Ah, I was hanging on for the post match presentations but it seems they have been pulled. Time for me to skedaddle then, thanks for your company. Taha’s match report will be along very soon and do join us on Sunday for match number two.
The weekend has landed. Goodbye!
England win by 11 runs on DLS
Handshakes all round, a strange and drawn out match comes to a close. England take a 1-0 lead in the series. Adil Rashid starred with the ball, taking 3-19 before Sam Curran popped up to take a hat-trick at the end of Sri Lanka’s innings. A total of 133 was never going to be enough for the home side and so it proved.
We’ll have some reaction from the ground very soon.
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Rain Stops Play!
Oh, the rain has returned and seemingly caught everyone out. The players are going off with England eleven runs ahead on DLS. That could well be it for the action today.
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WICKET! Phil Salt c Wellalage b Shanaka 46 (England 123-4)
Salt holes out to long on before he can chalk up what would have been a very strange half century.
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14th over: England 120-3 (Salt 46, Brook 12) Brook is dropped by Nissanka at deep cover! A dolly Miss Molly. Salt then throws himself into the wound with a clobbered off side four off the next ball. England need 14 more from 18 balls to go 1-0 up in the three match series.
13th over: England 115-3 (Salt 42, Brook 11) Brooky cloths a reverse off Hasaranga but somehow manages to get it to trickle away for four runs. Twenty needed for England, eyes down for a red inker. Not.
12th over: England 105-3 (Salt 38, Brook 5) Phil Salt’s ten over boundary drought is lifted with a step across his stumps and a flick over the ropes off Theekshana.
11th over: England 97-3 (Salt 31, Brook 4) Hasaranga whips through a cheap and quick over. Just four runs off it, its all about wickets from here, namely can Sri Lanka take seven of ‘em.
10th over: England 93-3 (Salt 28, Brook 3) Brook is off the mark with a scampered two past point. A top edge ploops over third for a single. England need a run a ball – 42 off 42.
WICKET! Tom Banton c Asalanka b Pathirana 29 (England 87-3)
The home side needed that. Banton is caught at cover by Asalanka, a fine grab with two hands as the ball was middle sweetly. Harry Brook arrives in the middle.
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9th over: England 86-2 (Salt 26, Banton 29) Banton is doing his World Cup chances no harm at all with this sprightly cameo, he trots down and lofts Theekshana for four. England take nine off the over, Sri Lanka need wickets pronto.
8th over: England 77-2 (Salt 23, Banton 23) Salt clips a single, he’s slowed right down since that rapid start, just nine off the next 13 deliveries. Banton gets on with it instead – the Somerset man reverses Hasaranga for four and then does the same for a SIX! The bowler tries a googly but Banton reads it and slaps it over midwicket for SIX more! 17 runs off the over, England need just 58 more.
7th over: England 60-2 (Salt 22, Banton 7) Banton gets a meaty outside edge off Shanaka and it runs away for four through the vacant deep third. Sri Lanka are coming back into the contest though with some tighter bowling, pace off and stump to stump. Add a couple of wickets to the score…
6th over: England 53-2 (Salt 20, Banton 2) Drop! Big Drop! Phil Salt picks out Mishara on the square leg boundary but the catch plops in and straight back out again. That’s a huge miss. Five off the over but Hasaranga is spewing about the catch still at the end of the over, as well he might.
WICKET! Jacob Bethell c Shanaka b Malinga 9 (England 48-2)
Bethell flatters to deceive in his short innings, nonchalantly flicking Malinga over midwicket for four but perishing meekly off the final ball with a plink to short cover.
Tom Banton is the new man, a decent innings here will keep his name in the hunt for selection for the World Cup, Ben Duckett is resting in this series after a torrid Ashes but his name is thought to be the one inked in the XI.
5th over: England 48-2 (Salt 14, Banton 0)
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4th over: England 41-1 (Salt 14, Bethell 5) Bethell glides a four through point with oodles of time off Pathirana. The bowler responds with a searing 90mph yorker that Bethell does well to dig out. Sri Lanka seem convinced that it was pad first and send it upstairs… nope – he more or less middled it. A decent over though, just the one four off it as Bethell can’t beat the infield.
