England lost early wickets in their run chase but remain on course for victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka, finishing day four on 38-3 in pursuit of a target of 74.
Having battled hard to make 359 all out in their second innings, Sri Lanka gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Lasith Embuldeniya quickly removed England openers Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley.
The run out of captain Joe Root, who was called through for a single that was never on before falling over as he dived to unsuccessfully make his ground, left the tourists teetering at 20-3.
However, Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence steadied the nerves, seeing England through to stumps without any further setbacks. The duo will resume on day five needing a further 36 to seal the series opener.
Sri Lanka will be left cursing their first-innings shortcomings with the bat, particularly after a second Test hundred from Lahiru Thirimanne underpinned a far-improved display second time around.
England did remove nightwatchman Embuldeniya early but were made to work hard for wickets after that, Jack Leach the pick of the attack as he finished with figures of 5-122.
Sam Curran eventually ended Thirimanne's defiance when the opener had 111 to his name, while the hosts were still in deficit when stand-in captain Dinesh Chandimal edged Dom Bess (3-100) to Root at first slip.
The same bowler accounted for Niroshan Dickwella, who made 29, but Angelo Mathews proved to be a familiar thorn in England's side.
Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler secured his first stumping in Test cricket as some smart glovework ended a lively cameo from Dilruwan Perera (24), while Mathews was the last man out midway through the final session.
The former Sri Lanka skipper had battled for nearly six hours before Leach tempted him into a leaden-footed drive, ending his resistance on 71. England appeared frenetic at the start of their chase on a dry, turning surface, but will still be confident of completing the job on Monday.
TON-DERFUL MOMENT FOR THIRIMANNE
Thirimanne's previous Test century also came at the same venue; he made 155 not out against Bangladesh back in March 2013. The left-handed opener may not have featured in this match had captain Dimuth Karunaratne not been ruled out with a fractured thumb, but he seized his opportunity.
In total, he faced 251 deliveries and hit 12 boundaries, helping at least restore some pride for Sri Lanka after they had been dismissed for 135 on a dismal opening day.
LEACH STICKS TO HIS TASK
Leach had not played in a Test since November 2019, since when an illness and the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted him to just two first-class appearances. The left-arm spinner could be forgiven for a little rustiness, then.
However, he stuck manfully to his task during the innings, sending down 41.5 overs to claim his second five-wicket haul in Tests. His other also came against Sri Lanka, at Pallekele back in November 2018.
Umpire Sue Redfern makes history in County Championship match at Glamorgan
Derbyshire dominated the first day’s play as umpire Sue Redfern made history in the LV= County Championship fixture at Glamorgan.
Redfern became the first woman to stand as an umpire in a men’s first-class match in England and Wales as she joined Graham Lloyd in the middle for the Division Two clash.
Luis Reece made an unbeaten 139 and it was Lloyd’s finger which went up for the wickets of Harry Came and Brooke Guest as the visitors reached 308 for two.
Guest made 96 and put on 180 for the second wicket with Reece, who had captain Leus du Plooy for company on 22 not out at stumps.
Hosts Bermuda among four hunting T20 World Cup spot
The journey to next year's ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA continues, with Bermuda set to host the Americas Qualifier from 30 September to 7 October 2023.
Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands and Panama will battle it out in a double round-robin format, over six days to earn a place in the 2024 edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup – the biggest one yet, featuring 20 teams in total.
As host, Bermuda will look to continue their good form from winning the Subregional Qualifier, to return to the biggest stage in men’s T20 cricket, after their historical appearance in 2007.
Canada, arguably the favourites of the event, will look to confirm this and seal their ticket to a new World Cup participation. The Cayman Islands are a regular fixture in the regional final but are yet to go through, and, as such, they will push hard to make it this time. Panama are underdogs, as their participation may come as a surprise to many, but with no real pressure on their backs, this could allow them to play freely and upset the main candidates.
This event promises to be a competitive affair, with the four teams confident of their chances of making it through to the main stage.
Taylor emphasizes spending time at the crease ahead of Australia tour
Former Captain Stafanie Taylor says the West Indies Women will need to emphasize spending time in the middle to have any chance of competing with Australia when the pair lock horns in three T20Is and three ODIs beginning on Sunday at North Sydney Oval.
The team is coming off a pair of home series wins against Ireland in July (2-0 in the ODIs and 3-0 in the T20Is) and will look to take that momentum into Australia.
A big reason for those series wins was the team’s batting. The first ODI saw the hosts bat the full 50 overs to post their second highest ODI score ever, 297-6, before successfully defending it.
The third ODI also saw an impressive performance with the bat, losing only four wickets and needing only 41.3 overs to chase down 203.
The T20s were no different with the West Indians securing a pair of eight wicket wins as well as a tense two wicket victory.
From an individual standpoint, after a rough few years due to a persistent back injury, Taylor enjoyed a welcome return to form during the ODI series.
She made scores of 55 and 79* in her two innings and is looking to continue that form against the current World Champions.
“I’ve been feeling really good for some time. The injury would’ve definitely slowed me down a little bit but it’s nice that I’ve been working hard to get my body back up and it’s been really good,” she said in a press conference ahead of Sunday’s series opener.
“For me, it’s trying to get myself back to the top and spending some time at the crease is going to be crucial because I find that once I’m able to do that, I know runs will come. I just have to believe in myself,” she added.
Just like in the Ireland series, the team will be a good mixture of youth and experience with some players who took part in the most recent ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup as well as the CWI Regional Under-19 Women’s Tournament.
The 32-year-old complimented the youngsters before emphasizing that it is up to veterans like herself to help them achieve their full potential.
“I think we have a good crop of young players coming through. We’ve seen them in the Under-19 World Cup and it’s been really good so far where we have our Under-19 tournament that recently concluded in Trinidad and a lot of those U19s have been integrating with the senior team. You saw that in the recently concluded Ireland series,” Taylor said.
“Having them in the system, it’s for us to try an impart that knowledge that we have onto them and this series is going to be crucial for them but also it’s a learning experience and you don’t want to burden them too much,” she added.
As the most experienced member of the team, Taylor also provided insight relating to conversations she has had with the younger players in the team or players who haven’t yet played in Australia.
“Well I haven’t played here in a long time to be fair but, from what I’ve known is that Australian wickets tend to be a bit bouncy. It might be worth playing a bit late especially with the pace of the fast bowlers. I’ve played a few times at North Sydney and it’s a good wicket. I think the wickets here are going to be really good for batting. Spending time at the crease will be crucial if we want to score runs,” Taylor said.
This series will also be the first opportunity for new head coach Shane Deitz to take charge of the regional side.
In his own introductory press conference a few weeks ago, Deitz proclaimed that he wanted to bring a new attacking brand of cricket to the West Indies Women.
Taylor says that discussion hasn’t taken place quite yet.
“We’ve only had one practice session so far. We haven’t really had a meeting to discuss how we’re going to play or what it’s going to look like for this series. The first game is Sunday and we just had a meeting to welcome everyone and had a light practice session just to have a feel of things,” she said.
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