Rob Smyth's Blog, page 96

Sri Lanka v England: second Test, day two – live!

Over-by-over updates on the second day’s play in GalleAnderson blitz and Mathews century lead to even first dayGet in touch! Email Rob

9.25am GMT

Teatime reading

9.24am GMT

That’s tea. James Anderson leads the England team off, with the ball in his hand and absurd figures of 29-13-40-6 on the scorecard.

9.24am GMT

Perera hooks Curran towards deep backward square leg, where Leach takes an excellent running catch. That was a beautifully judged innings by Perera, which has taken Sri Lanka to a really useful score. And for the first time since 7 March 2001, the seamers have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings in Sri Lanka: Anderson six, Wood three and Curran one.

9.20am GMT

139th over: Sri Lanka 377-9 (Dilruwan 63, Fernando 0) This is Wood’s 28th over, which registers highly on the hardyakkometer. Dilruwan sees off another over and steers an easy single off the last delivery to keep strike.

“This is so beautifully poised Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “A flat track, Sri Lanka building a lead they hope could win the game (possibly 50-75 short), England’s pace bowlers weighing in - and for all Jimmy’s beauty I’m so chuffed for Mark Wood - as if to say to our spinners ‘your turn next innings’, then our batsmen having to reckon with a pitch that’ll need big runs before it crumbles. Our opening pair especially will want to make their mark after the first test. All results are still on, and this is the best game in the world.”

9.14am GMT

138th over: Sri Lanka 376-9 (Dilruwan 62, Fernando 0) A harmless over from Sam Curran. He had a fine time in Sri Lanka two winters ago, certainly with the bat, but this series has been slightly sobering: no runs, two wickets. The more we see him, the less we know about his Test future.

“Morning, Rob,” says Smylers. “Your potential England lower order for India (133rd over) suffers somewhat from Mark Wood having to bat at nine from his home in Ashington, where he’s returning after this Test match. Maybe Jofra Archer instead?”

9.10am GMT

137th over: Sri Lanka 375-9 (Dilruwan 61, Fernando 0) The admirable Wood continues. He has gone into one-day mode too, and hoodwinks Perera with a deliberate slower bouncer. Perera turns down a couple of singles early in the over and then squeezes a wide yorker to third man for four. He’s played jolly well for a No8, and will keep the strike by virture of a single off the last ball.

Since you asked, it’s 20 years since all ten wickets fell to the seamers in a Test innings in Sri Lanka. England were bowling then as well, and even managed a nod to football with a 4-4-2 formation: Darren Gough (4), Andy Caddick (4) and Craig White (2) did the necessary at Kandy in 2000-01. It’s never happened in Galle though.

9.03am GMT

136th over: Sri Lanka 369-9 (Dilruwan 56, Fernando 0) Bess won’t get to bowl to Fernando, because he’s been replaced by Sam Curran. Fernando is a rank No11, with a Test average of two, but he defends carefully and survives the over.

9.00am GMT

135th over: Sri Lanka 369-9 (Dilruwan 56, Fernando 0) Dilruwan has gone into one-day mode. He flicks Wood extravagantly round the corner for four, but Wood does well to deny him a single towards the end of the over. That means Bess will get to bowl at the No11 Fernando.

“Durif is indeed a lesser-known Australian wine,” says Richard Speed, “but it’s not normally called ‘elegant’. It’s a wine often associated with a disturbingly bad next morning, so possibly very similar to the effect of Anderson.”

8.54am GMT

134th over: Sri Lanka 365-9 (Dilruwan 52, Fernando 0) Dilruwan is dropped by Bess, a sharp return chance between his legs. That’s all she wrote.

“Morning Rob,” says Brian Withington. “An idle thought prompted by discussion of the inevitable deterioration of the wicket - what exactly causes it? Prolonged exposure to sunlight without watering; progressive toll of bouncing leather balls; entropy?! Discuss.”

8.49am GMT

133rd over: Sri Lanka 364-9 (Dilruwan 51, Fernando 0) “I believe England may regret not playing Broad with Anderson at the expense of one of the spinners (Root could have bowled 15 overs),” says Ian Wilson. “Anderson could end up with eight wickets and Broad would have been more effective than both Curran and Wood; they can get their rest on the Indian leg of the tour rather than this two-Test jaunt.”

I suspect they’ll need both spinners (and Root) in the second innings. There is an argument for playing Broad and Anderson together in some Tests in the subcontinent - but it’s tricky because, all things being equal, they’ll need two spinners, a fast bowler and a bowler who can bat No7. If Moeen plays in India, which he surely will, they could maybe have a lower order of Buttler/Foakes, Moeen, Leach, Wood, Broad, Anderson. I’m not sure; I’d probably stick to playing one or the other this winter. That said, I have a hunch both will start the Ashes next winter.

8.49am GMT

A third wicket for Mark Wood. Embuldeniya fishes outside off stump at a sharp delivery, and Root takes a smart catch at first slip. Wood roars with delight, then realises he is too weary to do any more celebrating.

8.43am GMT

132nd over: Sri Lanka 363-8 (Dilruwan 50, Embuldeniya 7) Bess replaces Leach and bowls a maiden to Embuldeniya. Well done him.

“It seems to me that Anderson should be treated like a fine red wine who simply gets better with age,” says Colum. “A Barolo, a Burgundy or a Taurasi, which is the local austere red here in Campania, southern Italy. I just googled to see if there was a wine in his honour and came across two Anderson Wineries in the US of A and Australia. The motto of the Anderson Winery in Indiana is ‘where patience, time and quality come together’ which I think is a fitting epithet for our Jimmy, I mean James. The Anderson winery in East Victoria boasts a Storyteller Durif (a lesser-known red) which has a degree of elegance and class (so perhaps Anderson at the outset of his career).”

8.39am GMT

131st over: Sri Lanka 363-8 (Dilruwan 50, Embuldeniya 7) A terrific yorker from Wood is well blocked by Dilruwan Perera, who then flicks a boundary round the corner to bring up a superb fifty from 134 balls. Five fours, one six and a whole lotta commonsense.

“Modern medicine,” says Niall Mullen, “has long since dismissed the practice of applying a Leach as a cure for the runs.”

8.35am GMT

130th over: Sri Lanka 359-8 (Dilruwan 46, Embuldeniya 7) Embuldeniya is fine. In fact I think the ball him him on the shoulder. Leach continues, still looking in vain for his first wicket; he and Dom Bess have combined figures of 62-6-194-0. In one sense that is good news for England, who will hope they can score plenty of first-innings runs off Sri Lanka’s spinners before the pitch goes rogue.

8.29am GMT

129th over: Sri Lanka 356-8 (Dilruwan 44, Embuldeniya 6) This has been an excellent innings from Dilruwan Perera - not just the runs (44) but also the balls (128), which has allowed the pitch to wear a little more. I don’t think it’s going to age as well as James Anderson. Wood’s over ends with a bouncer that clangs into Embuldeniya’s helmet, so there will be a break in play while he is assessed.

8.24am GMT

128th over: Sri Lanka 353-8 (Dilruwan 41, Embuldeniya 6) Embuldeniya gets off the mark in style, carting a slog sweep for six off Leach. That takes Sri Lanka past 350, which most observers think is a par score. I think they’re in a really strong position, assuming the pitch deteriorates.

8.21am GMT

Meanwhile, this is a brilliant piece from one of the world’s finest cricket writers.

How I learnt to stop worrying and like (this) India (side) https://t.co/HuYSHuFDHZ

8.20am GMT

127th over: Sri Lanka 346-8 (Dilruwan 40, Embuldeniya 0) Mark Wood replaces Anderson, who has those despicable figures of 29-13-40-6, and beats a flat-footed Embuldeniya with a lovely delivery that leaves him from round the wicket. A maiden.

“Welcome back,” says John Starbuck. “The longer this goes on, the higher the chances of a draw (which England would’ve taken if asked this morning).”

8.16am GMT

Thanks Adam, morning everyone. Shall we start with a stat? Since turning 35, the retirement age for fast bowlers, James Anderson has taken 126 Test wickets at an average of 20.47. To be honest, I’m getting a bit sick of him disrespecting the ageing process.

8.13am GMT

126th over: Sri Lanka 346-8 (Dilruwan 40, Embuldeniya 0) Leach is doing all he can to get himself into the book, in at Dilruwan who he (probably) had out earlier in the session. He’s nice and consistent from around the wicket, really giving it a rip. But the right-hander is up to the task, safely defending his way through a maiden. With that it is both drinks and time for me to hand over to the master of the over-by-over genre, the great Rob Smyth. Have fun. Back with you tomorrow!

