England's Summer of Cricket 2024

First topic message reminder :

Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Nishan Madushka, 3 Pathum Nissanka, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara

Sri Lanka have confirmed their team. Unsurprisingly, V Fernando has been dropped after a lacklustre first game. He has been replaced by Kumara, not Rajitha. Kusal Mendis has also been replaced at 3, with Nissanka coming in to replace him. It will be Nissanka's first test in two years. His FC average is 60, but his test average is fractionally below 40.

Expected to be a very good batting wicket, and the weather is excellent for the first four days, but Monday has some rain around if we get that far. Sri Lanka have never won a test at Lord's, but they've managed to draw the last five.

Off for bad light at 12:20, with floodlights on, in front of a packed house who only got to see the customary 12 hours bowled in the first hour.

Every passing test I wonder why would anyone pay £100 a day to go watch this nonsense.

Duckett scoring a 50 at better than a run a ball. Extremely dangerous

Any excuse to get off the field in this format

I like test cricket, but I don't think it's worth saving sometimes. If they're off for bad light now, how on earth will they get back on?

Lawrence isn't test standard, certainly not as an opener. If Crawley doesn't recover in time for Pakistan, Jennings has to come in.

Am I right in saying that the reading the umpires have taken is what they'll go by for the rest of the test? If so there will be no cricket after 5pm. Absolute farce.

They've pulled so many covers on to the outfield and it's barely even a drizzle!

Ha. Had to go out briefly at 73/1 ... can see I didn't miss much

Not exactly surprised that they went off for light though - looked pretty dismal on my TV ; though I'd have hoped things might have brightened up by now. Paying spectators understandably won't be happy so I hope they can get back on some time this afternoon...

I don't quite get the fascination with Jennings as a prospective opener ? He got two hundreds and a fifty in five Tests in India and Sri Lanka ... and apart from that never passed 50 in another twelve Tests , averaging about 16. He has a good reputation against spin from those two tours ; but it was six/eight years ago ; and it is anyway far from certain that the Pakistan tour (wherever they play) will be mainly a spin fest .

Obviously hope Crawley is fit ; but if he isn't , surely better to have a look at someone new , as they seem very anxious to do with the bowling ?

Yeah I would be looking beyond Jennings and Lawrence now - must be a young opener or two to invest in out there in the county game (I am not as up on the county stuff as I have been!).

Not even raining at the ground I don't think is it? I have a message from my pal at work who works in Waterloo just up the road and says no rain, just gloomy. Ridiculous stuff. Umpires should be ashamed.

Oh it is raining now...

Back out at 3:10pm apparently

Resumed ! V Fernando dishing up rubbish again though... Pope happy to take advantage. Sri Lanka really haven't been on the ball today...even A Fernando having trouble with his radar. Quick runs for England.

Fifty partnership already. Duckett going at run a ball and Sri Lanka keep feeding his favourite shots ... probably not their ideal game plan

Pope likes batting at this ground at any time but I'm sure he's enjoying it more then usual as he settles into his innings in contrast to recent poor outings. And Duckett is just making some outrageous strokes !

Think we can say Sri Lanka have already blown any advantage they might have expected from winning the toss.

It has been pretty rubbish from Sri Lanka, but fair to say they've not really been assisted by the overhead conditions as they would have hoped.

Only Kumara bowling with a good intensity, and he nearly gets Duckett but is denied by an umpire's call. Good old Joel Wilson.

Oops...I nearly jinxed Duckett then ! Bit lucky to survive that one on umpires call : I thought that looked out live so he'll be grateful Joel Wilson was in a conservative mood...

Ah one too many "cute" shots sees Duckett fall short of his hundred... Guess he made plenty from those so can't complain ; but seems a pity to get out like that when he had them at his mercy.

Fifty for Pope now and looks like we are back to full on Bazball after a somewhat more restrained previous match...

First time SL have really bowled with any sustained discipline in this match and Root felt the pressure

Pope goes to a sparkling century at a run a ball, and the umpires whip them off despite no discernible change in conditions to a loud round of boos from the paying public.

Good ton for Pope. Amazing that his first seven test centuries have come against seven different countries!

SL ultimately playing like a team who can't wait for the flight home, not a team fighting hard to grab a consolation win.

Pope provided an interesting stat today - an England captain making a Test hundred on his home ground.

