Olly Stone bowled with eyecatching pace and hostility as England beat Sri Lanka in a rain-affected match in Dambulla
Related: Eoin Morgan leads England to victory over Sri Lanka in rain-hit second ODI
The umpires have confirmed there will be no more play. England go 1-0 up in the series after a good victory in which Eoin Morgan, Joe Root and Chris Woakes starred and the pacy Olly Stone also bowled a thrilling first spell in international cricket. We’ll hear plenty more about him in the next few months. Thanks for your company and emails, bye!
“So,” says Bill Hargreaves, “you say there’s a 0.000001 per cent chance of play...”
It’s still raining furiously in Dambulla. There’s a 0.000001 per cent chance of further play, if that.
We’re still waiting for official confirmation that the match is over. The next game is a day-nighter in Kandy on Wednesday.
I’d imagine the match will be officially called off in the next half hour or so. It’s been a good day for England. Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Chris Woakes continued their brilliant ODI form, while Olly Stone bowled an extremely eye-catching spell with the new ball.
It is pelting down now. I think it’s safe to assume that’ll be it for the day. If so, England will win by 31 runs on DLS.
England are comfortably ahead on DLS, with Sri Lanka 31 runs short of the par score. We may get more play, but I wouldn’t bet my last Rolo on it.
There is lightning in the air, so the umpires have decided to take the players off.
29th over: Sri Lanka 140-5 (Dhananjaya 35, T Perera 44) Moeen ends his spell with figures of 10-0-47-0. This has been a good partnership from Dhananjaya and Perera. It won’t save the game but it should give the top order more confidence going into the third match.
28th over: Sri Lanka 138-5 (Dhananjaya 35, T Perera 43) A good second over from Rashid, with just a single from it.
“I’m here at Dambulla and calling my driver to see if he’s near,” says Lawrence Thompson, attaching a picture from the ground of what appears to be an impending apocalypse.
27th over: Sri Lanka 137-5 (Dhananjaya 35, T Perera 42) Perera is dropped by Stokes off Moeen, a very difficult chance running back from cover. It feels harsh to call it a drop, as Stokes did well to thrust out a telescopic arm and get a hand on it.
26th over: Sri Lanka 133-5 (Dhananjaya 33, T Perera 40) Adil Rashid replaces Olly Stone, and Perera introduces himself by belting the first ball down the ground for six! He does the same again to the fifth ball, a monstrous blow back over Rashid’s head. Fourteen from the over. England aren’t exactly in trouble but they could do with getting rid of Perera pretty soon. Sri Lanka are now 34 behind on DLS, and if we get a full game they will need 146 from 24 overs.
25th over: Sri Lanka 119-5 (Dhananjaya 32, T Perera 27) Moeen hasn’t bowled particularly well today, though that’s partly down to the distraction of trying to get to 20 overs as quickly as possible. He produces a couple of jaffas in his eighth over - one to beat Perera on the outside, the other to beat Dhananjaya on the inside.
24th over: Sri Lanka 116-5 (Dhananjaya 32, T Perera 25) Another short ball from Stone is pulled meatily for six by Thisara Perera. He’s such a dangerous hitter, and another half hour of this would give England a fright.
23rd over: Sri Lanka 108-5 (Dhananjaya 31, T Perera 18)
22nd over: Sri Lanka 104-5 (Dhananjaya 29, T Perera 16) Olly Stone returns to the attack and is pulled witheringly over midwicket for four by Thisara Perera. He loves little more than making room to clout the ball to cow corner. Sri Lanka need 176 from the last 28 overs.
21st over: Sri Lanka 96-5 (Dhananjaya 29, T Perera 9) Moeen continues. It’s still raining, though it’s not heavy and the commentator Russel Arnold thinks it will blow over pretty soon.
“Any drinks-break drama?” says Ian Copestake. “Go-slow beverage consumption leaves England facing draw as rain falls?”