8.10am GMT

125th over: Sri Lanka 346-8 (Dilruwan 40, Embuldeniya 0) The same pattern: Dilruwan is happy enough taking a single from the third ball. Anderson around the wicket at Embuldeniya - it’s a good match-up. But it doesn’t go the way of the Englishman, the left-hander once again swinging and missing at a temper to finish.

“We all know Anderson is a great swing bowler,” writes Dean Kinsella. “But he’s no good away from English conditions.” Even this morning on twitter I was seeing a bit of this from cranks who will never accept any other reality. Bless them all.

8.06am GMT

124th over: Sri Lanka 345-8 (Dilruwan 39, Embuldeniya 0) Leach’s turn to get three cracks at Embuldeniya, albeit after Dilruwan swept him for four earlier in the over. Now there are men around the bat for him, three of them - two on the legside, coming over the wicket at his fellow left-hander. And he gets through it safely. Back to Anderson, for what presumably will be his sixth and final over of the spell.

8.02am GMT

123rd over: Sri Lanka 340-8 (Dilruwan 34, Embuldeniya 0) Dilruwan gives the strike away with half an over to go. How will Embuldeniya go against Jimmy, who probably only has nine balls left in this spell? Ooh, beaten on the inside edge to begin - not far away at all, into the pads. Now leaves. “Likes to be called James instead of Jimmy,” says one of the commentators on TV, who has suuuurely been wound up? Anyway, one ball to go and he has a swing and a miss outside off! Close.

“Jimmy Anderson has been playing test cricket for just shy of 18 years yet seems to get better as he ages,” says Phil Withall. “A freak for a fast bowler.” True, that.

7.57am GMT

122nd over: Sri Lanka 339-8 (Dilruwan 33, Embuldeniya 0) Dilruwan isn’t going to mess around now the tail are with him, dancing at Leach and launching him inside out over extra cover for SIX! He’s been better than the 0/100+ he’s on track to recording, especially since lunch, but that’s the game. But for those of us who like big, fat bags of wickets, he has done his job by leaving two on the shelf for Jimmy.

FIVE FOR ANDERSON!

A 30th five-wicket haul for the England legend in Test cricket as Dickwella slashes to Leach at wide mid-off to fall for 92

Sri Lanka 332-7 #SLvENG

Watch https://t.co/bT0CP9Q8No
Live blog https://t.co/thLvSDgcvt pic.twitter.com/N9Gk5hrCCG

7.53am GMT

Anderson has six! Two in the over! Lakmal earns a second ball duck after playing with hard hands and no footwork, gifting a catch to Crawley in the gully. Just when Sri Lanka were in a strong position to control the game, they are now staring down the barrel of a below-par score on the flattest possible track. Poor cricket.

7.49am GMT

Goodness me! Why did he do that? Dickwella, eight away from a maiden ton, has a pop at Jimmy’s wide one, on the up, and slaps a catch to Leach at cover. Anderson has his 30th five-wicket bag in Tests. But how did Dickwella fall for that? Oh no.

7.44am GMT

120th over: Sri Lanka 332-6 (Dickwella 92, Dilruwan 26) Dickwella laps early and laps well, getting off strike from the first ball of Leach’s fresh set. Back to Dilruwan, who the spinner should have dismissed just moments ago, around the wicket with a slip. Nice flight again here, pitching it up. “He’s found a decent rhythm,” adds Mark Butcher. Of course, after pumping him up, he drops a short ball in at the right-hander, who steers it away with ease behind point for four. That’ll sting.

7.40am GMT

119th over: Sri Lanka 327-6 (Dickwella 91, Dilruwan 22) Dickwella into the 90s for the first time in Test cricket after passing 50 on 15 occasions before today. “He’ll seldom get a better chance,” says Mark Butcher on TV. “Against a tiring attack on a hot day on an absolute belter.” Oh, and guess what? Dilruwan did glove the Leach delivery in the previous over. Based on Snicko, it would have been overturned!

Dickwella was dismissed to two balls in a similar area in the first Test. In this innings, he has been more watchful, leaving balls in the region that had previously caused him problems. #SLvEng pic.twitter.com/Ne1OZLgOuH

7.36am GMT

118th over: Sri Lanka 324-6 (Dickwella 88, Dilruwan 22) The call is Joe Root’s again: did Dilruwan glove a beauty from Leach? It’s given not out on the field and... they are not throwing it upstairs for a second look. The extent to which that decision was informed by the shocking review in his previous over? That shout looked to have more going for it; I’m sure we’ll get a look at the technology at some stage thanks to the TV broadcasters. Leach has been more dangerous since lunch.

I miss this. Joe Root’s review gesture leaves much to be desired #SLvsENG pic.twitter.com/K2aFXWovZ3

7.33am GMT

117th over: Sri Lanka 323-6 (Dickwella 87, Dilruwan 22) Anderson to Dickwella: an important exchange to determine which team will be best placed to dictate terms as we get deeper into this second day. He gets off strike halfway through the over though, easing behind point with soft hands again; going very nicely. Dilruwan’s turn and he’s savvy enough to only shoulder arms and defend - no risks required.

7.29am GMT

116th over: Sri Lanka 322-6 (Dickwella 86, Dilruwan 22) I suppose England had all three reviews in their backpocket and Jos Buttler was keen on another look. I can’t wait for this third review to be junked when we’re through these temporary Covid-19 playing conditions. To recap: because of home umpires, an extra review was thrown in to safeguard against misguided suggestions of bias. Having just covered the best Test series in Australia for decades, overseen by three superb home umpires, it would be a travesty if they can’t officiate Tests over here again. The teams definitely don’t need a third review to burn to verify their integrity.

7.26am GMT

NOT OUT! Yep, that’s a stinker. Pitched outside leg by a long way. Very odd.

7.26am GMT

HAS LEACH TRAPPED DICKWELLA LBW? It is given not out and looks like it has both pitched outside leg and drifted down leg but... here we go anyway. Stand by.

7.23am GMT

115th over: Sri Lanka 319-6 (Dickwella 84, Dilruwan 21) Naturally, it’s Jimmy Anderson starting the session from the Fort End. Leach has done his job, so it’s Dickwella - the big wicket - on strike to the champion. Over the wicket, he has a slip and a catching cover. But that’s a lovely shot first up, using the angle to time him behind point just wide of the gully for a boundary. Into the 80s he moves; this is now his highest Test score. The job is far from done though - he has to take it to the next level today and keep England out there until at least the tea break.

7.17am GMT

114th over: Sri Lanka 314-6 (Dickwella 79, Dilruwan 21) A good start from Leach to Dilruwan after Dickwella takes one to midwicket from the first ball of the session. At the right-hander, he’s drifting it in nicely, bringing him forward. No catching men under the lid though, so he’s able to lunge without risk. Sorry in advance: I will keep going on about this while Leach/Bess are bowling with just a slip.

7.14am GMT

The players are back on the field. It’s Leach to continue his spell, starting at Dickwella. The partnership he’s put together with Dilruwan is worth 70. PLAY!

7.10am GMT

Good morning to those waking up. This feels like the right time for most of our audience to be joining on a Saturday morning, lockdown or otherwise. To bring you up to speed: England had a super start with two wickets inside the first 20 minutes (including Mathews, for 110) but Sri Lanka did nicely from then until the lunch break, with Dickwella 22 runs away from his maiden Test ton. And check out Jimmy’s bowling figures: 23-13-29-4. He’ll be back on straight after lunch, I’m sure.

6.57am GMT

On This Day in 1999. An international incident of sorts between these nations at Adelaide Oval. But really, it didn’t have anything to do with England and everything to do with the ego of Umpire Ross Emerson. Not a good day.

Truly bad cricket scenes, disgraceful stuff

On this day in 1999....Australian cricket umpires continued to cause controversy when Muralitharan was involved.....

Ranatunga taking absolutely no sh*t from Ross Emerson pic.twitter.com/H8uPsvDDjQ

6.49am GMT

Lunchtime/breakfast listening. Geoff Lemon and I have had a signficant response to our conversation with Marcus Stoinis on The Final Word podcast this week. The Australian all-rounder told us the moving story of his father’s illness and passing.

Geoff and I never anticipated that this would be the topic of our interview with Marcus Stoinis but, as we soon realised, to understand the man and cricketer, the tender story of his dad's long illness and passing informs everything else. https://t.co/ESXGth2sEO pic.twitter.com/P1J5ex3hkn

6.38am GMT

Two wickets and 84 runs in the session. Sri Lanka lost wickets in the second and fifth overs this morning, Anderson immediately picking up yesterday’s century maker with nice bit of inswing (and an excellent review). When Wood ended Ramesh Mendis’ debut innings before scoring down the legside, the good work from the hosts yesterday was coming undone. However, Dickwella (78*) was never diverted from his plan to score whenever he had a bit of width with Dilruwan (21*) using his feet nicely to the spinners in support. The pair have put on 70 to date, the wicketkeeper well placed to collect his first Test ton after the lunch break.

