Key events
30th over: England 125-7 (Smith 55, Stone 2) Asitha finally decides to go full against Stone, which is the right move. Stone tucks one around the leg-side corner for one. Asitha bumps Smith before the England keeper clubs him down the ground for a boundary. Smith can do no wrong this summer; he probably even managed to get Oasis tickets for a tenner or summat.
Half-century for Jamie Smith!
Rathnayake is taken off by his skipper after a loose over from the Vauxhall End, with Vishwa back. Smith clips the first ball for two, and does the same with the next. Midwicket retreats before Smith lofts over mid-off for four; this really is excellent from Smith, who’s threatening to play the match-winning innings. A pull for four more follows – Smith has gone from 15 off 31 to 47 off 41. Make that 49 off 42, before another clip for two produces a 43-ball half-century. The Oval crowd rises to applaud him.
29th over: England 120-7 (Smith 51, Stone 1)
28th over: England 104-7 (Smith 35, Stone 1) I fear Sri Lanka are letting their moment slip. Asitha is persisting with the short ball against Stone rather than sticking to the more potent, fuller delivery.
27th over: England 104-7 (Smith 35, Stone 1) Fortune for Jamie Smith as he chips Rathnayake high into the air … but the ball evades the fielder running after it at mid-off. A cut for for four follows before Smith pulls for six, the keeper launching a counter-attack. A lofted straight drive for four is next, and he closes the over with a backfoot punch through the covers. Wonderful batting from one of the finds of the summer. 20 (!) runs come off the over.
26th over: England 84-7 (Smith 15, Stone 1) Asitha Fernando returns and goes around the wicket as Sri Lanka turn to a short-ball ploy. He’s back to going over the wicket quite quickly, while still persisting with the bumpers to Olly Stone – strange, considering the success they’ve had in the last hour while going full.
25th over: England 84-7 (Smith 15, Stone 1) Vishwa goes up in appeal, I think for a leg-side grab off Stone. It was very, very hopeful stuff. There are two leg-gullies, which is prompting a very straight, too straight line from Vishwa. Kumar Sangakkara is not a happy bunny on Sky, annoyed at this leg-side trap plan.
24th over: England 83-7 (Smith 15, Stone 0) Rathnayake deserves some credit here, picking up where Kumara left off from the Pavilion End. Olly Stone can bat, though, having hit three fifties in the County Champ this summer.
WICKET! Atkinson lbw Rathnayake 1 (England 82-7)
Another one goes! Rathnayake nips one back in to Atkinson to strike the back pad and the batter doesn’t bother with a review.
“May I be indulged to riff briefly on Steve Colwill’s slightly melancholic fin de l’été reference to the last test of the summer,” writes Brian Withington. “Although not a great tennis fan, I have for some reason similarly made that association with the last day of the US Open. This year the two coincide with the end of the Paralympics – peak autumnal harbingering indeed.”
Cue the obvious reference:
23rd over: England 81-6 (Smith 14, Atkinson 1) Smith and Atkinson, despite the tricky position, must be smiling to themselves. These are two Surrey boys, playing a Test match at home, batting in front of a packed-out crowd, the game on the line. That’s special. Atkinson, despite his injury, gets a good stride forward to defend against Vishwa.
22nd over: England 80-6 (Smith 13, Atkinson 1) Rathnayake finds Smith’s outside edge, but the ball leaps over the leaping gully to the boundary.
21st over: England 74-6 (Smith 7, Atkinson 0) Vishwa is making that ball dance, and a leg slip is positioned for Gus Atkinson as the ball tails into the right-hander. There’s an lbw appeal and a review from Sri Lanka – it’s a really poor one. The ball pitched outside leg stump before striking Atkinson.
20th over: England 72-6 (Smith 6, Atkinson 0) Lahiru Kumara’s excellent spell is over; up to Milan Rathnayake to keep up the pressure. He begins with a ball that nips into Jamie Smith, just missing off stump. It’s disciplined stuff from the right-arm quick, conceding just one with a tight, stifling line.
“At the end of the last Test, it always seems to me that the shutters are pulled down on the last remnant of Summer, Autumn starts in earnest, and the end of the year looms,” writes Steve Colwill. “I hope that this last Test does not end with a whimper in less than three days of play, but sadly this seems to be very much on the cards.”
A whimper? We’re on for a thriller, Steve!
19th over: England 71-6 (Smith 5, Atkinson 0) Vishwa’s left-arm havoc continues. Atkinson, by the way, is batting with a tight quad, so he won’t be moving too freely.
18th over: England 70-6 (Smith 4, Atkinson 0) Chandimal is being helped off the field by a couple of the subs, and it’s Nishan Madushka who takes the gloves. That’ll be problematic for Sri Lanka when it comes to the chase.