3rd over: England 37-1 (Salt 14, Bethell 1) Jacob Bethell is the new batter, be still my beating heart. He clips a single off the last ball of the over to keep the strike. This could be fun.
WICKET! Jos Buttler b Malinga 17 (England 36-1)
Buttler hits four fours in a row off Eshan Malinga but is then completely foxed by a slower ball, stumps knocked back and he has to go after looking a million dollars.
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2nd over: England 20-0 (Salt 14, Buttler 1) Matheesha Pathirana shares the new ball, he beats Buttler first up with his zippy medium pace. A full toss goes unpunished as Buttler looks to the square leg umpire and implores for a no ball to be called. It isn’t but England get four leg byes off the next to keep them ticking.
1st over: England 14-0 (Salt 14, Buttler 0) Theekshana drops short with his first ball and is flat batted for SIX by Salt. Bosh. Salt crashes a full ball through the covers for four and then follows up with a clip off his pads for another. Three boundaries in a row to start the chase for England. Three dots follow but England are in a hurry.
Righto, Phil Salt and Jos Buttler are out in the middle. Maheesh Theekshana will start with the ball for Sri Lanka, play!
Sri Lanka bowled out for 133
Overton rips out Hasaranga’s middle dolly and that is categorcially that. The home side bundled out inside their 17 overs after a really strong start. England’s spinners did the damage in the middle overs and then Sam Carran popped up to take a hat-trick (after taking some tap).
England will need about 8 runs an over, I dare say they will try and get it quicker than that. Back soon for the chase!
16th over: Sri Lanka 129-9 (Hasaranga 10) Just the four runs and THREE WICKETS in the over. One more to go, in more ways than one…
Sam Curran takes a hat-trick!
Matheesha Pathirana is bowled neck and crop and Curran wheels away with arms outstretched! A HAT-TRICK! After being flogged around the park in his first couple of overs. Cricket! Bloody ‘ell!
WICKET! Maheesh Theekshana c Overton b Curran 0 (Sri Lanka 129-8)
Two in two for Curran, he’s on a hat-trick!
WICKET! Dasun Shanaka c Brook b Curran 20 (Sri Lanka 129-7)
Sam Curran has had a bad day but turns his fortunes around in his third over…
15th over: Sri Lanka 125-6 (Shanaka 18, Hasaranga 9) Archer back into the attack and his first ball is too straight, too full and clipped away for a SIX by Shanaka! Archer winces but comes back strong, just three singles follow in the over. Two overs to go, what can Sri Lanka muster?
14th over: Sri Lanka 116-6 (Shanaka 10, Hasaranga 8) Overton returns, drops short and is flogged away by Hasaranga.
13th over: Sri Lanka 110-6 (Shanaka 9, Hasaranga 3) Shot! A a much needed swipe for SIX by Shanaka. Dawson closes out with 2-31 from his four. England’s spinners have done the damage in Kandy.
12th over: Sri Lanka 100-6 (Shanaka 1, Hasaranga 1) The hundred comes up for Sri Lanka but at 76-2 they were flying only to fall in a heap. Adil Rashid finishes with 3-19 from his four overs. Masterful.
WICKET! Dhananjaya de Silva c Curran b Rashid 11 (98-6)
Another one gone! Five wickets in five consecutive overs for England. Rashid bamboozled Dhananjaya with a couple of googlies and the shot to break the shackles is pouched by Curran in the deep. Implosion!
11th over: Sri Lanka 98-5 (de Silva 11, Shanaka 0) Dawson has 2-31 from his three overs, superb spin bowling.
WICKET! Janith Liyanage lbw b Dawson 1 (Sri Lanka 98-5)
England get one overturned on review. Dawson and Buttler were confident that Liyanage was pinned in front and no bat was involved, the replays confirm it and the batter is on his way. Sri Lanka capitulating a little in Kandy.
