England seamers rip through Sri Lanka after maiden Gus Atkinson first-class ton

Gus Atkinson’s glorious first summer as a Test cricketer continued with a maiden first-class hundred before England’s seamers turned the screw against Sri Lanka.

Already on two of the three Test honours boards at Lord’s after a 12-wicket match haul against the West Indies on debut last month, Atkinson completed the set with a swashbuckling 118 off 115 deliveries.

His innings from number eight, having come in at a dicey 215 for six, followed Joe Root’s majestic 143 a day earlier and lifted England to 427 after being put in before Sri Lanka slumped to 129 for seven at tea on day two of this second Test.

On a pitch that had few gremlins, England’s fast bowlers hunted as a pack and there were two wickets apiece for the metronomic pair of Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts, with Olly Stone bagging two in an over on his return to Test cricket.

Atkinson had a gift first up as he resumed on 74, glancing off his hip before crunching his second ball down the ground for back-to-back fours. He was given lbw from the third ball of an eventful first over but successfully reviewed, as Lahiru Kumara’s in-ducker would have jagged past leg stump.

Atkinson continued to unfurl his shots as the milestone hovered into view and after slight nerves on 99, beaten once on the outside edge, he punched the next ball through mid-off for four to bring up the sixth fastest ton at Lord’s off just 103 deliveries.

In doing so, Atkinson joined fellow Englishmen Gubby Allen, Ian Botham, Stuart Broad and Woakes, plus Australia’s Keith Miller, as the only players who have taken five wickets in an innings, 10 in a match and made a hundred at the home of cricket.

The belated introduction of Asitha Fernando saw Potts nick off for 21, ending an 85-run stand alongside Atkinson, before Sri Lanka turned to the short-ball ploy after England passed 400.

The plan worked as Atkinson pulled into the deep, with Milan Rathnayake taking a jaw-dropping catch over his shoulder at deep midwicket off Fernando, who also accounted for Stone for 15 to become just the second Sri Lankan bowler after Rumesh Ratnayake in 1991 to take a five-for at Lord’s.

England then continued the momentum provided by their lower order when Sri Lanka came out to bat.

Stand-in captain Ollie Pope grinned sheepishly after a bizarre review when Dimuth Karunaratne had played and missed by a long way off Atkinson while Nishan Madushka, opening the batting after keeping wicket for 102 overs, edged Woakes between Jamie Smith and Joe Root when still on nought.

But the visitors were soon in trouble as they slipped to 32 for two, Madushka chopping on to be dismissed for the third time in three innings by Woakes and Karunaratne also bottom-edged on to his stumps from the final ball before lunch off Stone.

On the resumption, Pathum Nissanka walked into England’s leg slip trap as Stone bagged two wickets in his second over in his first Test since June 2021.

Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal provided brief resistance but Pope simply shuffled his pack, bringing on Potts, who immediately probed away at the top of off-stump, giving little away.

Potts was rewarded with a double-wicket maiden, turning both Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva inside out to make it 83 for five.

Mathews was undone with a beauty that moved down the slope and clipped the top of off for 22 while Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya lasted three balls before nicking to second slip.

Chandimal flicked round the corner to Dan Lawrence off Atkinson for 23 with Sri Lanka not yet in three figures before Woakes took the edge of Rathnayake, with Smith diving to his left to take the catch as Sri Lanka went to tea still trailing by 298 runs.