20th over: Sri Lanka 95-5 (Dhananjaya 29, T Perera 8) Liam Dawson wins the match for England! He bowls an entirely uneventful 20th over, which ensures we’ll get a result in this game. Sri Lanka are currently 65 behind the DLS target.
19th over: Sri Lanka 91-5 (Dhananjaya 27, T Perera 6) It has started drizzling, though England should have time to get to 20 overs. Moeen bowls the 19th, in which precisely nothing of note happens. Dhananjaya wastes a bit of time by doing up a shoelace.
Yes @OllyStone2 , congratulations. A long road back over the last 2 years but thoroughly deserved for all of your hard work. Pace like
18th over: Sri Lanka 86-5 (Dhananjaya 25, T Perera 4) Eighteen down, two to go. This has been a strange passage of play, with the actual cricket almost irrelevant beyond the number of overs bowled. Though England would be happy to carry on, it’s time for the scheduled drinks break.
17th over: Sri Lanka 84-5 (Dhananjaya 24, T Perera 2) This has been a chipper cameo from Dhananjaya, who looks an accomplished, stylish player. He pulls Moeen dismissively for another boundary to move into the twenties. England need to bowl three more overs to ensure a result.
16th over: Sri Lanka 74-5 (Dhananjaya 15, T Perera 0) Thisara Perera is the new batsman.
Dhananjaya rocks back to pull Dawson for a lovely six - but then Perera falls, muscling a short ball straight to midwicket. England are cruising towards a thumping victory.
15th over: Sri Lanka 67-4 (K Perera 30, Dhananjaya 9) Perera cracks Moeen through the covers for four, with the aid of a misfield from Stokes. England have understandably lost a bit of concentration and intensity in their urgency to bowl 20 overs.
14th over: Sri Lanka 58-4 (K Perera 23, Dhananjaya 8) Kusal Perera, who is playing fluently now, heaves Dawson for four. Ali Martin tells me the reserve day will only be used if Sri Lanka don’t face 20 overs today. As things stand they need about 100 off seven overs to be ahead on DLS. Maybe they should deliberately lose wickets to waste some time before it rains.
13th over: Sri Lanka 51-4 (K Perera 17, Dhananjaya 7) Rain is imminent, reports our man Ali Martin, as Perera sweeps Moeen for four.
12th over: Sri Lanka 45-4 (K Perera 12, Dhananjaya 6) Dhananjaya survives an LBW review from England. He was miles down the track to Dawson and it was umpire’s call on point of contact with both the pad and the off stump. England are hurrying through their overs, trying to get to 20 and ensure victory no matter what happens with the weather.
“Is it too soon to throw forward to the World Cup and imagine sides needing 65 off 10 overs with five wickets left... and Olly Stone bowling at one end and Adil Rashid at the other?” swoons Gary Naylor.
11th over: Sri Lanka 43-4 (K Perera 11, Dhananjaya 5) Moeen replaces Chris Woakes, and Kusal Perera reverse sweeps his first ball for four. Sri Lanka have to do something, because at the moment they are going down without even a whimper.
“Morning/evening Rob,” says Brian Withington. “Whilst Stone’s debut has been very impressive so far, it’s a good job for Sri Lanka that Woakes can’t bowl outside England ...”
10th over: Sri Lanka 38-4 (K Perera 6, Dhananjaya 5) Liam Dawson replaces Olly Stone. Mahela Jayawardene thinks England are trying to race to 20 overs before it starts pouring down. I thought there was a reserve day, but I also thought Evelyn Waugh was a woman. Dawson’s first over goes for three singles. England are all over Sri Lanka.
Greetings from the Dambulla, Rob. Nothing quite like a nasty fasty to get the juices flowing eh? Olly Stone eye-catchingly electric here, not just for that brute which removed Dickwella but the heavy crack of ball onto bat generally. If anyone is interested, spoke to him earlier in the year (in my local pub, as it happens). And as I type this his Warwickshire chum, Chris Woakes, snaffles his third ... all a bit one-sided this.