6.34am GMT

113th over: Sri Lanka 313-6 (Dickwella 78, Dilruwan 21) Curran wasn’t far away from Dickwella’s woodwork with final ball of his previous over - how will he play this before lunch? A bouncer to begin, pulled away nicely for one. So, that contest is over for now. Dilruwan’s turn, defending then ducking. Nothing wrong with that. “There’s no time pressure whatsoever,” says Simon Doull on TV and he’s spot on, with Sri Lanka giving themselves the chance to bowl when the pitch is going to suit their spinners best. One last bumper before lunch, ducked again. It’s to the left-armer’s credit that he’s coming to this with a plan, it must be said. And lunch.

6.30am GMT

112th over: Sri Lanka 312-6 (Dickwella 77, Dilruwan 21) Nup, it’ll be Leach. With three minutes on the clock, this is likely to be the last before lunch... which means slow it down with players around the bat, right? Hmm, seemingly not - just the slip, field spread, rushing. Nothing much wrong with Leach’s radar or angle at Diulruwan around the cricket but he hasn’t many routes to a wicket other than finding an edge, hitting a pad or going through the gate. A single is on offer around the corner, which is accepted. Dickwella’s turn with one ball to go and 60 seconds left, so they will get another one in, the left-hander keeping the strike after using his feet and driving down to long-on. He’s had a super morning for Sri Lanka.

6.26am GMT

111th over: Sri Lanka 310-6 (Dickwella 76, Dilruwan 20) It’s always a good scrap when Curran is involved, sending down a skiddy bouncer at Dickwella who takes him on with a hook, getting it fine enough for four. He goes upstairs again straight away again, pulling two more into the gap this time. Wood for one before lunch?

6.23am GMT

110th over: Sri Lanka 302-6 (Dickwella 68, Dilruwan 20) Leach continues with Bess replaced, the left-armer through with just one single added, Dickwella placing a full ball down the ground for one. Maidens have been a problem for England’s spinner so far, sending down five of them across 52 overs. Not enough.

“Morning Adam.” And to you, Brian Withington. Indeed, good morning to everyone who has woken up over the last little while. The news is that England picked up a couple of wickets in a couple of overs inside the first quarter of an hour but it has been smooth sailing for the hosts thereafter with ten minutes till lunch.

6.19am GMT

109th over: Sri Lanka 301-6 (Dickwella 67, Dilruwan 20) Right, it will be seam, via Sam Curran, the man who started the day for England. He has a fly flip for Dickwella, a leg gully and a conventional gully - unorthodox. The short ball on the hip won’t be troubling the set left-hander though, pulling an easy single. Dilruwan’s turn, getting in behind the left-armer’s wide of the crease attack.

6.14am GMT

108th over: Sri Lanka 300-6 (Dickwella 66, Dilruwan 20) Well, there’s the 300 for Sri Lanka, brought up with a Dickwella single to long-on, where there’s a sweeper. This is drifting for England with the spinners in operation. Leach gets one to bite at Dilruwan in this over, beating his edge, but the risk profile for the Sri Lankan batsmen isn’t too high at the with just a slip in close catching. Back to Jimmy?

6.10am GMT

107th over: Sri Lanka 298-6 (Dickwella 65, Dilruwan 19) The 50 partnership is up from 87 balls, via one to deep point. They needed this - a fine partnership so far. Another single to deep backward square now, Dilruran unable to properly put away a short ball. Dickwella can though! That’s almost a slog-sweep, backing himself against the spin, down on one knee and spanking the off-break through the vacant midwicket region. Great stuff, and not a lot of risk even if he miscues.

6.09am GMT

106th over: Sri Lanka 292-6 (Dickwella 60, Dilruwan 18) Tidier from Leach, with plenty of protection around what could be called the one-day fielding circle.

6.01am GMT

105th over: Sri Lanka 289-6 (Dickwella 59, Dilruwan 16) Top edge... doesn’t go to hand. That’s Dickwella’s first meaningful false strike of the day, taking on Bess but it doesn’t carry to Leach at deep backward square. He’s back along the ground with one to extra cover later in the set, Dilruwan doing the rest in defence. The drone camera on the TV coverage has been getting a right work out in this series so far, delivering one beautiful Galle shot after another at the end of each over.

5.58am GMT

104th over: Sri Lanka 286-6 (Dickwella 56, Dilruwan 16) Dilruwan dances at Leach again, spanking him straight back over his head for four more! And once again, it’s from the first ball of the left-armer’s over. Attractive batting. He keeps his head too, turning the next one safely into the legside. Dickwella does likewise - an easy single to midwicket after stepping out of his crease. It’s difficult to build pressure without men around the bat - the field feels like Sri Lanka are 480/6 not 280/6.

5.53am GMT

103rd over: Sri Lanka 280-6 (Dickwella 55, Dilruwan 11) Dickwella busts out a powerful sweep for the first time today, thumping Bess in front of square for a boundary. Lovely stuff. A reminder than the 27-year-old has made it to 50 now 16 times in Test cricket but has never reached three figures, with a highest score of 83.

5.49am GMT

102nd over: Sri Lanka 274-6 (Dickwella 50, Dilruwan 10) Leach is into his groove now at Dilruwan around the wicket. Seems a touch defensive to me that he only has a slip but maybe that’s the way my brain is currently hardwired after watching Australila and India go at it for a month with close-in catchers used throughout.

5.46am GMT

101st over: Sri Lanka 274-6 (Dickwella 50, Dilruwan 10) Bess is a fraction short to Dilruwan - able to get back and use the crease to defend more often than not- but his line is good until one turns from middle stump, helped away for one.

5.42am GMT

100th over: Sri Lanka 273-6 (Dickwella 50, Dilruwan 9) Leach into the attack for the first time today and Dilruwan wants a piece of him, dancing and lofting over long-on for a once-bounce four. That’s what they call intent. There’s a couple more on offer with a late cut then a single in the same direction to finish. Sri Lanka have made it through 100 overs and this pair have put on 30 in 49 overs. Good batting.

5.36am GMT

99th over: Sri Lanka 266-6 (Dickwella 50, Dilruwan 2) First ball after drinks, Dickwella gets to raise his bat with a single down the ground off Dom Bess. He’s looked very tidy this morning, the milestone coming from his 95th delivery in the middle. Dilruwan does the rest in defence before pushing a single to finish.

Abhijato Sensarma is all over it with my request. “When you want a definitive list of cricketing quirks, Mr Collins, there’s no better place to look than in the Bible of cricket itself! A handy guide to the ways in which grounds in the UK have been utilised - from zebra exhibitions to holy preaching.” That was too easy!

5.31am GMT

98th over: Sri Lanka 264-6 (Dickwella 49, Dilruwan 1) Dickwella is doing a job here, pulling a couple to begin off Wood then playing with control and getting under the two bouncers as they come one after another. They need this to be the day when he cracks on for an important ton. Wood now oversteps, identified by the third umpire, and it is Dickwella taking on the next delivery, getting into position early enough to turn the ball fine for four. He then keeps the strike with a controlled pull shot for one. Drinks it is. England’s hour with the two wickets.

5.24am GMT

97th over: Sri Lanka 256-6 (Dickwella 42, Dilruwan 1) Bess, wicketless yesterday, gets his chance replacing Jimmy from the Fort End. Dickwella gives the strike straight to Dilruwan, who gets off the mark with a single behind square. Bowling with just one catching man at the left-hander - a slip. How about a short leg?

5.21am GMT

96th over: Sri Lanka 253-6 (Dickwella 40, Dilruwan 0) Wood is working on Dilruwan both full and short at pace - i.e. precisely what he is on this tour for.

Martin Coxhead is back to explain how you win a bull-riding competition. “Well, to win you seemingly have to stay on top of one and a half tonnes of angry beef on the bone for eight seconds, with both the rider and bull getting points for style and performance, like a meat-heavy Strictly Come Dancing. And one of the current riders is called Ryan Dirteater. Honestly.”

5.14am GMT

95th over: Sri Lanka 253-6 (Dickwella 40, Dilruwan 0) Great point from Simon Doull on the telly, noting that Dom Bess’ athletic dive in the first over of the day on the point boundary didn’t only save a run but meant that Anderson got a chance at the start of the day to Mathews, which resulted in him taking his wicket within an over of the resumption at the Fort End. Back to Dickwella, who strokes his third boundary of the morning, a compact cover drive after getting to the pitch. Nice.