Now this is concerning. Dinesh Chandimal leaps to his left behind the stumps to take a terrific leg-side grab, but he’s down on the ground having hurt something. Everything was just starting to go Sri Lanka’s way …
WICKET! Woakes c Chandimal b Kumara 0 (England 70-6)
Kumara sneaks the ball past Chris Woakes’ outside edge and is refusing to tire in this spell from the Pavilion End … and then he gets his man! This time he does get the edge, Woakes prodding at one outside off. Chandimal holds on low and England have collapsed to 70 for six. Finally, we have some jeopardy in this Test match summer.
17th over: England 69-5 (Smith 3, Woakes 0) “It devalues the game, wedging three Tests into three weeks,” writes Gary Naylor. “Joe Root looks understandably drained after his efforts at Old Trafford and Lord’s and should be commended for turning out at all. If administrators are watching this match and cannot see that they’ve asked too much of the players and that it should never happen again, then they don’t deserve the cost of a blazer’s dry cleaning.”
WICKET! Brook lbw Vishwa 3 (England 69-5)
Vishwa swings another into the pads and this time it’s Brook who’s on his way! He reviews but it’s looking good: three reds once again. What a ripping spell from the left-arm quick.
16th over: England 69-4 (Smith 3, Brook 3) Kumara’s putting in a shift: just a couple off the over.
“My dad died earlier in the summer,” writes James Walsh.
When in hospital during his last days, in the grey and difficult early hours of the morning, the companionship of the OBO during the World Cup pretty much kept me going.
I’m cycling to Berlin to raise money for the RNLI in his memory, as he loved the sea. Today is day #1 of the trip, and I’ve cycled past Vauxhall, as this is where he grew up, in the shade of the Oval.
The friend I’m cycling with suggested we stop by the Graham Thorpe memorial, and who do we bump into but Moeen Ali.
“Congratulations on your retirement”, I said, shaking his hand. Is that the right thing to say, or weirdly passive-aggressive? He looks sharp, fit – here’s to a few years of him making more money on the T20 circuit. He’s earned it. An absolute role model.
And if your readers want to sponsor me, well… https://www.justgiving.com/page/adrianwalsh
All the best, James. No better place in the world to start than the Oval.
15th over: England 67-4 (Smith 1, Brook 3) Jamie Smith walks out to navigate a tricky situation – not for the first time this summer.
WICKET! Root lbw Vishwa 12 (England 66-4)
One Fernando replaces another: it’s time for Vishwa from the Vauxhall End. He’s too loose, though, offering Root a freebie to drive through cover for four. It takes Root past Kumar Sangakkara in the all-time Test run chart. Just five men are above him … but forget that for now, Vishwa’s got ‘im! It was full, swinging into the pads and the finger went up. Root reviews but that’s nailed his toe and he’s walking off before the final decision: it’s three reds. Game on!
14th over: England 62-3 (Root 8, Brook 3) A fine stop at backward point denies Root a boundary as Lahiru Kumara continues from the Pavilion End, bustling in. Brook ends the over with a strong forward defence: proper cricket.
13th over: England 59-3 (Root 6, Brook 2) Sri Lanka are going to play with Brook’s ego, Asitha offering a tempter outside off. A beautiful away-swinger follows to beat the outside edge – the two seamers have been on it since the restart.
12th over: England 57-3 (Root 6, Brook 1) Kumara begins wide to Brook, who throws the bat at it … and misses. Brook drops the ball into the leg side to get off the mark with one. England’s two best batters are out in the middle – and they’ve got some work to do.
WICKET! Lawrence c Chandimal b Kumara 35 (England 56-3)
Oops. Kumara has Lawrence edging behind to Chandimal. Once again, Lawrence made room for a straight six but he didn’t get anywhere close to finding the middle of his bat, prompting a rather ugly-looking dismissal. Lawrence punches his bat, his time as an England Test opener surely over.
11th over: England 56-2 (Root 6, Lawrence 35) Dan Lawrence is going to have some serious fun, no matter the circumstances. He makes room to slap a fuller delivery from Asitha down the ground, all the way for six, the arms liberated. A walloping punch through point follows after Asitha goes too wide.
10th over: England 43-2 (Root 6, Lawrence 22) Joe Root gets going with a delicious straight punch off Lahiru Kumara for two, England’s lead going past 100. Kumara is looking sharp, backing up some good work from Asitha in the previous over. But Root ends the set with a brilliant pull, guided with rolled wrists to the boundary.
Taha Hashim
9th over: England 37-2 (Root 0, Lawrence 22) And we’re back with blue skies, but with the floodlights still on. The weather is refusing to make its mind up in south London. Dan Lawrence punches Asitha Fernando behind point for a couple, the Surrey right-hander still going in what could be a significant knock in his England career. Asitha beats the bat with some away movement, Lawrence looking terrifically awkward outside off stump. Lawrence then walks across the crease for an attempted flick, the ball somehow missing the stumps; it just jumped over middle. Lawrence lives on.
I was supposed to hand over to Taha at 2.45pm but it makes more sense to do it now. Thanks for all the emails, especially the love letters to Moeen. Enjoy the rest of the day; see you tomorrow.
Play will resume at 2.40pm.