Related: Warwickshire’s Olly Stone: ‘I greet each wicket with a fist-pump now’
9th over: Sri Lanka 35-4 (K Perera 4, Dhananjaya 4) Everyone is talking about Olly Stone ... and Chris Woakes has 3-26. Consummate team man that he is, he won’t mind the lack of attention one bit. The new batsman Dhananjaya de Silva times his first ball sweetly through mid-on for four.
“I know I always say this, but it’s a good time to say it again,” says Gary Naylor. “If you want to know if a bowler is fast-medium or genuinely fast, do not look at the speedgun, or even at the bowler - look at the batsmen. Olly Stone is fast all right.”
A few clouds are starting to gather. Sri Lanka need to face at least 20 overs for there to be a result, and at the moment it looks like a certain England win. Woakes takes his third wicket with another excellent delivery: half and half length and moving away off the seam to take the edge as the right-handed Shanaka fiddled outside off stump. That was almost a mirror image of Tharanga’s dismissal.
8th over: Sri Lanka 30-3 (K Perera 3, Shanaka 8) Stone beats Shanka with a cracking lifter. We know he will have the odd 8-0-82-0 day, but it’s impossible not to be excited by such an eye-catching start. He and Woakes have bowled a very hard length, giving Sri Lanka almost nothing to drive. Stone’s figures are excellent: 4-0-7-1.
“He looks very good,” says Mahela Jayawardene on commentary. “Calm, very good action. He looks absolutely brilliant.”
7th over: Sri Lanka 28-3 (K Perera 3, Shanaka 6) Kusal Perera is normally a bit of a dasher but he knows that, after losing early wickets, Sri Lanka need to bat time for a while.
“Morning Rob,” says Will Vignoles. “Like the look of Stone. This may sound silly but he just looks quick. Also got to love a guy taking his first international wicket with a sconner.”
6th over: Sri Lanka 26-3 (K Perera 3, Shanaka 5) A sizzling yorker from Stone beats Kusal Perera and just misses the off stump. This is exhilarating stuff, not least because it’s an English fast bowler we’re talking about. It’s important not to get carried away, but it’s equally important not to stay still. If you’re not excited by Stone’s potential, you need to see a doctor at your earliest convenience.
5th over: Sri Lanka 24-3 (K Perera 2, Shanaka 4) Dasun Shanaka inside-edges his first ball for four, though it was this close to hitting the leg bail. It’s been a terrific opening spell from Woakes: 3-0-19-2.
Another one gone! Chandimal tries to force Woakes off the back foot and drags the ball back onto the body, from where it deflects onto the stumps. This is a serious opening spell from England.
4th over: Sri Lanka 18-2 (Chandimal 4, K Perera 2) Kusal Perera is hit on the body by his first delivery. This is pretty spectacular stuff from Stone, because he’s not exactly bowling on a Perth flyer.
Now that’s how to take your first wicket in international cricket. Olly Stone has bounced Dickwella out in the most emphatic fashion. It was a beautiful delivery that got really big on Dickwella, who had nowhere to go and could only glove it straight up in the air for Buttler to take the catch. That was hot, hot heat from Olly Stone. Yes, you have permission to be very excited about him.
3rd over: Sri Lanka 16-1 (Dickwella 9, Chandimal 4) Chandimal gets off the mark with an extravagant boundary, slapping Woakes through the covers. The next ball tempts him into a loose push and beats the outside edge. England have started well and are really trying to challenge the outside edge while the ball is new.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 12-1 (Dickwella 9, Chandimal 0) We’ve all been looking forward to seeing Olly Stone. His first delivery in international cricket is a jaffa which zips past Dickwella’s edge at 87mph. A leg-side wide is followed by another peach that lifts and beats the lunging Dickwella on the inside. Then Chandimal survives a token LBW appeal after being hit high on the pad by a sharp nipbacker. That’s a brilliant start from Stone. He is still extremely raw but his potential is enormous.