5.10am GMT

94th over: Sri Lanka 249-6 (Dickwella 36, Dilruwan 0) Shot. Dickwella driving again, through cover off Wood this time. But Root won’t mind that, nice and full bringing the stumps into play more often than not early in this spell. He’s hitting the radar up towards 90mph too - no mean feat in this part of the world.

5.06am GMT

93rd over: Sri Lanka 244-6 (Dickwella 31, Dilruwan 0) A rare run off Anderson, Dickwella tucking a single. He’s straight back on the mark to the new man Dilruwan, who has no choice but to defend then leave close to his off-stump.

BIG WICKET - ANDERSON AGAIN!

Jimmy Anderson has his fourth, removing centurion Angelo Mathews after an inspired review!

SL 232-5 #SLvENG

Watch https://t.co/bT0CP9Q8No
Live blog https://t.co/thLvSDgcvt pic.twitter.com/M0i0a7SRjM

5.01am GMT

What a catch by Buttler! Down the legside, the man on debut gets inside the line and clips Wood but too fine, the England ‘keeper leaping away to his left to to drag in a beauty. He new man bags a duck and England have two wickets in two overs.

4.53am GMT

91st over: Sri Lanka 238-5 (Dickwella 25, R Mendis 0) Anderson to Ramesh Mendis, facing his first ball in Test cricket, and the 25-year-old gets bat on ball with a confident defensive stroke. He plays cautiously, leaving both full and short, allowing Jimmy to lodge another maiden. His figures are absurd: 21-12-24-4.

4.50am GMT

90th over: Sri Lanka 238-5 (Dickwella 25, R Mendis 0) Just to back over that dismissal, it was the perfect review for Root in many respects because had it not kissed the inside edge, there was a decent chance of it being given out leg before. The third umpire, it must be said, was a real chance of botching it. At one point, he told Kumar Dharmasena that he could “stay with his decision” despite having worked out that there was an edge on snicko. Anyway, he’s going to be a busy boy later in the Test Match, so let’s hope he improves from these early nerves. Back to Curran, who gives Dickwella the chance to cut a short ball to finish and he does so with ease, carving him behind point for the first boundary of the second morning.

“What a start,” writes Jonathan Kelly. “Was even worth the rum punch I’ve spilled all over my shorts and flip flops when I leaped for joy!” That’s commitment.

4.43am GMT

Outstanding from Anderson, beating Mathews three times in his first over with the inswinger, the third clipping the inside edge and deflecting off the front pad into the gloves of Buttler behind the wicket. The third umpire is having a dreadful time applying the technology but the correct decision is arrived at after Root reviews. Jimmy gets his fourth and it’s a huge one, Sri Lanka’s best player gone for 110.

89th over: Sri Lanka 232-5 (Dickwella 19)

4.35am GMT

88th over: Sri Lanka 232-4 (Mathews 110, Dickwella 19) Mathews defends the first few balls of the day; not a lot of venom as the left-armer works into it. The century-maker unfurls his arms to the next offering, a wider ball driven square towards the point rope, dragged back in at the last by Bess - three runs added for the hosts.

“The cricketing world at large surely hasn’t escaped from the clutches of the miracle at the Gabba,” says Abhijato Sensarma, plugging his blog in the process. We’ll allow it. “But a Sri Lanka v England match-up, that too in conditions which support both teams equally, has all the potential for being a blockbuster. The first few days of Test cricket are always a slow burn, with the stage being set for a tight finish or a tepid one. With both sides having admittedly fragile line-ups and the same quality of bowlers, we should theoretically be in for another rollicking day at the cricket!” Well said, young man. Let’s hope so.

4.30am GMT

The players are on the field. Mathews (107) and Dickwella (19) are ready to roll for the hosts with Slammin’ Sammy Curran to bowl the first over of the day. PLAY!

4.27am GMT

Jimmy is on TV. “When you have a bit of time off you always wonder if you can get straight back into things and I was really happy with my rhythm from ball one. When you come to Sri Lanka you don’t expect to bowl 19 overs but I was really happy with that. It is tiring being out there in this heat but that’s what we train for. So today is about putting that behind us and trying to get some breakthroughs in the morning. We kept ourselves in the game by keeping the run rate down so if we get a couple of early breakthroughs we’re definitely in the game.”

4.24am GMT

Russell Arnold is looking at the pitch on the coverage. He says identified a fair bit of rough but believes it is “very, very good” where the ball will mainly be pitching.

“Morning Adam.” Hello, Martin Coxhead. “First time I’ve been called a rugged individualist before. Currently watching Pro Bull Riding on the box before the cricket. Interestingly for such a ‘all-American’ sport the current champions all seem to be Brazilian.” Blimey, a fair contrast there! How do you... win?

4.20am GMT

John Parkinson is here with an important email. “I would like to apologise to all four of the other expats who may have been eagerly anticipating a full days uninterrupted TMS coverage apropos of the link sent yesterday. Nevertheless I do hope that the entire 30 minutes (or 7 overs in real money) of coverage that it did provide more than made up for any subsequent feelings of rage, anger and existential angst. It is in that spirit that I am pleased to provide today’s link with no guarantee that it will stretch beyond the first five overs.”

Well played, John. In Australia, the rights to this series are held by a sports betting agency. You couldn’t make it up. Welcome to the future - it’s a grim place.

4.16am GMT

Dialing in from Timor-Leste, it’s Robert Hammond. “Like you, it’s not such a struggle to be following England today from the first ball. It’s 1pm here, and I’m having to quarantine after moving for work, but following the cricket from my balcony with a beach-view makes up for it! It’s the rainy season, so even more humid (80%) than Galle, but I’d bet that Jimmy would still get top order wickets here.” A country I deeply regret not having visited as yet. Best of luck up there.

Now over to Sweden:

4.09am GMT

Jonathan Kelly is with us. “I’m currently trapped in quarantine in Barbados (yes there are many worse places to be trapped). But I can’t leave my hotel room at all, my balcony is too hot to enjoy being outside so staying up late with the cricket with the sounds of the ocean is a glorious way to spend my time. As I’m travelling on my own and there’s no local coverage I’ll be following your coverage with eager anticipation.”

Great to have you here. Having logged 15 nights in Perth’s Hotel Quarantine back in December, I know the drill well. The key to it all: a rigid routine. If you can plug into a Test Match for five days, then you’re laughing. Good luck with it.

4.01am GMT

“It’s getting on for five in the afternoon here in Auckland,” writes Steve Perrin to get my inbox off the mark, “so I’m cracking a beer rather than putting the kettle on. Looking forward to the commentary. Go Jimmy.”

Delicious. In Melbourne, where I am at the moment, there isn’t a cloud in the sky as I look out over Collingwood with the door of the Birmingham Hotel no more than 50 metres away. Perfect afternoon pub weather. I considered taking the OBO to the front bar but that might be stretching the friendship with those locked down in the United Kingdom - where we return to in a couple of weeks, for the record.

There are a few pubs at Galle Fort. One guy told me, last time England were here, the beer sale alone topped Rs. 1 million daily. That was the case with all other pubs apparently. This time, from auto driver to pineapple vendor to hoteliers all are feeling the pinch.

3.55am GMT

To catch up on yesterday, he’s Andy Bull on Jimmy’s performance so far - his fifth tour of Sri Lanka and 19th year in Test cricket. What a remarkable cricketer.

3.35am GMT

How much do you want it? Enough to be with me for the preamble at about half past three on a cold British morning? Has it been enough to set an early alarm, safe in the knowledge that it’ll be Jimmy Anderson up against Angelo Mathews when play does resume, two titans of their respective cricketing nations? I hope so.

Good morning to every rugged individualist with me today. Where I am at the moment after the conclusion of the Australia/India epic, some 10,000 miles away, it is a sunny Saturday afternoon. But I couldn’t be more excited about returning to the OBO tools with Sri Lanka four down after batting conservatively after winning an important toss at Galle. They did as they must in a situation like that, putting overs into the legs of the visiting bowlers, in contrast to the first innings last week.

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Published on January 23, 2021 01:26

Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened

Alisson maintained Liverpool’s four-year unbeaten run with two key saves in the last 15 minutes of an intriguing, respectful but largely uneventful game

2.43am GMT

7.07pm GMT

PS City v Palace here. Now do one.

7.05pm GMT

That’s it for today’s blog. Thanks for your company and emails. Goodnight!

