Key events
31st over: Sri Lanka 133-7 (Wellalage 9, Chameera 0) Replays confirm it was umpire’s call, so a review wouldn’t have saved Colombage.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 133-7 (Colombage LBW b Rehan 14)
Rehan Ahmed gets his first wicket. Colombage misses a vigorous sweep at a big-spinning googly and is hit somewhere near the phallus. Sri Lanka have no reviews left but I reckon that might have missed leg stump.
30th over: Sri Lanka 128-6 (Wellalage 4, Colombage 14) Archer follows the left-handed Wellalage with a nasty delivery that thuds into the glove. Joe Root is also nursing a sore finger on his right hand after getting a touch on that edge for four from Colombage.
29th over: Sri Lanka 126-6 (Wellalage 3, Colombage 13) Rehan returns and is swept ferociously for four by the debutant Colombage. When he then takes a single, Wellalage plays and misses at a googly from round the wicket.
28th over: Sri Lanka 120-6 (Wellalage 2, Colombage 8) The substitute Liam Dawson misses a run-out chance with Colombage barely in the frame.
Colombage takes advantage of the reprieve to heave and edge Jofra Archer for a couple of boundaries.
27th over: Sri Lanka 111-6 (Wellalage 1, Colombage 0) Jacks bowls a couple of leg-side wides after turning the ball too much. But overall he’s having another very good day-night: 46 not out and 2 for 17 from five overs.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 105-6 (Kusal Mendis LBW b Jacks 42)
And it’s goodnight from Sri Lanka. Kusal Mendis, their last hope of victory, has fallen LBW to the impressive Will Jacks. He was hit on the pad after missing a premeditated sweep at a flighted delivery from around the wicket. Mendis reviewed, but deep down he knew.
26th over: Sri Lanka 105-5 (Kusal Mendis 42, Wellalage 1) Overton continues to pummel the pitch and given the Sri Lankan batters very little to work with. He doesn’t quite have the variety of Liam Plunkett, the unsung hero of England’s 2019 World Cup win, but he has every chance of fulfilling the same middle-overs role in South Africa next year.
25th over: Sri Lanka 101-5 (Kusal Mendis 40, Wellalage 0) Jacks starts his over with four dots in a row to Kusal Mendis, who somehow needs to stick and twist if Sri Lanka are to win this game. At this stage England were 147 for 3.
One from the over. Jacks has excellent figures of 4-0-11-1.
24th over: Sri Lanka 100-5 (Kusal Mendis 39, Wellalage 0) Brian Withington has another Mark Wood song from the archives. “This one was inspired by the 2023 Ashes Headingley Test and was offered as a later period Beatles rip-off from the White Album (itself a delicious parody of the Beach Boys’ disturbing paean to young Californian females).
“My poor homage was prompted by a line from the CCLive’s very own Mes, Francophile and umpire extraordinaire of refugee cricket. (For those unfamiliar with the Guardian’s CCLive! acronym, DPRY = Democratic People’s Republic of Yorkshire.)
Back in the DPRY
Flew in from the Kirkstall End 90 MPH
Broad got Travis Head last night
All the way the Western Stand supported me
Man, this is an Ashes fight
[Chorus]
I’m back in the DPRY
You don’t know how lucky you are, boys
Back in the DP
Back in the DP
Back in the DPRY
Been away so long, am I worth my place?
Gee, it’s good to be back on
Pleased that I can still step up my pace
See if you can hit that son
[Chorus]
Well the Aussie boys nearly knocked us out
They leave the rest behind
But the Yorkshire crowd really sing and shout
That Bazball’s always on my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my mind
Oh, come on!
[Chorus]
Oh, show me ‘round your beer-flecked terrace way out West
Take me to your Yorkie heart
Let me hear those Northern voices ringing out
Hope we can keep up this start …
WICKET! Sri Lanka 100-5 (Liyanage c Buttler b Overton 4)
Big Overs strikes again. Liyanage tries to dab a hard-length, cross-seam delivery from Overton and gets the thinnest of edges through to Buttler. England are well on top.