I know Hutton did it and maybe in the dim distant past Archie Maclaren achieved it. Gatting got one in the MCC bicentenary match at Lord's in 1987 but that doesn't count.

Anyone else?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/c1m01dvzx2zo

Mark Wood injured again. Right elbow again. Will miss both test tours this winter, might come back for the Champions Trophy in early 2025.

He has had a relatively long injury free run until this, in fairness. When he returns he'll be 35, with presumably not many England games left in him, but Key will still be hoping he play a role in Australia.

England looking light on options going into the winter. No Jofra or Wood. No Tongue. Robinson won't be coming back. Anderson forced into retirement. J Overton injured? Stokes still on the mend, might not bowl.

Leaves England with Woakes (terrible overseas), Stone (just back from injury), Potts, Hull, Atkinson. Maybe Pennington is a choice? Carse? Mahmood if he's fit? Sam Cook? A seven foot bowler playing club cricket in Cumbria who Key stumbled upon during a holiday to the Lake District but now believes he's the one?

Further to what Olly said about the Pakistan tour, Key has said England haven't yet booked flights for the series as they're in the dark about the location...with just a month to go!

sirfredperry wrote:Pope provided an interesting stat today - an England captain making a Test hundred on his home ground.

I know Hutton did it and maybe in the dim distant past Archie Maclaren achieved it. Gatting got one in the MCC bicentenary match at Lord's in 1987 but that doesn't count.

Anyone else?

Root- Headingley 2021
Atherton- Old Trafford 1994

Pope getting runs at The Oval just as folk start murmuring about his form is a very Ollie Pope thing to do. I bet he'll be hoping that the Pakistan tour is in Pakistan as well. Those flat pitches will suit him ideally. Whereas turning decks in Sri Lanka or UAE are probably his sleep paralysis demon.

Interestingly on that Pakistan series, George Dobell mentioned on The Cricketer's post day coverage that apparently the likely cost in UAE made the boards want to cry, so it's looking likely to be 2 Tests in Rawalpindi and 1 in Multan.

I feel like Duckett has been hitting it very well this summer without a ton to show for it. Which is perhaps characteristic of how he plays. He does have the ability to get you off to a very good start though.

And cricket is so annoying. In the short term, actually invest in the pink ball or an alternative that's visible under the lights, when it gets dark enough to need the floodlights, you switch to a pink or other D/N ball of a similar age to the one it's replacing. We see ball changes effect the game all the time anyway. It's far from a perfect solution, but it's so much better than a sport that's already in a precarious position shooting itself in the foot this epically. I don't even rate the pink ball either. It's still possibly better than the laughable poor white Kookaburra that we've used in ODIs forever now. Even if changing to a pink ball threw up big issues, at least they'd then have to look for solutions and alternatives. As opposed to charging high prices to not see cricket.

Longer term, does cricket in England realistically need stadiums with roofs? Australia is in the process of building its second roofed cricket stadium. The weather's a bit better suited to cricket over there!

Good to see Pope getting a score to damp down some of the OTT criticism he's been getting. He did feast on some right old rubbish at times ; but he also played some lovely on drives and generally looked far more confident than he has lately , even fairly early in his innings. Will surely be good for his confidence going into the tours of Pakistan and NZ.

Has to be said that this Sri Lankan bowling display must be high on the list of "Worst Test Match Bowling Performances Ever". They could barely put two balls on a decent line or length all day ; failed to exert any serious pressure despite conditions that ought to have favoured any half decent seam attack ... some dodgy fielding too and they look like a team mentally on the plane home already. If they bat like that when they get a chance this game may be over very quickly !

Pity about all the light problems. No easy solution ; but I think I'd prefer they went back to the old rule and had the umpires ask the batsmen if they wished to continue as it might induce a bit more play on days such as this one.

And a shame that Wood is out of action now... good old England Fast Bowler Injury Curse. Have to do without him in Pakistan so hopefully Atkinson and Stone stay fit to provide the top end pace. Reckon they have enough others as long as Stokes can bowl a bit - which it sounds as if he should. Potts , Woakes despite his poor overseas record , maybe Curran - and I'm not certain Robinson is totally washed up , though he does seem to have dramatically lost favour with the management to be so overlooked even with his outstanding overall Test figures. And we will see what Hull can do over the next day or two.

You never know : they might get lucky and have half a dozen high pace options fit when the Ashes tour comes around. But I wouldn't hold my breath...