1st over: Sri Lanka 9-1 (Dickwella 9, Chandimal 0) That was the last ball of the over.
Niroshan Dickwella, a dangerous strokeplayer, gets the innings off to a flying start. He times Woakes’s second ball off his pads and Dilscoops the third to the boundary. <Youthoftoday>A Dilscoop off the third ball of the innings!</Youthoftoday>
And now a wicket off the sixth! Tharanga has gone for a golden duck, edging an excellent delivery through to Buttler. It was a perfect length from Woakes, with a bit of seam movement to find the edge as Tharanga fiddled outside off stump.
“Morning, Rob,” says John Starbuck. “How about that from Lasith Malinga? You’d be wanting to look up a few stats to see what kind of success rate other fast-medium bowlers coming back from a long layoff/retirement achieved in ODIs. Getting a five-fer at international levels must be fairly rare for mid-30s players anyway.”
It happens a fair bit in Tests - morning, Jimmy - but it’s pretty rare in white-ball cricket. Malinga is only the fourth pace bowler aged 35 or over to take an ODI or T20 five-for, though Robin Singh was more RM than RFM.
Thanks Simon, morning everyone. While I inject some caffeine into my face, read the great Tanya Aldred on one of cricket’s happiest stories.
Related: How Sri Lanka’s magical 1996 cocktail paved the way for Morgan’s men | The Spin
An imperfect effort from England, but a decent total I think. There’s no doubt who will be hogging the headlines, though. Lasith Malinga says he thinks he can play “not like previous but I can do something for the team”, which is charmingly understated.
That’s all from me. Rob Smyth will be here shortly for Sri Lanka’s reply. Bye!
50th over: England 278-9 (Rashid 19, Stone 9) Thisara bowls, and Rashid shuffles across and tries to ramp the ball over his shoulder, but the bowler sees him go, Rashid changes his mind and in the end gets nothing on the ball at all. But from there Rashid gets plenty of bat on ball, spearing the penultimate delivery past point for four, and then scooping the last in an identical direction but high, over the fielder for another!
49th over: England 267-9 (Rashid 9, Stone 8) Malinga can’t complete the demolition of England in his final over, but it’s still been a remarkable performance - this is his first five-for in four and a half years.
48th over: England 263-9 (Rashid 7, Stone 7) An over from Pradeep must feel like a holiday for England right now, nine runs coming off it. Malinga’s been magnificent. That slow, dipping yorker that did for Dawson was a beauty!
47th over: England 254-9 (Rashid 5, Stone 0) Malinga’s back, after a brief break and a change of ends, and he does for Woakes with his first delivery. Then he welcomes Rashid with an inswinging, dipping yorker. Rashid gets four past point, though it might have been cut off before the rope, and then, after five balls, the umpires call over. The fielders change ends, Malinga stalks to the boundary, and then word reaches the umpire’s ears that they’ve miscounted. Everyone comes back, and with his extra bonus sixth delivery Malinga bowls Dawson! Brilliant stuff this!
Another crazy dipping yorker bewitches a batsman, and Dawson’s gone!
The ball looked to me like it was heading down leg, but DRS insists it was about to turn left and hit leg stump so Woakes is on his way!
He totally fails to deal with Malinga’s slow ball, which bounces straight into him. The umpire thinks it’s going down leg, but Sri Lanka chance their arm with a review ...
46th over: England 249-7 (Woakes 5, Dawson 4) Pradeep comes on allow Malinga to bowl the final over, and he gets rid of England’s ace! It wasn’t a brilliant delivery, but it was at least accurate. There follows a couple of yorkers and a bouncer at Dawson, the latter top-edged behind for four.
And Buttler’s gone! It’s a slow full toss from Pradeep and Buttler doesn’t pick it, and has completed his shot when the ball passes him and clumps middle stump!