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10th over: Sri Lanka 91-4 (de Silva 2, Liyanage 1) Ten overs done and England have pegged the home side back after that rapid start.
WICKET! Kusal Mendis c Overton b Rashid 37 (Sri Lanka 89-4)
Rashid gets the key wicket of Kusal Mendis! A flighted leggie grips the surface and Mendis gets a big leading edge down to long on where Overton takes it in his sizeable yeoman hands.
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9th over: Sri Lanka 83-3 (Mendis 30, de Silva 2) Dawson fires it in full and gets out of the over cheaply, just four runs and the wicket off it.
WICKET! Charith Asalanka c Bethell b Dawson 2 (Sri Lanka 79-3)
Asalanka tries the big slog sweep but doesn’t get enough of it, Jacob Bethell scampers round the boundary edge and takes a fine catch on the dive. England chipping their way back into the contest.
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8th over: Sri Lanka 79-2 (Mendis 30, Asalanka 2) Charith Asalanka is the new batter. Mishara is still out there and looking dangerous. Rashid gets out of his over for the cost of just four runs and he pocketed the all important wicket too.
WICKET! Pathum Nissanka c Buttler b Rashid 23 (Sri Lanka 75-2)
England needed a wicket and their main man delivers. Rashid tosses one above the eyes and Nissanka goes for a big moose across the line, he miscues and Buttler does the rest. England gather in the middle and take a few deep breaths, they were on the ropes there.
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7th over: Sri Lanka 75-1 (Nissanka 23, Mendis 29) Sam Curran returns and starts with some dross first up, slinging a full ball onto the pads with fine leg up in the circle, easy pickings for Kusal Mendis. Mendis then clears the front leg and swipes Curran away through midwicket for four more. SIX! Curran goes to a short ball but Mendis is onto it like a seagull on a saveloy – smashing it away over the leg side and into the crowd. Trying times for Curran… SIX MORE! Curran tries a slower ball but Mendis is ready and waiting, depositing down the ground for another big one. Twenty runs off the over – Sam Curran has 0-35 from his two. Have a breather, son.
6th over: Sri Lanka 55-1 (Nissanka 23, Mendis 9) Adil Rashid introduced with Harry Brook needing his main man to take some wickets and stem the flow. After one ball from Rashid the truncated PowerPlay is complete. Nissanka and Mendis can only deal in singles, five off the over.
5th over: Sri Lanka 50-1 (Nissanka 21, Mendis 6) Dawson into the attack, there’s plenty of head scratching out in the middle as the ball appears to clip the stumps when Nissanka misses a sweep shot but the bails stay on and the ball dribbles away for four byes! Someone’s UHU’d the bails Guv! Nissanka is looking imperious, he makes room to cut Dawson for four and then ends the over with wonderful lofted SIX over mid-off.
Ffity up for Sri Lanka – they are going at ten an over. Even I can do that maths.
4th over: Sri Lanka 36-1 (Nissanka 11, Mendis 6) Nissanka attempts a paddle sweet to Archer which I’m not sure is the wisest move. He misses the ball and is smashed on the pad, Archer pleads with the umpire who says not out and Harry Brook decides against sending it upstairs, wisely as it hit Nissanka outside the line. Nissanka is a joy to watch though, he trots down and lofts Archer over cover for four. A single brings Mendis on strike, he rocks back and unleashes a cut past backward point for four more. Decent start from the home side.
3rd over: Sri Lanka 25-1 ( Mishara 10, Nissanka 6) Kusal Mendis is the new batter, Overton keeps him honest with four dots. Seven runs and the wicket off the over.
WICKET! Kamil Mishara c Dawson b Overton 16 (Sri Lanka 24-1)
Jamie Overton replaces Curran and is immediately mullered into the stands over long-on by Mishara. That was some strike. Gone! Mishar tries to repeat the stroke but hits it straight up up and up. Liam Dawson takes a simple catch… did I mention how safe his hands were? England get their first.