7.05pm GMT

And here’s Jurgen Klopp

“If we win this game 1-0 it’s completely fine because of the possession we had, the football we played; a lot of things. You cannot deny Man United for 90 minutes - we never could, it’s probably not possible for anybody, especially when they are in a good moment. But with all the things which were said before the game - they are flying, we are struggling - the boys played a really good game tonight, my boys, against a good, organised side.

6.54pm GMT

Here’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

“We didn’t play well enough. We didn’t impose ourselves on the game, especially first half. We grew into the game and towards the end you felt it was there for us to win. We created two massive chances and there were two brilliant saves by the keeper.

6.44pm GMT

And the winner of today’s match is...

6.43pm GMT

Here’s Jordan Henderson

“We’re a bit disappointed we haven’t taken the three points. We did enough to win the game, especially first half - a lot of the ball, creating chances, just couldn’t find the back of the net really. They had one or two chances, to be fair to them, but overall I felt we were the better team.

6.38pm GMT

“You said, ‘This won’t end 0-0. You have my word,’” says Polly Hodgson. “I was ready to give up on this game but you promised... I don’t want to blame you but...”

Look, I’m no Quasimodo.

6.35pm GMT

Here’s Harry Maguire

“I thought they started the game better than us, and then in the second half we were braver on the ball and created the best two chances. On another day we win the game. It was cagey but it was two good teams matching up. We found it difficult to get a rhythm in the first half - we knew they would press high but the intensity ... we didn’t get the rhythm with the ball. We spoke about it at half-time because we were disappointed with our performance. In the second half it was a lot better and we had two great chances.

6.29pm GMT

“Well,” says Paul Trainor, “I suppose that’s one way of avoiding flak for goal celebrations!”

6.27pm GMT

Hmm, I’m not sure what to make of that. Although Liverpool dominated possession, Alisson had to make two big saves in the last 15 minutes. Thiago looked a class apart, even in such exalted company, but the front three - Mo Salah in particular - looked tired.

United may reflect on this as both a good result and a missed opportunity, though I’d say that was down to a lack of precision and concentration in attack rather than a lack of intent. And both teams did defend really well - particularly Henderson, Fabinho (who was majestic), Maguire, Fred and Shaw.

6.21pm GMT

Peep peep! Manchester United stay top of the table after an intriguing, respectful and largely uneventful draw.

6.21pm GMT

90+4 min Rashford is booked for a foul on Jones.

6.19pm GMT

90+2 min Alexander-Arnold’s corner is headed away by Pogba, who then tries to lead a break and is well tackled by Milner.

6.18pm GMT

90+1 min Origi’s cross is put behind for a corner by Maguire. Dot dot dot.

6.18pm GMT

90 min There will be three minutes of added time.

6.17pm GMT

90 min United are probing in Liverpool’s half. Pogba has now moved into the No10 position.

6.16pm GMT

89 min: United substitution A very unhappy Bruno Fernades is replaced by Mason Greenwood.

6.16pm GMT

89 min: Liverpool substitution Gini Wijnaldum is replaced by James Milner.

6.15pm GMT

88 min It hasn’t been a classic but it’s bloody tense, I’ll tell you that for nowt.

6.14pm GMT

87 min Mason Greenwood is about to come on for United, as is James Milner for Liverpool.

6.12pm GMT

85 min: Liverpool substitution Divock Origi replaces Firmino. He goes left, Mane up front.

6.12pm GMT

84 min Alisson makes another fine save from Rashford, though the flag then went up.

6.11pm GMT

83 min: Big save from Alisson! Wan-Bissaka runs aggressively at Robertson and hits a deflected cross towards the near post, where the unmarked Pogba takes it beautifully in his stride and blasts it towards goal from eight yards. Alisson stays big, wears it in the chest, and manages to shovel it behind for a corner. On reflection it was a poor finish from Pogba, straight at Alisson, even if it was hit with thumping force.

6.10pm GMT

82 min This is Liverpool’s best spell of the second half. Alexander-Arnold hammers a cross that is cleared brilliantly by Lindelof. United break two on two with Rashford on the ball. He tries to run Fabinho, who tracks him all the way and makes a brilliant interception. Cavani is fuming that Rashford didn’t play him in, rightly so I think, but it was outstanding defending.

6.08pm GMT

81 min Salah pokes a dangerous cross that is missed by the stretching Firmino at the near post and hoofed away by Wan-Bissaka at the far.

6.07pm GMT

80 min Thiago slashes a half-volley well wide from 20 yards. It was a good move: Alexander-Arnold across the field to Robertson, who played it to Wijnaldum. He teed up Thiago, whose spectacular attempt was off target.

6.05pm GMT

78 min: Good save from de Gea! Thiago walks away from Fred, not for the first time today, and smacks a rising drive from distance that is pushed away dramatically by the flying de Gea. Replays show it was a comfortable save, much closer to him than it first looked.

6.04pm GMT

76 min: Liverpool substitution Curtis Jones replaces Xherdan Shaqiri, who played well on his return to the side. He was full of bright ideas, even if they didn’t always come off.

6.03pm GMT

75 min: Big save from Alisson! That was the cleanest move of the match. Maguire played a fine pass through to Rashford, who waited on the edge of the area and then played in the overlapping Shaw. He cut the ball back carefully towards Fernandes, who opened his body to steer a low shot towards goal. Alisson reacted smartly to kick it away with his left foot.

6.01pm GMT

74 min “If Liverpool were to score late on,” says Gary Neville on the subject of United’s tactics, “you’d be really regretful that you didn’t go for it.”

6.00pm GMT

72 min Salah’s snapshot from 20 yards hits Shaw and deflects Firmino. He can’t control it and it runs through to de Gea. It was a really difficult ball to kill, though if anyone can...

5.59pm GMT

71 min A sloppy header from Alexander-Arnold goes behind for a corner. Fernandes swings it deep and Pogba, running away from goal, heads straight at Alisson. It wasn’t a chance; he did well to head it into a dangerous area but there was nobody there.

5.58pm GMT

70 min There have been some excellent performances, most of them defensive - Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago (not so much defensively), Maguire, McTominay, Fred (without the ball), Shaw.

5.57pm GMT

69 min Pogba plays another poor long pass, straight to Alexander-Arnold, and just stands still as Liverpool break. Fred wins the ball back, but that didn’t look great.

5.55pm GMT

68 min Henderson holds off Pogba to win the ball back. Nothing spectacular, but he’s been doing things like that all day. We expect it of Fabinho now but Henderson has been terrific at centre half.

5.54pm GMT

67 min ... and he smacks it into the wall.

5.53pm GMT

66 min The free-kick is 30 yards out, slightly to the left of centre. Rashford is going to take it...

5.53pm GMT

65 min Alisson comes out of his area to beat Fernandes to a through ball. It runs loose to Cavani, who tries to work the space for a shot and is deliberately fouled by Fabinho. He’s booked.

5.52pm GMT

65 min A 25-yard shot from Fernandes kicks up awkwardly in front of Alisson, whose hands are as safe as ever. That’s United’s first shot on target.

5.51pm GMT

64 min Fred dummies Thiago superbly in midfield to launch a counter-attack, but Fernandes’ pass towards Rashford on the left is intercepted well by Fabinho.

5.50pm GMT

63 min McTominay heads the second corner away as well.

5.50pm GMT

63 min The resulting corner is headed behind for another by McTominay, who has been quietly excellent with and without the ball.

5.49pm GMT

62 min Firmino’s cross-shot ricochets towards Salah, whose shot takes a deflection off Maguire and spins wide. That all stemmed from a very loose pass out of defence by Shaw.

5.48pm GMT

61 min: United substitution Edinson Cavani replaces Anthony Martial, who was sporadically threatening on the left. I guess Rashford will move out there now.

5.48pm GMT

60 min Alexander-Arnold swishes a beautiful crossfield pass out to Robertson on the left. He puts in a brilliant deep cross that bounces up invitingly towards Firmino. Maguire comes across and the ball deflects off both he and Firmino for a goalkick. My first thought was that Maguire kicked the ball onto Firmino, but replays suggest that might not have been the case. For a split-second he looked certain to score.

5.46pm GMT

58 min Saying which, Cavani has apparently been called back by the United bench.

5.45pm GMT

57 min Both teams have decent options from the bench, particularly United. They will want to get Edinson Cavani on at some stage, though I’m not sure that will happen if it stays 0-0. It’s hard to see where he fits in the current system.

5.42pm GMT

55 min Alexander-Arnold’s low shot from the edge of the area is easily saved by de Gea.

