Joe Root showed his class as he hit a record-equalling 33rd Test century at Lord’s to help steady England against Sri Lanka on day one of the second Test.
Root equalled former England captain Sir Alastair Cook’s record of hitting the most Test match centuries for England and brought up his milestone in style by piercing the gap between the slip cordon for a boundary.
England suffered a shaky start at the hands of Sri Lanka’s seamers, who removed Dan Lawrence (9) and Ollie Pope (1) cheaply in the morning session along with opener Ben Duckett (40), after the tourists won the toss and surprisingly elected to bowl under bright blue skies.
Harry Brook (33) and Jamie Smith (21) were the afternoon casualties before Root (143) and Gus Atkinson (74no) shared a formidable partnership worth 92 runs to help England post 358-7 by stumps.
“His [Root’s] class has really come to show,” said former England batter Eoin Morgan on Sky Sports Cricket.
“It takes time to build an innings and for someone like Joe Root, who cashes in when conditions are good, it’s about going through that process.
“England’s batters have made mistakes, more so than usual. You wouldn’t say any of them have really been got out, they have given opportunities to Sri Lanka they have created in whatever fashion.
“He really is a class apart. He plays up and down the slope beautifully and it’s almost like he’s played his whole career here.”
Root equalled Sir Alastair Cook’s record for the most centuries for England in Test matches
Root’s knock was a masterclass in patience and skill as the Yorkshireman reinforced his role as the glue between the middle and lower order, especially in the absence of injured captain Ben Stokes.
While Root’s innings was impressive, his dismissal was less so.
The right-hander attempted to reverse scoop Milan Rathnayake (2-80) over deep third but instead clubbed it straight to Pathum Nissanka and was caught tamely, a departure that was all too reminiscent of his dismissal in India earlier this year playing a similar shot.
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Watch all seven wickets to fall on an exciting day one of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s
“I don’t think we can have it both ways,” said Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports Cricket.
“When England are a little gung-ho and positive, and Joe Root plays a reverse in India and gets out, everyone goes ‘what a load of nonsense, play the situation’.
“Here, they’re trying to get their heads down. Last game they got their head down and got over the line, and I quite like that they are doing that.
“I think they are a batter short [with Ben Stokes injured] so they have to play the situation a little bit more.”
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Watch the best of Root’s stunning 143
Prior to Root’s batting mastery, Sri Lanka initially showed why their toss gamble had worked as they reduced England to five down by tea.
The tourists made timely bowling changes which saw wickets tumble. Lahiru Kumara (2-75) replaced Asitha Fernando (2-84) in the seventh over which triggered Lawrence’s dismissal and spinner Prabath Jayasuriya (1-81) took over from Rathnayake in the 19th over to see the end of Duckett.
Sri Lanka continued to apply pressure at key moments during the day.
When Root was on 99 he faced 12 dot balls and struggled to get the ball past the inner ring before eventually finding the boundary.
Similarly, Smith was kept under wraps by Rathnayake’s attacking line before he edged behind, while Chris Woakes (6) fell to the short-ball ploy.
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Root cut a frustrated figure after giving up his wicket with a miscued signature scoop
“There are different ways of getting wickets,” added Hussain.
“Sri Lanka had to build pressure and keep England’s batting line-up down, who want to score and want to score freely.
“Especially the wicket of Jamie Smith, they kept him under pressure, didn’t get any balls to hit, and got his wicket that way.
“Nearly every batter has made mistakes.”
By stumps, the momentum was firmly back in England’s grasp with Atkinson hitting his maiden 50 and sharing an unbeaten 50-run stand with Matthew Potts (20no).
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Root was impressed by Gus Atkinson’s batting and joked he should get into golf
“Sri Lanka could be in trouble. They could be looking down 450 if they don’t have a really organised session in the morning,” said Kumar Sangakkara.
“They have got to be clinical, they have got to be organised, they have got to come out and hit the ground running and really have that energy, intent, and clarity on how they are going to go about things.
“They need to take the last few wickets and they need to do it quickly.”
Watch day two of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Friday August 30 (first ball, 11am).
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