England v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test Day Two: Five Things We Learned

Sri Lanka punch back against a weary England attack. Here’s what we learned from day two at Lord’s…

MAN OF THE DAY – JONNY BAIRSTOW 167*

To underline the sort of form Bairstow is in, consider this: in the space of six months, Bairstow has hit three of the seven highest Test scores by an England wicket-keeper. Also, since January 1st of this year, he has scored 594 Test runs at an average of 118.8. In first class cricket, those runs almost double to 1127 (102.4). Pakistan’s attack will, of course, present him with a greater challenge – their fielders might want to catch better, too – but this is something of a once-in-a-lifetime purple patch for for Bairstow that only a handful of players enjoy.

OPENING GAINS

Slowly but surely, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva have grown into this series. Of course, it took a bit of time and, it was a surprise that Karunaratne was unable to build on his tour century against Leicestershire. While he was quick to blame the lack of pace in the Leicestershire or Essex attacks for Sri Lanka’s poor preparation, it is worth him remembering he lost his middle stump throug a searing Atif Sheihk yorker for a four-ball duck in the first innings of that match. Both brought up measured half-centuries and, in doing so, put on Sri Lanka’s first century opening stand since January 2014. Silva, in particular, looked in great order, playing with soft hands and driving nicely throughout his unbeaten 79. The honours board beckons…

WOAKES’ FIRST

He’s been unlucky with the ball for most of his Test career but, with the bat, Chris Woakes underlined his credentials as an allrounder. He never looks phased, nor does he get tetchy through prolonger periods of rebuilding. Unlike other batsmen, such as Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes, whose tempo and concentration seemed to be dictated by where they bat in the order, Woakes has enough trust in his own batting to keep a cool head, regardless of the situation. He is certainly a must-pick for the subcontinental tours this winter.

DROP OF THE DAY

Having profited from some drops himself, Bairstow was undone by the movement past the edge of Dimuth Karunaratne’s bat. Perhaps the worst thing about the missed chance was that Bairstow barely got a glove on the ball. It’s not the first he has dropped off Chris Woakes - that was Durban, when Amla was the batsman afford a let-off. The talk will continue about his keeping – it obviously isn’t up to Test standard and a full-time option is required – but it’s worth noting that Bairstow has 17 catches this series.

WHAT NEXT

If you’ve backed the draw, you’re in good shape. The pitch had nothing in it today and, for all the patience of Sri Lanka’s top three, they might have wondered if they could have taken a larger chunk out of England’s first innings score. There is rain expected on Sunday and, with that in mind, the best chance of a result, for either side, will depend on whether third innings of the match gets underway tomorrow.