Brave Sri Lanka battle to keep themselves in a game which repeatedly looked hopeless
Cricket can be a cruel game. Hours of hard work can be undone with moments and madness. As Sri Lanka have discovered at Old Trafford this week, sloppy sessions can cost you dear.
Before a ball was bowled in this series, obituaries had been written for Sri Lankan Test cricket. That felt not entirely unfair. After all, last week the team was blown away by a Lions side that featured a 16-year-old, two first-class debutants, and an opening bowler who came into the match with an average a shade under 80.
They hadn’t played a Test since March, hadn’t travelled outside Asia in 17 months or been part of a three-match series since 2018. Some of the island’s most talented young players are carving out careers as white-ball specialists. And in his pre-match press conference, Dhananjaya de Silva admitted the team would have liked another warm-up. Undercooked was putting it lightly, this team was raw; in the minds of many English, road-kill.
Milan Rathnayake
Ultimately, the result will likely end up as most had predicted: a defeat for Sri Lanka. Yet, that doesn’t tell the whole story. At points in this match, the visitors have battled bravely – testing England and showing resilience which most thought was beyond them.
An hour into the Test, even the most ardent optimist might have declared the cause hopeless. Sri Lanka’s top order seemed to channel the spirit of the Kandy Perehera; during a slapstick sequence, they surrendered three wickets in the space of 10 balls. First, Dimuth Karunaratne tried to pull a barely back-of-a-length ball and top-edged. Moments later, Nishan Madushka had a wild swipe at an outswinger and nicked through to slip. When Angelo Mathews shouldered arms to a straight one, Sri Lanka were 6-3; shot down, before the game had truly got going.
At that stage, a three-figure score, and a match lasting three days, looked doubtful. Yet Sri Lanka are nothing if not unpredictable – and from that moment on, produced a series of surprises.
First, Kusal Mendis, who’d looked scratchy in the nets on the eve of the match, batted with style and swagger – making a quickfire 24 before being undone by a beauty from Mark Wood. Next, skipper Dhananjaya played elegantly: counterpunching without taking undue risks, coping well with the pace of Wood and the short balls England threw his way. He dug his team out of a deep hole – finding support from Chandimal, and then, surprisingly, from debutant Milan Rathnayake.
Rathnayake, unheralded for his batting, was a revelation. At the close of play on day one, he admitted he hadn’t slept a wink on the eve of the Test. Yet, at the crease he was sharp and diligent – digging in, and showing the sort of temperament and technique which eluded the top order. He ably supported his captain; once Dhananjaya was gone, he began to break loose. Enjoying spin from both ends, he repeatedly mowed the ball over the infield – and twice into the stands. In making 72, he passed his best first-class score, and set a new record for a debuting number nine. More importantly, he carried Sri Lanka to 236 – given the slow outfield and the pitch’s variable bounce, his innings kept them alive in the game.
Sent into the field on a miserable second day, Sri Lanka again battled bravely. Asitha Fernando bowled valiantly with new ball and old. After trapping Ben Duckett lbw, he uprooted Ollie Pope’s off stump with a magical delivery. And as the other bowlers lacked potency with a soft old ball, Asitha used the wind to his advantage; tailing the ball into the batters and keeping Joe Root and Harry Brook honest.
Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling coach Aaqib Javed compared his wrist position to the great Mohammad Asif’s. That was high praise, yet perhaps Asitha had earned it. After wobbling the ball both ways, he tricked Joe Root with a straight one. Rarely, has England’s star batter been deceived in such fashion.
Up until tea, Prabath Jayasuriya had been short of his best – bowling full and straight and looking to skid the ball into the stumps, he’d struggled to bother the English batters. Yet, he produced two wonder deliveries after the break: the first pitched well outside leg, but ragged to peg back Brook’s off stump. The incredulous look on the batter’s face spoke volumes. Woakes too, was bowled with a ball that spun viciously.
Yet, Sri Lanka undid much of their good work on the third morning. They were sleepy and sloppy in the field, allowing Jamie Smith and England’s tail to extend the lead beyond 100. Forced to bat for 15 minutes before the break, Nishan Madushka and Kusal Mendis were unable to see off the new ball – both falling for ducks. For the second time in three days, Sri Lanka went to lunch in deep water.
They improved through the afternoon, yet heavy defeat seemed inevitable: Karunaratne was judged to have inside-edged to Wood, Chandimal was sent to hospital by a vicious nip-backer before Dhananjaya was trapped lbw by one that kept horribly low. Yet, when all felt futile, Mathews and Kamindu Mendis mounted another brave fightback.
Through much of the evening session, the pair proceeded untroubled – but a ball change at the start of the 42nd over brought another twist in the tale. Suddenly, England’s seamers were swinging the ball and causing problems. Root spilled a simple chance off Mathews, Atkinson grassed a tougher one off Kamindu; eventually, Woakes had Mathews caught at point.
Shortly before close, Rathnayake gifted Root and England his wicket with a sloppy shot. Chandimal returned – and Sri Lanka closed day three 82 runs ahead, with four wickets in hand. Still just about alive in the match.
At the end of day three, batting coach Ian Bell was optimistic. “With the bat, we have seen a lot of courage and the team has dug in,” he said.
“They are desperate to show people how much it means to play for Sri Lanka.”
Whatever the result, most would agree that over the course of three days, the players have done the island proud. Already, they have proved many doubters in England wrong – and won a few hearts and minds in the process. If they can just find a bit more consistency, they might take something tangible from the series.
–Nicholas Brookes is the author of ‘An Island’s Eleven: The Story of Sri Lankan Cricket’. He podcasts about Sri Lankan cricket for ‘The Murali End’ and tweets @brookeswrites–