23rd over: Sri Lanka 99-4 (Kusal Mendis 38, Liyanage 4) Liyanage opens the face to steer Jacks for three. But the other five deliveries bring only a couple, so Sri Lanka’s required rate creeps up to 6.18. In these conditions, with four top-order batters already out, that’s quite a lot.
22nd over: Sri Lanka 94-4 (Kusal Mendis 36, Liyanage 1) Kusal Mendis is pinned on the glove by Overton. Crumbs, that delivery really took off. Mendis’s reaction was hilarious: he glared with a kind of furious confusion at Overton, then the pitch, then his own wounded hand.
Mendis composes himself to chip a majestic boundary down the ground. “Shot of the day I reckon,” says Mark Wood in the Sky Sports commentary box. If Sri Lanka are going to win this game, Mendis needs to go deep and big.
21st over: Sri Lanka 87-4 (Kusal Mendis 28, Liyanage 1) The right-handed Janith Liyanage comes to the crease – and almost leaves it when he whips a big offbreak from Jacks on the bounce to backward square leg. Excellent over from Jacks: two runs, one wicket.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 85-4 (Asalanka LBW b Jacks 1)
So much for the left/right combo: Asalanka has gone straight away LBW after missing a sweep at Jacks. He reviewed, no idea why, but that was plumb.
20th over: Sri Lanka 85-3 (Kusal Mendis 27, Asalanka 1) Charith Asalanka is the new batter, which gives Sri Lanka a left/right combination.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 84-3 (P Rathnayeke c Banton b Overton 13)
What a fine catch from Tom Banton! After cutting the previous ball for four, Rathnakeye crashed Overton into the covers and was nonchalantly taken at ankle height. Every time Sri Lanka threaten to get on top, England take a wicket.
19th over: Sri Lanka 79-2 (Kusal Mendis 27, P Rathnayeke 9) Rehan is replaced by Will Jacks, who concedes three singles from a tidy opening over. The required rate creeps above six an over for the first time.
“Did someone say Mark Wood tribute?” begins Brian Withington. (I think John asked for a tribute to Wood’s imaginary horse, but let’s not split hairs.) “This was from 2024 and should be read to the tune of Norwegian Wood off the Rubber Soul album (by a short-lived 60s four-piece from Liverpool for the youngsters on here):
He knows how to bowl
And I should just say, very qx uickly
He comes from Dur-ham
Isn’t he good our own Mark Wood?Ben asked for one more
And he told him to bowl anywhere Then Seales looked around
And noticed his stump wasn’t thereJoseph was the last in
And wasted no time
He’d cleaned up the tail, minus Motie
Five for fortyBen said he fancied golf
In the morning and started to laugh
Mark told him he didn’t
And walked off to have an ice bathAnd when we looked up it was all done
The game had flown
But he lit the fire
Isn’t he good our own Mark Wood?
18th over: Sri Lanka 76-2 (Kusal Mendis 25, P Rathnayeke 8) Big Overs, known more commonly as Jamie Overton, replaces Josh Tongue. An extremely heavy ball surprises Kusal Mendis, who flaps it into the leg side for a single. Rathnayeke clips nicely past midwicket for a couple.
“Mark Wood: what a legend,” writes Rory Young. “If he could have stayed fit more he’d probably be our best genuine fast bowler of the modern era – and that’s from a Jofra fan!”
He speaks really well on the loneliness of rehab. It’s quietly heartbreaking that he spent nine months trying to get fit for the Ashes and was only able to bowl 11 overs at Perth. But crumbs, what an exhilarating sight, comfortably the quickest England bowler I’ve seen. He’s also possibly my favourite ever England tailender. I think Wood’s other regret is that he didn’t lengthen his run-up earlier in his career. His Test stats show how big a moment that was (I think I’ve taken the correct cut-off point).
