US's, it's still pretty reliable. Let's packup guys." Aww... but we're only just getting started...
4.46pm Oh pants, rain stopped play again. Short and to the point from the Sri Lankans in that session. Good positive intent to thwart England's advances.
And as Gnasher points out, if that is curtains, then the final ball of the match will have been a Sri Lanka six! Quite the moral high ground to take into the ODIs ... in which they will trail 10-2 in the Super Series...
Scott: "In this game Cook has hit a six, played a reverse sweep, and played a scoop shot. I wouldn't put it past him to bowl some toe-crushing yorkers to continue the unpredictability!" Valid
Andy: "Bring on Alex Hales!" Wheeeeeeee! [Plop]. Nope, it's going to be Root
Pelham Barton: "BlackJack: It would be a draw." That's what I was going to say, but thought it was a trick question!
In an unsatisfying England-Sri Lanka series, some unsatisfying numbers were achieved. At least England's captain got to go berserk at the end
Some may believe they were victims of misfortune but the truth is Sri Lanka's defeat was at least partly self-inflicted, not the result of a conspiracy.
Kaushal Silva was the first Sri Lanka wicket to fall as a mere 3.4 overs were possible up to tea on a rain-wrecked final day at Lord's
Amid the rainfall and the disappointment of seeing Alex Hales miss out on a maiden Test hundred, there was still a bit of the Lord's magic