45th over: England 239-7 (Buttler 24, Woakes 4) Malinga’s excellence means England have to score freely whenever he’s not bowling. Akila is the man at the other end, and Buttler hits one stonking four and gets a succession of twos. Twelve off the over.
44th over: England 227-7 (Buttler 13, Woakes 3) Malinga, who is bowling just beautifully now, sends down another excellent yorker, which Woakes manages to dig out. Then another to Buttler, with additional bonus inswing, who does likewise, and then another at Woakes. Great stuff!
43rd over: England 222-6 (Buttler 11, Woakes 0) Akila bowls, and Buttler scores three. What’s a good score from here? 270-plus and England would be fairly chirpy, you’d have thought.
42nd over: England 219-6 (Buttler 8, Woakes 0)“It has to be said, that’s an anticlimax,” deadpans Rob Key, as Malinga flings his hat-trick delivery wildly over Woakes’s shoulder. No ball. From the free hit Woakes picks out a fielder, comes halfway down the wicket, is sent back and is very nearly run out.
Actual weather update: after a period of gathering clouds, the clouds have dispersed again. For the first time in a while, the sun is casting shadows - and Sri Lanka are stepping out of them. For England, it seems there are figurative stormclouds gathering.
And Moeen goes first ball! It’s a hell of a welcome from Malinga, who fires in a perfect slow yorker, and the batsman is utterly bewildered!
Morgan is undone by Malinga’s slower ball, and limply chips it back to the bowler!
41st over: England 216-4 (Morgan 91, Buttler 7) Sandakan returns with his penultimate over, and Morgan spears the ball through the leg side and is a little unlucky, having appeared to split them, to see a couple of fielders combine to stop it reaching the rope. Still, seven off the over, in ones and twos.
40th over: England 209-4 (Morgan 87, Buttler 4) Malinga returns, Morgan edges but with no slips it’s completely safe. A fine over from Malinga, with just three runs coming off it.
39th over: England 206-4 (Morgan 87, Buttler 4) Da Silva bowls, and Morgan lifts one over mid-on for four, taking England past 200, and then sweeps twice, once straight to the fielder and the first time beyond his reach for four more.
38th over: England 196-4 (Morgan 76, Buttler 2) Of England’s batsmen only Root has started particularly fluently. Morgan swiped, swished and poked his way to double figures and improved from there. Buttler has faced three deliveries so far, only failing to score from the first.
37th over: England 190-4 (Morgan 72, Buttler 0) Three singles and a wicket makes that a fine over for Sri Lanka.
Stokes stomps furiously from the field after the ball flies off the leading edge and straight to point!
36th over: England 187-3 (Morgan 70, Stokes 14) Pradeep bowls, ending the spin supremacy, and that’s lovely from Stokes, who bullets the ball past mid-off for four.
Morgan's run rate before Root's dismissal was 4.62 runs per over. Since Root's wicket, he has upped it to 9.60 runs per over. #SLvEng
35th over: England 181-3 (Morgan 69, Stokes 9) De Silva drops one short, and Morgan thwacks high but safe, over mid-on for four.
34th over: England 174-3 (Morgan 64, Stokes 7) Morgan starts to motor, hitting through midwicket for four and past square leg for another.
33rd over: England 164-3 (Morgan 55, Stokes 6) De Silva continues, and after four dots his final two deliveries go for singles. England are struggling a little to impose themselves.
32nd over: England 162-3 (Morgan 54, Stokes 5) With plenty of turn in the pitch Sri Lanka keep the spinners spinning, Sandakan bowling his seventh over. England need to accelerate at some point, and after three singles from the first five balls Morgan sends the last squirming past mid-on - who might have been a little more committed with his attempt to cut it off - for four.
31st over: England 155-3 (Morgan 49, Stokes 3) Di Silva bowls, and Morgan thunders straight back down the ground for six!
30th over: England 147-3 (Morgan 42, Stokes 2) Sandakan returns, and Morgan welcomes him with an impeccable reverse sweep. Then Stokes attempts similar, only considerably less faultlessly. The ball loops off the top edge of the bat but lands safe.
