Before we get into our review we have a couple of announcements we’re delighted to make!
Firstly, we are exceptionally pleased to announce Woodstock Cricket Co. as our supporter! The brand will be featuring on all of our future work and we will be sharing some of the first-class equipment they have on offer. We are very thankful to Woodstock for their support and we are delighted to link up with one of the finest cricket brands around. They use traditional English craftsmanship and blend it with the needs of the modern player to produce only the best equipment; as proven by them featuring in The Cricketer’s Good Gear Guide! All of their bats are made from premium English willow sourced in the South of England, and then handcrafted in Shropshire.
Please take the time to follow them on all social media and take a look at their website: www.woodstockcricket.co.uk
Our second announcement is that we will be launching a podcast, Down At Third Man, in the coming weeks! I (Ash) will be joined by friends, and fellow club cricketers, Ade Lello and Jonathan Maskrey to talk all things cricket each week. And we also have some great guest lined up already so we can’t wait to share it with you.
The podcast is available on PodBean at: https://downatthirdman.podbean.com/
and the first episode will soon be available on many of your favourite audio apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and PlayerFM.
On to the review of the first test, and what a fantastic, if not bewildering, advert it was for test match cricket!
The match began with Sri Lanka winning the toss and choosing to bat first; the expected tactic at Galle. What followed was an absolutely shambolic batting display as they were all out for 135, which included one of the filthiest five-fers ever seen from Dom Bess.
England then quickly lost both openers as Lasith Embuldeniya, the Sri Lankan left arm spinner, announced himself. But that only brought Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root to the crease. Bairstow fell on the morning of Day 2 to Embuldeniya for 47, but Root continued all the way through the innings until he was out caught for the last wicket. He made a sublime 228 and rarely looked troubled, only getting out when trying to hit big with the number 11 Stuart Broad. Debutant Dan Lawrence also looked very good as he made 73. Dilruwan Perera ended the innings with 4 wickets, as England posted 421 all out.
The Sri Lankan’s then went all Jekyll and Hyde with their batting, and showed real determination as they managed to make 359 all out in the third innings, getting a lead of 73. The innings was notable for Lahiru Thirimanne’s 111; his first test century in around 8 years. He was also backed up by 62 from Kusal Perera and 71 from the experienced Angelo Mathews. Sam Curran got two wickets and Dom Bess three, but the star of the show as Jack Leach who bowled beautifully after lunch on Day 4 and got a well-deserved five-fer.
With 74 runs required, you would have liked to think that England would make the chase comfortable, but they soon found themselves 14/3! Embuldeniya cleaned up both openers for single figures, and then there was a chaotic run out that saw Root trudging back to the pavilion. Fortunately though, Bairstow battled brilliantly (35*) and Lawrence looked composed and under control (21*) as they guided England to the close on Day 4, and then won the game with ease on the final morning.
Player Ratings:
Dom Sibley - 3
Had a shocker with the bat and dropped a good chance in the Sri Lankan second innings.
Zak Crawley - 4
Marginally better than Sibley with the bat.
Jonny Bairstow - 8
Batted well in both innings, seeing England over the line; but lacked the half century.
Joe Root - 9
Stupendous batting in the first innings, great catches in the field but loses a point for the runout!
Dan Lawrence - 8
Looked like he was in his 21st test and not his first. Did really well with the bat, especially under pressure in the final innings, just a shame he dropped a catch and didn’t make it to a ton.
Buttler - 7
Batted okay and was very tidy with the gloves throughout. Missed a difficult stumping but quickly followed it up with his first ever test match stumping.
Sam Curran - 7
Golden duck with the bat but made things happen with the ball and worked hard throughout.
Dom Bess - 7
Some shoddy bowling somehow ended with him getting a five fer. Then bowled better in the second innings and came away with another 3 wickets.
Mark Wood - 6
Worked exceptionally hard but for little reward on a docile pitch. Hit some great speeds and will surely have more joy in India and Australia.
Jack Leach - 8
Could tell in the first innings that he had only played 2 matches in 14 months, but still deserved more than his solitary wicket. Much improved in the second innings and bowled some beauties to get a five-fer.
Stuart Broad - 8
Bowled maiden after maiden in both innings and even picked up 3 wickets in the first. And we can’t forget his cameo of 11* at 11; get him up the order!
After each England match (and also other selected major matches) we will now be selecting a ‘Woodstock Cricketer of the Match’, and we are pleased to announce the first winner is Joe Root for his fantastic captain’s performance with the bat.
So, England will be delighted with the victory after losing the toss, and the batting of Root, Bairstow and Lawrence were massive positives. They will also be happy to see both spinners find some form and rhythm in the second innings.
Their concerns will of course be with the openers, who both struggled vs spin, ahead of the upcoming India Tour. They will both get another go on Friday though, and will be hoping to correct some issues with the help of batting consultant Jacques Kallis.
We’re expecting to see a more ‘baked’ pitch in Galle on Friday and so don’t be surprised if it starts to spin big a day or two earlier Than we’ve just seen in the first test.
England are unlikely to make any changes to the Top 6, but we expect to see plenty of changes from 7 onwards. We’d expect to see Woakes, Anderson and Stone in for Curran, Broad and Wood respectively; although they could call in another spinner, such as Parkinson, instead of Stone. Moeen Ali is unlikely to be available despite being out of isolation from Covid.
We’re looking forward to the second test already and are hoping for and expecting a second England win, but with a little more fight from Sri Lanka early on; it’s sure to be another good contest.
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Supported by Woodstock Cricket Co.
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