Drinks: Sri Lanka need 193 runs from 33 overs
17th over: Sri Lanka 73-2 (Kusal Mendis 24, P Rathnayeke 6) Sri Lanka’s captain Kusal Mendis injects some impetus by sweeping and pulling Rehan for successive boundaries. And just like that, it’s drinks.
16th over: Sri Lanka 64-2 (Kusal Mendis 15, P Rathnayeke 6)
Meanwhile, this is a cracking read
15th over: Sri Lanka 60-2 (Kusal Mendis 13, P Rathnayeke 4) Brook moves himself to slip for Rehan, who is getting some encouraging turn away from the right-handers. Another good over; three singles from it.
Sri Lanka need 206 from 35 overs, aka 210 balls.
14th over: Sri Lanka 57-2 (Kusal Mendis 12, P Rathnayeke 2) Mendis gloves Tongue round the corner for a rare boundary, the first off a quick bowler since the seventh over. It remains an intriguing contest, an old-fashioned arm-wrestle of an ODI.
13th over: Sri Lanka 51-2 (Kusal Mendis 7, P Rathnayeke 1) A terrific maiden from Rehan includes three leg-breaks that beat Rathnayeke’s outside edge. Rathnayeke was anticipating the googly, Rehan’s biggest weapon, but he kept it under wraps in that over.
12th over: Sri Lanka 51-2 (Kusal Mendis 7, P Rathnayeke 1) Pavan Rathnayeke is the new batter.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 48-2 (Nissanka c Buttler b Tongue 27)
Josh Tongue in wicket-taking shocker. He’s just a natural, whatever the format, and he has made a vital breakthrough here. The dangerous Nissanka tried to run the ball towards third but could only edge it through to Jos Buttler.
11th over: Sri Lanka 46-1 (Nissanka 26, Kusal Mendis 4) With the first Powerplay done, Harry Brook turns to his main spinner Rehan Ahmed. This is his 10th ODI and his first at home since the Ireland series of 2023.
Nissanka punishes a short ball, tagging it to cow corner for four, before offering a sharp caught-and-bowled chance. Rehan crouched to meet it with both hands but couldn’t hang on. Eoin Morgan, commentating on Sky, reckons Rehan would have taken the catch nine times out of ten.
10th over: Sri Lanka 40-1 (Nissanka 21, Kusal Mendis 3) Another boundaryless over from Atkinson ends a fairly muted Powerplay, at the end of which Sri Lanka need 226 from 240 balls.
9th over: Sri Lanka 37-1 (Nissanka 19, Kusal Mendis 2) Kusal Mendis flicks Tongue for a single to get off the mark. There’s a slip in place when Tongue is bowling to Mendis, but not to Nissanka, who gets up on his toes to glide a single.
It’s been a cagey start to the innings, like a boxing match in which both fighters are waiting for the other to swing the first haymaker.
8th over: Sri Lanka 34-1 (Nissanka 18, Kusal Mendis 0) Another forensic over from Atkinson to Nissanka: five dot balls and a flick for two. Atkinson has bowled well and has figures of 4-0-12-1.
7th over: Sri Lanka 32-1 (Nissanka 16, Kusal Mendis 0) Josh Tongue replaces Jofra Archer and starts with a cracking yorker that is defended by Nissanka. This is Tongue’s third ODI – and only his fifth List A game since 2019 – but England clearly like him as a potential wickettaker in the middle overs.
Nissanka stands tall to punch a beautiful boundary square on the off side. Nothing wrong with the delivery at all; that was pure class.
6th over: Sri Lanka 27-1 (Nissanka 11, Kusal Mendis 0) The pull looks a hard shot to play on what is a slightly two-paced pitch. Kamindu Mendis’s three boundaries came from fuller balls that were flicked or driven.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 27-1 (Kamindu Mendis c Duckett b Atkinson 14)
A bit of width from Atkinson allows Mendis to slap a cover drive for four. But that’s his lot: three balls later he cloths a pull to midwicket to give England their first wicket.