Think with Duckett you kinda have to live with the daft dismissals sometimes if you accept what makes him am effective opener for England.

Good response from Pope. But don't think runs at the Oval against a bowling attack halfway on the plane home in a dead rubber will really change anyone's stance.

Seen calls resume for a two tier test championship. While it has it's merits, not sure how second tier teams would generate any interest they're struggling for now.

Soul Requiem wrote:

sirfredperry wrote:Pope provided an interesting stat today - an England captain making a Test hundred on his home ground.

I know Hutton did it and maybe in the dim distant past Archie Maclaren achieved it. Gatting got one in the MCC bicentenary match at Lord's in 1987 but that doesn't count.

Anyone else?

Root- Headingley 2021
Atherton- Old Trafford 1994

Well spotted. Certainly should have remembered the Root one. I think it was the only time in that period when he came in when it wasn't around 10 for two. It was a good start for once at Leeds and he waltzed to a hundred.

I think his batting and the huge scores he was making was really his outstanding period given how poor the rest of the batting was then. Take Brook for instance. His record is excellent but he's often coming in after Crawley, or Duckett, or Pope or Root have softened up the bowling.

I think I was wrong about Hutton and checks shown that Maclaren didn't make it, either.

Tough crowd on BBC comments, Pope's runs don't count because they're against a "minnow". The consensus on there seems to be runs not against India or Australia don't count. Someone on there was also looking forward to Root making a third century in a row today

Joel Wilson in incorrect decision STUNNER

Joel Wilson starting the day with an error. He is a constant.

Brook trying his hardest to get out this morning - Sri Lanka refused to take the catch.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Brook trying his hardest to get out this morning - Sri Lanka refused to take the catch.

Another soft dismissal this series for Brook

Brook throwing his talent away playing like that.

Dhananjaya is super impressive in the field not convinced by his captaincy but his ground fielding is exceptional fantastic one handed stop to stop Smith getting a boundary from a beautiful straight drive... that's what sl need to build the pressure and try and buy a quick wicket or 2

Plenty of movement for this old ball for SL still

Pope definitely has to make a triple ton after that review and the inside edge somehow missing the stumps.

Pope must have a horseshoe and a rabbits foot in both pockets this morning...thought that lbw was stone dead ! And then the inside edge... Ironic that V Fernando has bowled mainly rubbish but finally does produce an over like that...

Sri Lanka seem to have turned up a day late to this one...but I think the horse has bolted.I

Smith gone a bit tamely now... bit of work to do now to get up to the usual 400. Shows what happens when you bowl the ball in the right place for a few overs in a row.

I don't think England are too worried about the wickets, just trying to get on with it. 50 overs lost yesterday, forecast tomorrow is poor. Might end up with only 300-350 overs in the match

Pope 150 but Woakes gone ... introduction of the spinners pays off !

Innings rather imploding, it seems. Has Atkinson got another big one up his sleeve ?

It’s a good job Pope is getting all these runs that don’t count

Very messy morning from England. Beginning to throw away a position of strength, not that it'll likely matter here.

Re Atkinson : that would be a no , then. Seven down and the hutch door is open. Sri Lanka might be batting fairly soon...

Absolute rubbish from England in this morning session.

In fact it is folding right up ! Big innings from Pope ends too...half the team score ...

Spin success for De Silva. Even 350 looks out of reach now. Fancy it will still be enough unless Sri Lanka bat way better ; but still the game looks more alive than overnight...

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:It’s a good job Pope is getting all these runs that don’t count

With regards to his place in the side they don't. A dead rubber at his home ground.

290/4 to 325ao.

Sri Lanka looked pretty finished yesterday, but England have generously put them back in the contest with a range of idiotic shots.

Sri Lanka haven't yet crossed 250 in the first innings on this tour in three attempts - does it change today?

We’re now going to lose 10 minutes play in the day for absolutely no reason as they don’t take lunch and will go out for one over.

Duty281 wrote:Absolute rubbish from England in this morning session.

People will point towards the bowling preparations for the Ashes (and rightly so), but the batting unit has to get greedier if we’re to have any hope. 300-400 won’t win you many games in Aus.

It’s not even what type of approach - today they just gifted wickets. Two wickets to spin on that is embarrassing, and Brook has p1ssed away a load of starts this series and only really that one ball from Jayasuriya at Old Trafford was good enough to get a player of his talent out