Ben Foakes became just the 2nd English keeper to complete a century in his very first Test Match innings as England built a dominant position on Day 2. Coming back to the crease this morning with 87 to his name (an unlucky number for some Southern Hemisphere cricketers), Foakes wasted little time in passing the milestone and was the last man out as England were dismissed for 342.
England then struck with the new ball and just before lunch had Sri Lanka in trouble at 40-4. Some resistance during the afternoon session from the experienced duo of Mathews and Candimal halted their charge but once the Sri Lankan skipper was out his team melted away in the heat of the Galle sun.
<grammarly-btn>Foakes takes to Test cricket like a duck to water
As a Surrey fan this was another proud moment for me as I watched Ben Foakes complete his century in the wee small hours while the wind and rain of the English autumn lashed at the windows. Let me tell you I'd have been pretty annoyed had I have abandoned my nice warm bed at 4:30am only to see him fall short of the milestone!
Yesterday, I wrote about his calmness and determination at the crease and today we got to see that he is the full package with the keeping gloves on as well. You can't help but wonder if this performance was written in the stars as he got a chance to snaffle his first catch as an international keeper with just the 2nd ball of Sri Lanka's innings - an opportunity that he gleefully accepted. His keeping throughout was superb, especially given that he was playing in a side with 3 spinners, all of whom he would have had limited exposure to prior to this game. His crowning moment came when Dinesh Candimal skipped down the pitch, only to beaten by an Adil Rashid leg-break and quick as flash, Foakes had the bails off and the Sri Lankan captain was on his way to end a stubborn partnership of 75 from 27 overs.
Even beyond just the technical ability, Foakes seemed at home in the Test environment. He was vocal behind the stumps, encouraging his slow bowlers (he's got all their nicknames down very quickly!) while giving the occasional chirp to the batsmen. He even had a couple of friendly chats with the umpires as if he was an old pro! The guy just oozed confidence throughout the day and as I mentioned in the Day 1 analysis it will be very difficult for England to leave him out in the next game. The hope will be that he can go on and cement his place in this side in the way that Sam Curran has and I hope Rory Burns will tomorrow. I guess this success is slightly bittersweet for a Surrey fan as it means that we could be short of 3 or 4 players for large parts of next summer.
England's spinners get the job done, eventually!
Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh here but I felt that England could have looked to press their advantage home even harder than they did today. They were given the ideal start as both Anderson and Curran struck early on to leave the Sri Lankans in a difficult situation while simultaneously taking the pressure off the 3 England spinners all of whom needed to get off to a good start in this series.
However, while I understand the need to give your spinner a little bit of protection when they first come on and allow them to find their rhythm, I also think that England's bowlers and Joe Root were overly defensive with their field settings, particularly at the point at which they had Sri Lanka 40-4. Had England managed to capture the wicket of one or both of Mathews and Chandimal, Sri Lanka's 2 most experienced batsmen, when they first arrived at the crease then this game could well be all over bar the shouting. Instead, Root generally had at least 2 and sometimes 3 men back on the boundary.
<grammarly-btn>Jack Leach was my pick to be England's leading wicket-taker in the innings at odds of 4.5. His 2 wickets weren't enough to secure me the win but in general his performance was very good. He managed to find some excessive turn during his first over and from there he settled into a good groove and was disciplined with his line and length. He has a couple of variations that include a top-spinner but in general, he relied on the natural variation given by the pitch, with some balls going on and others, including the one he bowled to Kusal Mendis spinning away to take the edge. Again, I would have liked to have seen him and Root attack a lot more when they had Sri Lanka in real trouble before lunch. I'm not quite sure why they required a man back at long-off when the batsmen were just looking to survive? If I were the bowler I would be hoping that they do come out and play the risky shot!
What made the decision to have men back even more frustrating is that Dinesh Candimal was still carrying the groin injury that he picked up yesterday which made him very slow between the wickets. With the heavy set Mathews, a man with more nuts and bolts in him than a hardware store at the other end, it wasn't as if Sri Lanka had the ability to take many quick singles. England could have sat back on the edge of the circle and strangled Sri Lanka until they were forced into having a heave. Instead, England sat off and let the game drift for the best part of 2 hours. In their batting, they are overly aggressive and gung-ho and in their bowling, they are overly cautious and miss opportunities to attack. I've no doubt that England assumed they would be in the field for the entire day but to be a top side you have to be able to react a little faster when the situation requires you to abandon pre-set plans.
When they finally did get the breakthrough it was as a result of a batsman trying to hit out in frustration. We've seen on many occasions in ODI and T20 cricket, that Adil Rashid is a far better bowler when batsmen are trying to take him on and so it was that he claimed his first wicket when Chandimal was tempted from his crease and Rashid was able to spin one past him. For all 3 of England's spinners the only questions to answer are when will they be bowling again and how big a total will they have to defend? The dismissal of Angelo Mathews to a ball that spun, bounced and caught the glove, will have given England's bowlers great encouragement that they can take 10 2nd innings wickets on this pitch when the time arrives.
Sri Lankan Cricket in the doldrums
I fully expect England to go on and win this game as well as the series fairly comfortably. Probably the only thing that can stop them at this point would be the return of the torrential rain that affected every match in the ODI series or the appearance of further streakers like the young man below who felt obliged to a take a naked jog across the Galle pitch - I love the various reaction from the groundstaff in the picture below!
I would say that the Sri Lankan public are also in agreement with me as to how this match will finish with the ground and ramparts of the Dutch Fort behind it filled with a large number of England fans compared to just a smattering of home support. With their team struggling and their board facing further charges of corruption, the once loyal Sri Lankan support will need something special from the players to get them back into the ground tomorrow. Will they get a dramatic turnaround or is it just a matter of time before England rub salt into their already sore wounds?
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