5.42pm GMT

54 min Fernandes’s corner is poor and Liverpool break. Robertson curls a fine long pass towards Salah, who heads it into the space beyond the last man Shaw. There isn’t quite enough space for him to work with, however, and it just runs through to de Gea. Maguire was a bit lucky not to get a yellow card for an attempted tactical foul on Mane early in that move.

5.41pm GMT

53 min: Excellent block from Fabinho! Wan-Bissaka sprays a crossfield pass to Martial on the edge of the area. He slides it down the side to Fernandes, whose first-time shot on the turn is superbly blocked by the sliding Fabinho.

5.40pm GMT

52 min McTominay plays a good pass into Rashford, who plays an even better one to leave Fernandes one v one against Alexander-Arnold on the edge of the area. He tries to twist away from Alexander-Arnold, who does well to get his body between the man and the ball.

5.39pm GMT

50 min Mane gets the wrong side of Wan-Bissaka and cuts the ball back towards the near post, where McTominay makes an important interception. Wan-Bissaka made a risky tackle, attempting to get a telescopic leg around Mane. I think he missed; either way Mane didn’t go down, so it’s moot.

5.37pm GMT

50 min Martial’s cross on the turn is intercepted well at the near post by Henderson. Liverpool break and Mane’s improvised header almost puts Salah through on goal. Mane is starting to look lively.

5.36pm GMT

49 min This won’t end 0-0. You have my word.

5.35pm GMT

48 min Liverpool have made a fast start to the second half. Shaqiri’s through pass deflects nicely into the path of Salah on the right of the box. He lobs a deep cross towards Mane, whose header towards goal hit the head of Wan-Bissaka.

5.33pm GMT

46 min Peep peep! Liverpool begn the second half. Salah and Mane are back on their usual wings - Mane left, Salah right.

5.32pm GMT

I missed a minor controversy on the stroke of half time. One minute was added on, but the whistle was blown after 55 seconds - just before Thiago played a dangerous pass over the top towards Mane. That didn’t impress Jurgen Klopp much.

5.29pm GMT

“Intriguing indeed,” says Richard Harris. “Liverpool started the brighter and must have been hoping to catch United on another of the slow starts that has been a feature of their season. For all the huff and puff Liverpool haven’t really looked like scoring whereas Fernandes very nearly did with that free kick. As is often the case we are left hoping that the second half will be a tad more exciting. Manchester City will be the big winners you feel if this ends in stalemate.”

If you were a City fan you’d want a United win, surely? For all the Fear of the Unthinkable, the big threat is still Liverpool.

5.28pm GMT

“For the record,” says Andrew Wesley, “this game is a textbook example of Premier League teams being clueless about the how kit selection can ruin games for colour blind people. This isn’t a rare condition - one in 11 men are affected - and for us the teams are indistinguishable but for Utds socks. Any chance you can point it out because it’s an unwatchable mess for millions of us. See @colourblindorg for further ranting...”

I feel slightly ashamed to say this hasn’t crossed my mind until I read your email.

5.26pm GMT

An email! “The longer this goes on, with Liverpool not scoring, the more disappointing it’s going to be when Fernandes scores his inevitable penalty,” says Matt Dony. “(Childish? Yes. But isn’t that what this fixture is all about?) Brave team selection from Klopp. Still plenty of time for it to pay off, but I’m nervous. Mind you, I’m always nervous. Well, I say ‘nervous’; what I mean is, ‘absolutely terrified’. Football is not good for my emotional state.”

You’re being too harsh on yourself. I remember you being a study in equanimity when Wales played in the semi-final of Euro 2016.

5.18pm GMT

Half-time reading

5.18pm GMT

Peep peep! An uneventful but intriguing - genuinely - half comes to an end. Liverpool were much the better team in the first half hour; United were more dangerous in the last 15 minutes. There was only one shot on target, a comfortable save for David de Gea from Roberto Firmino, though Bruno Fernandes flashed a free-kick just wide. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

5.16pm GMT

45 min One minute of added time.

5.16pm GMT

44 min Thiago has been less influentual in the second part of the first half. United have changed anything tactically; football just be that way I guess.

5.14pm GMT

42 min Thiago’s pass is intercepted by Fred and United break. Pogba moves past the halfway line before being sandwiched by Henderson and Thiago. No yellow card, probably because Paul Tierney didn’t know who brought Pogba down first.

5.12pm GMT

40 min Wan-Bissaka plays a pass down the line to Rashford, who is clearly offside. Play is allowed to continue until the move peters out, prompting a minor moan from Jamie Carragher on Sky. “Someone will get injured!” That’s United’s seventh offside of the game by the way.

5.10pm GMT

39 min Pogba spins a lovely long pass towards Rashford, who is just beaten to the ball on the edge of the area by Alisson. Rashford was then flagged offside, though replays showed it was very close.

5.09pm GMT

38 min United have been much better in the last 10 minutes or so. The first half may not have been exciting but it has - no euphemisms here - been really intriguing.

5.07pm GMT

37 min Martial beats Shaqiri, Mane and Alexander-Arnold - the latter with a lovely nutmeg - before Fabinho steps across to make an emphatic tackle 35 yards from goal.

5.06pm GMT

35 min Rashford breaks dangerously into the area, and there’s a bit of excitement before the flag eventually goes up. Rashford was offside in the first phase.

5.05pm GMT

34 min Wijnaldum, who has been excellent, plays a good pass down the left to Salah. He cuts inside and runs at Maguire, who holds him up fairly well in the area. The ball breaks to Firmino, whose left-foot snapshot from 15 yards is straight at de Gea. That’s the first shot on target, and the best chance so far.

5.05pm GMT

34 min The free-kick is slightly to the left of centre. Fernandes hits a booming effort that flashes just wide of the near post. Alisson was flying desperately across his goal, which suggested it was very close; the replays confirmed it.

5.04pm GMT

33 min Shaw, who has been United’s most enterprising attacker, plays a nice one-two with Fred and is fouled 23 yards from goal by Shaqiri. He’s booked. This is a chance for Fernandes...

5.03pm GMT

32 min Salah and Mane have switched wings for Liverpool. United are still playing with Pogba on the right.

5.03pm GMT

31 min McTominay plays a good pass into to Fernandes, who is tactically fouled by Fabinho 45 yards from goal. Shaw’s free-kick is misjudged by Alexander-Arnold and comes to Maguire, but he’s offside.

5.00pm GMT

29 min Wijnaldum fouls Pogba 40 yards from goal on the right. Fernandes’s free-kick finds Shaw round the back on the left, and his cross takes a couple of ricochets before being cleared.

4.58pm GMT

28 min Statwatch: Liverpool have had 73 per cent possession and eight shots to United’s none. But neither side has had a shot on target yet.

4.58pm GMT

27 min Shaw makes an excellent run through the inside-left channel and angles the ball back to Fernandes. His attempted through ball is cut out but that was a bit better, particularly from Shaw.

4.57pm GMT

25 min It’s all Liverpool now. Maguire’s poor pass out of defence is blocked by Firmino and deflects to Mane. His cross rolls towards Fred, but his clearance is straight at Wijnaldum. He has a shot blocked and then Shaqiri curls over from 20 yards.

4.54pm GMT

23 min Slowly but surely, Liverpool have taken control of this game. They are outnumbering United in the centre of midfield and have generally managed to stop the counter-attacks at source.

4.53pm GMT

22 min United break from that corner, but a lazy long pass from Pogba allows Liverpool to go on the counter-counter-attack. Alexander-Arnold drives a long pass to Mane, who plays in Firmino. His shot is well blocked by Lindelof and Salah smacks the rebound over the bar from 20 yards on the volley.

4.52pm GMT

21 min Robertson surges infield and plays a short pass to Shaqiri on the edge of the D. His shot is deflected wide. Liverpool take a quick corner, which leads to another when Alexander-Arnold cross hits Fernandes and goes behind. The second corner is headed away at the near post by Lindelof.

4.50pm GMT

19 min Luke Shaw has been taking ages over throw-ins since the first whistle. That might be a tactic to change the pace of the game, Suljovic-style.

4.49pm GMT

18 min Fred breaks down the left and curls a dangerous pass around the Liverpool defence towards Rashford at the far post. Robertson does very well to hold Rashford off and draw a foul.

4.48pm GMT

17 min Shaqiri slides a brilliant pass into the area towards Mane, who makes a textbook run from left to right. He is covered by Wan-Bissaka so turns away from goal and finds Firmino on the edge of the box. He slices well wide with his left foot. That was a poor effort, not least because Robertson was in acres of space to his left.

4.47pm GMT

16 min The ball has started to go down, so there’s a brief break in play while it is changed.