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2nd over: Sri Lanka 18-0 ( Mishara 10, Nissanka 6) Jofra Archer starts from t’other end. He skims one past the outside edge of Mishara’s bat and looks in fine fettle in his first few balls. DROP! Archer shows his frustration as Liam Dawson shells a chance at midwicket, Mishara given a life. Dawson was almost at full stretch but got there with his left hand and perhaps could have taken it he’d gone with both. Just two off the over but a missed opportunity for England. I don’t want to do Dawson down, but I recall seeing him drop quite a few catches in an England shirt now? Harsh but fair?
1st over: Sri Lanka 16-0 ( Mishara 9, Nissanka 5) The sky is bruised and so are Sam Curran’s figures after just one over, the wee man is flogged for 16 runs off his first including three fours from over pitched deliveries that are given the treatment. Nissanka plays the pick of them with a languid cover drive that threads the field but Mishara didn’t miss out either, picking off two boundaries through the off side with sweet timing.
Sam Curran is going to start with the new ball for England. Let’s play!
Here are the teams:
Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kamil Mishara, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dhananjaya de Silva, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka (c), 7 Janith Liyanage, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Matheesha Pathirana, 11 Eshan Malinga
England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Tom Banton, 5 Harry Brook (c), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid
Taha chirps up from the ground and says he doesn’t think there will be any more rain. Wahey.
He also informs me that he has purchased three Sri Lanka floppy hats in the rain delay and that Paolo Nutini’s ‘Candy’ was on his Spotify most played for 2022. He’s like Alan Whicker.
Crucially he’s no longer Under an Iron Sky in Kandy. We’ll have play in just a couple of minutes.
England win the toss and will bowl first
Harry Brook calls the coin correctly at a soggy looking Pallekele, England choose to chase. No brainer.
Match reduced to 17 overs per side
Here we go – official news of a toss in fifteen minutes (2.55pm) and a 3.10pm start.
Still no news on an inspection or toss time from the ground, as soon as I get some intel you’ll be the first to know.
Why not quiz while we wait?
Stand by your beds! The covers are being peeled off in Pallekele.
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No news is probably bad news I’m afraid. There is some epic sport taking place right now though and I don’t mean my elite oeuf scrambling. Djokovic and Sinner are locked in a fifth set over in Melbourne in the men’s Aussie Open semi final. If Djokovic gets there he’ll be the oldest in open era to do so, if he wins the thing then it’ll be his much coveted 25th Grand Slam title. I mean, the guy is ancient – 38 years old. Thirty Eight. (Ahem).
Katy Murrells is on the tools for us here:
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The tarpaulins have been hauled on, which is not good. The whole outfield is now covered and steady rain is falling. So confident am I that we aren’t going to get an update any time soon that I’m off to pad into the kitchen and scramble some eggs.
Before I crack into some Burford Brown’s (very Guardian?) wait a minute, where’s Rooty?
Further bad news, the rain has returned and the covers are being pulled back on in Kandy. We await official news…
In the meantime, here’s Taha on a sorry tale:
Gah. Spoke too soon, the toss is delayed by fifteen minutes while the ground staff complete some clean up. Never mind, we have plenty of pre-match reading for you to get stuck into. Not all of it that uplifting, mind.
The good news is that the toss is about to happen and we should be underway on time.
Taha Hashim is our man at the ground, he’s been covering Jofra’s return and speaking to another player to return to the T20 fold – Phil Salt:
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the first of three T20 Internationals between Sri Lanka and England from Kandy. After pulling off a series win in the longer stuff Harry Brook and his men are now getting down to brass tacks with the shorter format.
The T20 World Cup starts in a little over a week and these matches are the final tune up, after a disastrous Ashes campaign it is fair to say that higher level jobs are in the spotlight and immediate futures will likely hinge on how England perform in the tournament.
Some good news – Jofra Archer is back ahead of schedule after pulling his side in Australia, he wasn’t initially named in the squad to play these matches but his early return is a boon for Harry Brook.
Play will begin at 1.30pm GMT all being well, there are reports of some inclement weather in Kandy at the moment, whether the players are perched on the ground in the pouring rain, trying to make themselves a sail… remains to be seen.
I’ll be here OBOing for ya.