29th over: England 140-3 (Morgan 37, Stokes 0) That was the final ball of an otherwise incident-light over, and the wicket has come at a fine time for Sri Lanka. A couple of key overs to follow.
De Silva comes on and makes the breakthrough! A leading edge sends the ball looping into the off side, and Akila takes a simple catch!
28th over: England 138-2 (Root 69, Morgan 35) Thisara’s back, and Morgan flicks his second ball off his hip to long leg for four.
27th over: England 132-2 (Root 69, Morgan 31) Dananjaya’s sixth over yields just one run, a combination of decent bowling and the batsmen repeatedly picking out fielders.
26th over: England 131-2 (Root 69, Morgan 30) Morgan pushes to cover and runs, but the ball bounces straight to a fielder and if his shy at the stumps had been accurate Root was well short!
25th over: England 127-2 (Root 67, Morgan 28) Morgan reverse-scoops the ball over his left shoulder. There’s a fielder at short third man for that, but the ball falls just short. Then he sweeps, and there’s nobody there for that. Four!
Root now has the England record for most runs between dismissals in ODI cricket - 66* today, 304 since he was last out. He's currently 15th on the world list. https://t.co/B6NchuMSOZ
24th over: England 121-2 (Root 66, Morgan 23) Pradeep returns, and Root clips the final delivery through midwicket for four, after which his score matches his shirt number. Clouds are building over Dambulla now, but they still seem mainly of the white fluffy variety, rather than the more threatening dark grey.
23rd over: England 115-2 (Root 61, Morgan 22) Akila is back, and he tempts Morgan into a wild slog-sweep, the bat going nowhere near the ball, which continued straight and bounced just over off stump. Morgan, after seven successive dots, lifts the final delivery over extra cover for a safe four.
22nd over: England 110-2 (Root 60, Morgan 18) Root wants another drink, some dry gloves, and probably a shower and a lie-down. Only the first two are currently available, though he has come very close to expediting his shower. Malinga bowls, and England take a few singles.
21st over: England 107-2 (Root 58, Morgan 17) Root gets away with one again! He hits the ball into his boot and it loops high and to the right of Dickwella, who gets a glove to it but sends it looping back across to his left, where it lands safely. It would have been an unlucky dismissal, sure, but it should probably have been a dismissal. Next ball Sandakan oversteps, and Root sends the free hit high but not quite long enough to reach the long-on boundary.
20th over: England 99-2 (Root 50, Morgan 15) Malinga’s back. “If I’ve fallen asleep on the settee for four hours, then woken up and realised the cricket is on and started drinking again,” writes Greg Fearn. “Am I technically still on last night? I do hope so.” You haven’t been to bed, or indeed left the sofa, and the sun hasn’t come up, so I think it’s definitely still last night. Though with a bit of effort it could be this afternoon.
19th over: England 96-2 (Root 50, Morgan 15) Dropped! A full toss from Sandakan was begging to be hit, and Root volleys it straight to De Silva at midwicket! It comes to him low and fairly hard, but he hardly has to move and really should pocket that one! Root goes on to get the couple of singles he needed to complete his 50, while Morgan snaffles four with a drive past point.
18th over: England 88-2 (Root 48, Morgan 10) Thisara bowls his fifth over, which starts with three consecutive singles ends with three consecutive dots.
17th over: England 85-2 (Root 46, Morgan 9) Sandakan continues to bowl well, but England find it pretty straightforward to work the ball away for singles. And, in one case, a double.
16th over: England 80-2 (Root 44, Morgan 6) We have now officially had more cricket today than we got on Wednesday. So that’s something. Morgan gets off the mark off the final ball of the over - and how! He smashes over cow corner for the day’s first six!
