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England v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test Day Two: Five Things We Learned

Britain Cricket - England v Sri Lanka - Second Test - Emirates Durham ICG - 28/5/16 England's Moeen Ali hits a four Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff (Reuters)

England started day two on 310 for six but finished it with a monster 407 lead over Sri Lanka, who were reduced to 91 for eight at stumps. Here’s what we learned…

MAN OF THE DAY – MOEEN ALI (155*)

A second in Tests – a second at number seven (more on that later) – and, more importantly, a hundred that gives Moeen Ali the confidence that he belongs at Test level. Because, for all the confidence he might ooze through his calm demeanour and effortless swagger with the bat, there was a part of Ali’s mind that seemed to be wondering where his next score of note might come from. England were by no means dominant when he came to the crease: Joe Root and James Vince had gone in the space of four overs and a collapse was in the offing. He steadied, accumulated to get England to a solid total before adding the garnish with some cracking shots through and over a ragged field. The numbers show the acceleration clearly: his first 50 runs came from 109 deliveries – the next 105 coming off 98, which also included a large number of turned down singles as he looked to farm the strike. In the process, he overtook one Donald Bradman as the best number seven in the game. Yes, you read that right.

300 IN THE BANK

So much of Rangana Herath’s career has been in the shadows: first of Muttiah Muralitharan, then on his own nature. He’s not quite a student of the game – during his brief county stint with Surrey in 2009, he would often fake yawn to get the conversation away from cricket – but he has more or less completed the art of left arm spin. While 300 took a while and didn’t come through crafty means – Steven Finn skying a floated delivery back to the bowler – it brought deserved credit to a man who is now only the third Sri Lankan to pass the milestone. At 38, he is still a vital part of this Sri Lanka side. Who knows, 400 may not be to far off…

63 TO 47

To say we haven’t seen the best of Chris Woakes in Test cricket is grossly underselling just how good a cricketer he is. In the last week, he has scored a Championship hundred and taken nine wickets in an innings. And while many thought Jake Ball should have been given a nod in this Test, it is only right that England slot Woakes in for the simple fact that theres is a team that operates best with a fully-functioning allrounder. But Woakes ensured he made the most of his opportunity to take three for nine in his seven overs. He was the fastest England bowler on show and, much to his own pleasure, he knocked down that bowling average from 63 to 47. A good evening’s work.

BAD TO LAST DROP

After performing so well in the field yesterday, Sri Lanka let the game slip away from them early on day two with an abject follow-up. Moeen Ali was dropped on 36 in the gully – a tricky chance – and then at deep square leg when on 103. The worst of the lot was Dinesh Chandimal who just didn’t go for a catch that passed him by inches. A routine take for any keeper worth his salt.

WHAT NEXT

Moeen wants to enforce the follow-on, which is great to hear on many levels: any other player might have played that question under his nose. Moeen went with a flourish. But this is a Sri Lanka side who need to be hammered into the ground, regardless of how charming they might be. A few extra days off beckons…