4.45pm GMT

14 min Firmino’s long-range shot is blocked by Maguire. The ball spins across the area to Robertson,l who slices a half-volley over the bar. The move started with a fine pass from Thiago to Firmino; as Gary Neville says on Sky, at the moment he’s running the game.

4.44pm GMT

13 min United haven’t had much of the ball so far - 29 per cent - though they will be happy that Liverpool haven’t threatened to overwhelm them as they did in the first 15 minutes of this fixture last season.

4.43pm GMT

12 min Thiago walks majestically away from Fred, not once but twice, only to overhit a simple pass to Alexander-Arnold. He is a glorious footballer, and has looked a class apart in the early minutes.

4.41pm GMT

10 min Fernandes’s through pass towards Rashford is intercepted well by Henderson on the edge of the area.

4.40pm GMT

9 min As expected, Liverpool are pressing high and trying to smother United. They’ve made the better start, though there hasn’t been much in it.

4.38pm GMT

7 min Thiago is dropping very deep to collect the ball, almost as a third centre-half. The tactics on both sides are pretty intriguing.

4.37pm GMT

6 min And now the first promising move from United. Martial plays a one-two with Shaw and slides a pass down the inside-left channel to release Rashford. His cross is kicked away at the near post.

4.35pm GMT

5 min Liverpool are starting to find a bit of rhythm. Thiago steps away from Fernandes with disdain near the halfway line and floats a fine pass out to Alexander-Arnold on the right of the area. His cross is blocked by Shaw.

4.34pm GMT

3 min The first good move from Liverpool. Shaqiri and Wijnaldum combine to find the overlapping Robertson, who mishits a cross into the side netting.

4.33pm GMT

2 min These are the revised line-ups.

Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Henderson, Robertson; Shaqiri, Thiago, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane. Substitutes: Kelleher, R Williams, N Williams, Phillips, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Minamino, Origi.

4.32pm GMT

1 min Liverpool’s formation looks like 4-3-3 with Shaqiri in centre midfield.

4.31pm GMT

1 min United have started with Pogba on the right, Martial left and Rashford up front.

4.31pm GMT

1 min Peep peep! United, in their dark grey away kit, kick off from left to right. Liverpool are in red.

4.30pm GMT

The players gather round the centre circle for a minute’s applause in memory of Gerry Marsden. He is also on the cover of the match programme.

4.29pm GMT

YNWA blares around Anfield. It’s more poignant than usual; this is Liverpool’s first home game since the death of Gerry Marsden.

4.27pm GMT

“I’m not a public-relations expert,” says Peter Oh, “but given the current situation I don’t know if it was all that wise for Solskjaer to use the words positive and test in the same sentence.”

4.26pm GMT

“Afternoon Rob,” says Martin McCarthy. “You were very confident a while ago that Liverpool would win the league fairly comfortably. Just wondered if that opinion still holds?”

I’m not as confident but I think they will. I’d probably say the chances are something like:

4.23pm GMT

“I too have nostalgia for the hideous 1980s games between these two at Anfield,” says Paul Griffin. “They were horrible, spiteful affairs: the likes of McMahon and Whiteside breaching the Geneva Convention on the pitch, bile and hatred pouring of the stands, an atmosphere of menace outside the ground, I can’t fathom why I miss any of this (apart from the £2.50 tickets that were easy to come by).”

It wasn’t exactly It’s a Wonderful Life at Old Trafford either.

4.19pm GMT

4.16pm GMT

Here’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

“Victor trained the last few days so he should be ready. Anthony’s injury was more of a cramp. We know we’re playing against a good team but we have to be positive and test ourselves against the best. There’s no way we can sit back and defend for the whole game. They’re missing a few centre-backs and that’s an area we can hopefully exploit.

4.12pm GMT

“Afternoon Rob,” says Matt Emerson. “I don’t have a dog in this fight, but this fixture will always take me back to the mid-eighties, when I was a ‘cockney’ student in Liverpool. I always stayed out of the city centre when Man Utd came to down, mainly due to concerns that, if they heard my accent, the two sets of supporters would stop fighting each other and gang up on a common enemy...”

4.12pm GMT

“I like to think I’m a well balanced and pretty mild-mannered man,” says Kevin McManus. “But I’m also self- aware enough to know this goes out the window when we are playing the hated Man U. It isnt just me either. The whole of the Kop seems to fall prey to a collective fervour whenever Man U turn up. I took a girlfriend to the game once which was a huge mistake. She found the passion and the hatred all too much and couldnt get her head around it. Of course she was right - it is totally unreasonable for otherwise sensible grown men and women to act like that for a few hours. But I have to say it just kind of feels right when it is directed at Man U.”

One thing that’s interesting is that it wasn’t always thus. I watched the 1977 FA Cup final last week, and there was (to modern eyes) an extraordinary level of goodwill on and off the field. That all changed in the late seventies and early eighties.

4.10pm GMT

“I think United should treat this game as a free hit,” says Digvijay Yadav. “For once I’d like to see them take the game to Liverpool at Anfield. It’s only happened once in memory when Gerrard stamped on Herrera. Otherwise it’s always cagey, trying to smash and grab stuff.”

I suppose one of the regrets of the Ferguson years was that they never hammered Liverpool at Anfield. They were usually horrible games, only to be enjoyed after the event by the winners.

4.08pm GMT

“Afternoon Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “Klopp’s line up clearly based on the assumption that Liverpool are going to have pretty much all of ball.”

4.07pm GMT

Here’s Jurgen Klopp

“Joel [Matip] has been part of the sessions since Friday. Today is Sunday, so that’s not enough. He will train normally from tomorrow. Shaq is in really good shape and showed good performances last game and in training. He’s now getting rhythm, step by step. He was out for a long time - little things only [but they added up]. He has showed in training he is ready to go, so we’ll let him go.

4.02pm GMT

Sky Sports have both teams in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Pogba on the right and Rashford on the left. That isn’t quite as odd as it sounds given Rashford’s performances against Trent Alexander-Arnold.

3.59pm GMT

Team views

Henderson and Fabinho in defence means no Henderson and Fabinho in Bruno Fernandes Country

Would've had Cavani in but Martial can pull into that left-hand channel to take on Alexander-Arnold, as Pogba is not a natural winger, and bring Rashford over from the right. Lindelof over Bailly is contentious, to say the least. #mufc

3.57pm GMT

In the early game, Spurs won comfortably at Sheffield United to move into the top four for a few hours.

3.49pm GMT

“Hello Rob,” says Neil Carter. “Ole obviously resting Bailly and Cavani today for the tougher games ahead?”

Afternoon Gary.

3.48pm GMT

“While having Hendo at the back feels as incongruous as singing Cardi B’s WAP in a Yorkshire accent,” begins Ian Copestake. “I trust in Klopp and whatever he has been drinking that has finally enabled him to see the Shaq. This can’t fail but be a snow-dusted cracker (unless it ain’t snowing).”

I think it’s the best option in the circumstances. Liverpool will want to bully United and pin them back. If they can’t do that with a defence comprising two central midfielders and the best attacking full-backs in the world, they never will.

3.45pm GMT

“Hi Rob,” says Mark Haywood. “Interesting background article on Bruno Fernandes in today’s NY Times. Remember the days when Utd v L’pool and Everton v City would be played on the same Saturday at the proper time of 3pm?”

I don’t quite remember that, as I was born in well never mind about that detail, but I’m sure it happened. I wonder when the last occurrence was, maybe in the 1970s?

3.38pm GMT

Liverpool (possible 4-2-3-1) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Henderson, Fabinho, Robertson; Thiago, Wijnaldum; Shaqiri, Firmino, Mane; Salah.
Substitutes: Kelleher, R Williams, N Williams, Phillips, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Minamino, Origi.

Manchester United (possible 4-D-2) de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred; McTominay, Pogba; Fernandes; Rashford, Martial.
Substitutes: Henderson, Bailly, Telles, Tuanzebe, Mata, Matic, van de Beek, Cavani, Greenwood.

3.38pm GMT

There’s no Joel Matip for Liverpool, so Jordan Henderson and Fabinho will play in the centre of defence again. Xherdan Shaqiri starts, which is an intriguing decision from Jurgen Klopp; he scored twice in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over United at Anfield two years ago. Shaqiri’s inclusion gives Liverpool the option of playing 4-2-3-1 or the usual 4-3-3.

Anthony Martial starts for United, which is a bonus after his hamstring strain at Burnley in the week. Victor Lindelof is preferred to Eric Bailly, a slight surprise given Bailly’s pace and recent form. It’s hard to be sure what shape United will play - it could be 4-2-3-1 with Pogba and Rashford wide, but my money is on a diamond and a front two to break in behind Liverpool’s full-backs.