Bairstow has been out bowled in six of his last 13 innings in international cricket. #SLvEng
Jonny Bairstow has been dismissed between 25 and 38 in his last five ODI innings
15th over: England 73-2 (Root 43, Morgan 0) A fine over from Sandakan, with significant variety of pace as well as the spin, which on one occasion completely and profoundly befuddles Morgan.
14th over: England 72-2 (Root 42, Morgan 0) Bairstow’s innings briefly looked about to blossom, but in the end never quite did. Consistent line and length from Thisara was enough, the ball going straight to clip off stump. Meanwhile the sun is still shining on Dambulla, but the forecast - though Ali Martin advised me to ignore it - is getting worse. The chance of rain hitting the town this afternoon is currently 99%. Messrs Duckworth and Lewis may well get a workout before the day is out.
This is the 24th occasion since the 2015 World Cup that England have passed 50 in the first Powerplay when batting first. They went on to post a score of 300+ on 19 of the previous 23 occasions. #SLvEng
Bairstow might have felt compelled to his the last ball of the over, England having scored only a couple of singles. So he tries to do so, and doesn’t.
13th over: England 70-1 (Bairstow 25, Root 41) More spin, from Sandakan, and every delivery brings a single.
12th over: England 64-1 (Bairstow 22, Root 38) Just three off Thisara’s second over. I’d love to tell you more, but I’ve been sneaking in a bit of breakfast. Priorities.
11th over: England 61-1 (Bairstow 20, Root 37) Akila continues, and Root scores six in the over, in ones and twos. “Losing the toss isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because winning the match matters most,” writes John Starbuck. “Do we have any stats about toss/match-winning for captains in ODIs and Morgan in particular? And does this differ according to the country?” In Sri Lanka since the start of 2015, more ODIs have been won by the team that lost the toss than by the team that won it. Sri Lanka themselves lead the way here, losing 12 and winning seven after winning the toss.
10th over: England 54-1 (Bairstow 19, Root 31) Another bowling change, as Thisara Perera chances his arm. Root pushes past mid off, who spins and chases it down to restrict him to two.
9th over: England 49-1 (Bairstow 18, Root 27) Having hit the final delivery of Akila’s first over for four, Bairstow does the same with the first delivery of his second, hoisting it over midwicket. Then a poor, straight ball is smashed in a similar direction for another four, Bairstow emerging from his cocoon and spreading his wings.
8th over: England 39-1 (Bairstow 9, Root 26) Pradeep continues, and some excellent fielding from Shanaka denies Root another boundary.
7th over: England 37-1 (Bairstow 8, Root 25) Akila comes on to do some spinning, and instantly gets some serious turn. That’ll encourage him, though the way Bairstow emerged from his funk to dismiss the final delivery of the over for four might undo that.
6th over: England 30-1 (Bairstow 3, Root 23) Bairstow seems entirely out of touch, and in this over demonstrates a variety of mistimed swings and half-hearted prods. He finally gets a couple off the final delivery, the 16th he has faced. Meanwhile Ali Martin has emailed from Dambulla! He actually emailed a while ago, but my inbox monitoring has been sub-optimal.
Encouraging scenes here, with the sky blue and just a whisp of white cloud. The storms tend to build up later in the day but the morning start should give us a better chance of a result today. There is a reserve day in place (one which would see the match resume where it left off, rather than a fresh start) but my understanding is that if we get 20 overs in the second innings today, DLS kicks in and they won’t come back. Had two relatively dry days since Wednesday’s soggy affair - yesterday saw thunder and lightning but, curiously, no actual precipitation - and if there is anything I have learned in my week here (beyond keeping the balcony door shut to stop monkeys raiding the room) it’s that the weather forecasts mean very little in these parts...
5th over: England 28-1 (Bairstow 1, Root 23) Root leans back and steers the ball past point, impeccable timing as it whistles to the boundary. The next ball is flicked to long leg, where Pradeep, clearly not keen on diving on hard ground, makes a half-hearted attempt to stop it with a foot and fails. Next ball disappears through the covers for another boundary, a delicious stroke, and there might have been yet another had Root’s drive from the final ball of the over not hit the wicket at the bowler’s end.