5th over: Sri Lanka 23-0 (Nissanka 11, Kamindu Mendis 10) Nissanka is beaten twice by Archer and edges streakily for four. There are no slips in place; England have a more subcontinental field, with Root catching at short midwicket. Archer’s first over was a bit of a loosener; since then he’s been almost unhittable.
4th over: Sri Lanka 19-0 (Nissanka 7, Kamindu Mendis 10) Atkinson backs Archer up with a very accurate over that includes five dot balls in a row to Mendis. His length was spot on, just full of good, and the line gave Mendis no chance to use his wrists.
3rd over: Sri Lanka 18-0 (Nissanka 6, Kamindu Mendis 10) Sri Lanka are above England in the ODI rankings – it’s 6th v 7th – so we shouldn’t be surprised that they have been a lot more competitive.
Archer’s second over is superb, with only a leg-bye from it. Mendis is beaten by consecutive jaffas, both around 90mph.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 17-0 (Nissanka 6, Kamindu Mendis 10) Gus Atkinson shares the new ball, as he did in the final match of England’s series win against India earlier in the summer. A good first over, full and straight, is tarnished with Mendis clips another stylish boundary through midwicket. There wasn’t much wrong with that delivery; it was slightly too straight, no more than that, and Mendis punished him.
1st over: Sri Lanka 12-0 (Nissanka 5, Kamindu Mendis 6) Pathum Nissanka square-drives Archer’s first ball for a tone-setting four. He’s such a good player; there aren’t many modern openers who average over 40 in Tests and ODIs and over 30 in T20Is.
Archer’s first over is a double-figures job. Kamindu Mendis, who has been given a new role in the ODI team, is beaten by a lifter but then clips his first boundary between midwicket and mid-on. Nice shot.
Jofra Archer will open the bowling for England. Sri Lanka will surely go hard against the new ball; batting looked more awkward as the England innings progressed.
“Nobody, even an England fan, wants to see their team win matches against a feeble opponent, so welcome to the Sri Lankans’ cricket so far today,” says John Starbuck. “We’d like to see a tough struggle, England lose this game, just squeak a win in the second one, and all-to-play-for in the last. This opinion may be subject to discussion. Also, how about an OBO tribute to Mark Wood’s horse?”
I’m writing a 10,000 word feature to be published next week.
Something for the innings break
There are a gazillion reasons to love Mark Wood, who has announced his retirement from international cricket. What’s your favourite memory? The one that makes it drizzle on my face is Headingley 2023. That Ashes series became the greatest in this country since 2005; without Wood’s volcanic bowling – and his violently defiant batting – it would have been the most crushing anticlimax imaginable.
Thanks Taha, hello everyone. Be careful what you wish for, part 7,418,291. England fans craved a contest after a painfully one-sided T20 series; they’ve got one at Chester-le-Street, where Sri Lanka restricted England to 265 all out in the first ODI. The legspinner Sachindu Colombage, making his international debut at the age of 28, bowled beautifully and finished with 3 for 44.
I still think England are slight favourites on what looks a slightly awkward pitch, but there’s no Adil Rashid so the spin will come from Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks and maybe Joe Root. Our algorithmic friends, the ones who share the name W. Predictor, reckon Sri Lanka are favourites.
Right, enough from me. Rob Smyth will take over for the second half.
The best cricket magazine in the world (I used to work there) is up on the honours board.
England all out for 265
Fernando fires in another yorker to wrap things up! It’s another one that tails into the right-hander and the No 11 doesn’t stand much of a chance. This is still a decent score on a tricky pitch … but Sri Lanka have a real chance at winning their first game on this tour.
WICKET! Tongue b Fernando 0 (England 265 all out)
48th over: England 265-9 (Tongue 0, Jacks 46) Jacks gladly accepts a rare gift: a full toss from Chameera that is sent down the ground for four. The quick lands the next delivery but he’s too full as Jacks drives for another boundary. And then a third four in a row! Jacks punches a slower ball through cover and these are precious late runs. It’s been a responsible hand from Jacks at No 6 … and he makes it four successive boundaries with a pull!