4th over: England 16-1 (Bairstow 1, Root 11) Pradeep turns and appeals loudly as the ball hits Root’s front leg, but it was heading way down leg side and the umpire is rightly unimpressed. Then Root hits through cover, and the ball goes just fast enough to beat the fielder to the rope. The outfield seems pretty quick, given the amount of rain that has fallen on it recently.
3rd over: England 8-1 (Bairstow 1, Root 5) Runs off the bat! Root pushes the ball straight down the ground for a single. And then a boundary! Root flicks the ball off his pads and past square leg for four. Meanwhile, replays suggest the ball that did for Roy didn’t really do anything off the pitch, and wasn’t notably slower than those that came before. Roy just muffed his timing.
Malinga's wicket-ball to Roy was roughly the same length as the previous ball, but his pace dropped from 135kph to 131kph. Roy was through his shot early and that drew the false shot. #SLvEngpic.twitter.com/5Di349scIf
2nd over: England 1-1 (Bairstow 0, Root 0) Pradeep starts at the other end, and predictions of wild early scoring, unlike the bowling, appear a little wide of the mark. Though obviously as I type that Pradeep sends what might have been his final delivery down the leg side. Still.
1st over: England 0-1 (Bairstow 0, Root 0) Malinga gets the game started with a wicket maiden, an impeccable opening.
Recent history would suggest that we should see plenty of runs in the first ten overs of both innings in this match. Of players to have scored 500 or more runs since the World Cup, four of the six fastest PP1 scorers are playing in this match. #SLvEngpic.twitter.com/IuBqHlwc1o
The ball slows off the pitch, Roy mistimes his shot and the ball loops gently to midwicket!
The players are out, and the sun is still shining! Let’s watch some cricket!
Here’s photographic evidence of the toss-time sunshine.
This is Morgan’s 50th lost toss as England ODI captain. He has won 38 tosses. Since the start of 2017 he has lost 28 tosses and won just 11. This cannot be coincidence: the chap is cursed.
The skies are completely clear, so play will surely get under way as scheduled in 40 minutes. Here’s confirmation of the England team:
Sri Lanka have won the toss and chosen to bowl.
Follow: https://t.co/0YoF7jgNz8#SLvENGpic.twitter.com/24yvk8erNW
So far a perfect re-run of Wednesday: both teams are unchanged; Sri Lanka win the toss, decide to have a bowl and Eoin Morgan admits he’d have done the same.
The toss has happened, and Sri Lanka won it. Dinesh Chandimal says:
We’ll have a bowl first. Looks like a really good wicket so better to get early wickets and put them under pressure. We’re going with the same XI.
We’d have done the same again. I think with this unpredictable weather both sides would want to bowl first. But it looks like a good wicket. We got off to a good start the other day and hopefully we can do the same again.
Hello world!
First things first: at the time of writing (about 12 hours before the start of play) the weather forecast suggests there is a 60% chance of rain between 10am local time, when play is supposed to get under way, and 4pm, gradually reducing to a mere 30% at 8pm. Across the day overall there is an 80% chance of rain. Scattered thunderstorms, they say. There is rain forecast in Dambulla every day over the next week. In short, scheduling cricket during monsoon season in Sri Lanka is a risky endeavour, a gamble that didn’t pay off on Wednesday when only 15 overs were possible in the first, abandoned ODI, and which is looking decidedly dodgy once again. The only good thing about the anticipated weather in Dambulla today is that the forecast for Kandy, venue of the third game in the series, on Wednesday, date of the third game in the series, is considerably worse. On paper this is an intriguing encounter with plenty of talking points for England; in reality it may be a soggy encounter with plenty of tea consumed.
The skies are blue in Dambulla ahead of the second ODI.
it stays that way!#SLvsENG@bbccricketpic.twitter.com/yskfKnReiH
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