3.11pm GMT

Pre-match reading

11.47am GMT

Hello. Liverpool v Manchester United is rarely a classic game, but it’s usually a memorable one. The drama, intensity and pharmaceutical grade hatred ensure that the occasion, if not always the football, sticks around in the memory bank.

There’s always a story to tell, and down the years the subject matter has been extremely diverse: racism, Riiiiseeeeeeeeeee, darts, volleyball, Tomb Raider, cigars, vomit, saliva, faeces, Missiles of Hate, Munich chants, Heysel chants, Hillsborough chants, Berbarotica, dodgy penalties, facts, tear gas, Norman Whiteside’s rampage, Michael Owen’s rampage, Nani’s tears, Paul Scholes’ boxing skills, Eric Cantona’s collar, Neil Ruddock’s stomach, badge-grabbing, camera-kissing, 38 seconds, six fingers, P45s, a six-yard hat-trick, a hat-trick of red cards in 13 months, a hat-trick of Old Trafford matchwinners in four years and, most unlikely of all, the goalsoring prowess of Gary Pallister and Andrea Dossena.

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Published on January 17, 2021 11:05

Sri Lanka v England: first Test, day three – as it happened

A masterful 228 from Joe Root gave England a huge lead in Galle before Sri Lanka rallied

12.51pm GMT

12.26pm GMT

Joe Root is giving an interview. “Very pleasing, to be in this position after losing the toss.” What was the key to his double hundred? “Being clear how I wanted to play, having a clear method for each individual bowler.”

Has he changed anything since last year? “Yes, quite a few things. Tried to get more rhythm into my batting, find triggers, things I can do when the bowler’s running in that might give me a bit of rhythm. And just trying to clear my mind of everything other than that next ball.”

12.12pm GMT

The umpires have called it a day. A day that belonged to Sri Lanka, which says a lot for their character. They took England’s last six wickets for a hundred – in fact for 49 as Jos Buttler fell for 30 and the tail failed to wag. Joe Root went serenely on to 228, and his excellence has been the difference between the two sides.

Sri Lanka could easily have folded again under the weight of a 286-run lead. Instead they’ve shown all the grit that went missing on day one, with Kusal Perera batting on after taking a nasty blow on the hand from Mark Wood, and Lahiru Thirimanne making a Zen-like 76 not out. On a turning pitch, they’ve given themselves an outside chance of turning the tables. England’s spinners have been ordinary, and Stuart Broad merely miserly. It’s not quite game on yet, but it’s not game over either.

12.02pm GMT

“Sir Lord,” says the subject line from Max Harrison. “It would be worth hauling Botham’s rear end out of the unelected Lords by his ermine, just to see the look on his face, if nothing else.” Personally, I’d like to go back in time and ask the young Botham – pint in one hand, roll-up in the other, not necessarily tobacco – what he makes of the idea. I like to think he’d laugh and say, “They won’t ask, and even if they do, I won’t say yes.”

11.57am GMT

It’s not dark everywhere. “Writing from a sun-kissed Naples,” says Colum Fordham, “although Vesuvius has a smattering of snow and looks rather gorgeous. I think that England have got the right balance with the quicks. After all, Wood’s bouncer intimidated Perera, which indirectly led to his demise at the hands of Curran who invariably conjures up a wicket out of nothing. Broad is undroppable and bowling with miserly precision and guile. So unfortunately, Anderson has to rest on the sidelines.

“On the spin front, Leach and Bess are doing their best but Leach is out of sorts and only just beginning to create problems for the batsmen and Bess is a work in progress. I think Moeen is our best spinner for the Ashes, with back-up from Root.” Yes, he’s England’s best spinner when fit and well, but maybe not in Australia, where his record is awful. I’m with Nasser Hussain: somehow, England need to persuade Adil Rashid that this could be his moment. They may have to send Moeen round with some DVDs of movies about cops coming out of retirement for one last case.

11.52am GMT

And they’re off. Frustrating as it is, there’s been more play today than the forecast led us to expect.

11.50am GMT

61st over: Sri Lanka 156-2 (Thirimanne 75, Embuldeniya 0) A nightwatchman has come out, and Thirimanne makes use of him by taking a single off Bess’s second ball. England have more men round the bat, at last, but the umpires are looking at the skies again...

11.48am GMT

60th over: Sri Lanka 155-2 (Thirimanne 75, Embuldeniya 0) Reward for sheer perseverance for Leach, who now has one for 67 off 20 overs. For Mendis, after four ducks, making 15 was a minor triumph, a display of bloodymindedness. He faced 65 balls and played his part in a stand of 54.

11.43am GMT

That’s more like it! Leach produces the slow left-armer’s dream ball, pitching on middle-and-off, kicking and turning, and Mendis, pushing forward, can only glove it to Jos Buttler, who takes a sharp catch. A breakthrough made in Somerset.

11.41am GMT

59th over: Sri Lanka 155-1 (Thirimanne 75, Mendis 15) A maiden from Wood. Does he think he’s Stuart Broad?

11.40am GMT

58th over: Sri Lanka 155-1 (Thirimanne 75, Mendis 15) No such alarms for Sri Lanka, who treat this ball just like the last one and pick up a single off Leach, a nurdle by Thirimanne. The skies are darkening, so we may not get the 15 overs that are officially remaining.

A tweet from Daniel Forman. “Your OBO [32nd over] just sent me on an Ezra Moseley research trip, by which I mean I looked at his wiki. The only West Indian rebel tourist to get a later Test cap, I learned.” And Gooch, whose hand Moseley broke with that fateful ball, had been a rebel tourist too. Is there no honour among thieves?

11.33am GMT

England convince the umpires that the ball has gone out of shape. When this happened in their innings this morning, it prompted two wickets in two balls – Buttler and Curran.

11.30am GMT

57th over: Sri Lanka 154-1 (Thirimanne 74, Mendis 15) Realising that something must be done, Root summons Wood, the only real fast bowler in the match. He bangs it in from round the wicket, but Mendis is unruffled. Willing as ever, Wood also brings his signature move, hurling himself to the ground on delivering the ball. That’s what I call going flat out.

11.25am GMT

56th over: Sri Lanka 153-1 (Thirimanne 73, Mendis 15) Mendis spots an arm ball from Leach and works it away for two. England’s most consistent spinner today has been Root.

11.22am GMT

55th over: Sri Lanka 151-1 (Thirimanne 73, Mendis 13) To bowl one full toss can happen to anyone. To bowl two in two overs looks like carelessness. Bess emulates Leach and Thirimanne helps himself to three. When he adds a clip for two, it’s the fifty partnership. Sri Lanka now have three of them in the match, the same as England, and they’re still 135 behind. The difference between the sides has been Root’s appetite for runs.

11.17am GMT

54th over: Sri Lanka 145-1 (Thirimanne 68, Mendis 12) Leach does now have someone in at short leg – who won’t thank him for the first ball of this over, a full toss. It’s asking to be bludgeoned for four, and Mendis is happy to oblige. Double figures! He should be raising his bat.

11.13am GMT

53rd over: Sri Lanka 139-1 (Thirimanne 67, Mendis 8) Bess is bowling round the wicket, into what should be the potholes at the other end, but nobody has told Thirimanne, who plays an effortless cover drive. Gotta take the smooth with the rough.

11.11am GMT

52nd over: Sri Lanka 136-1 (Thirimanne 63, Mendis 8) Ah, I take it back, Leach was just changing ends. Mendis gives what might well be a bat-pad chance to short leg, if there was anybody round the bat. Good captaincy to keep Leach on, not so good to show so little faith in him with the field.

11.06am GMT

51st over: Sri Lanka 135-1 (Thirimanne 63, Mendis 7) Just when he was finding himself, Leach is taken off. Back comes Dom Bess, to see if he can muster the outrageous fortune that brought him five wickets on the first day. Not yet, he can’t.

11.00am GMT

50th over: Sri Lanka 134-1 (Thirimanne 63, Mendis 6) Broad carries on joining the dots. He’s trying to frustrate the batsmen out, but the Sri Lankans are not for boring. And that’s drinks, with England finally making the breakthrough thanks to Sam Curran’s golden arm, but Sri Lanka still having a very good day. Hell, even Kusal Mendis has made a run.

“Curran in a homage to Botham?” splutters Phil Withall on Twitter, picking up on the wicket at 10:02. “Can we expect him to go the full long-walking, wine-glass-dipping, Brexit-supporting, knighthood-receiving homage or just the one delivery?” Ha. Not just a knighthood, a peerage. That’s how sane and sensible Brexit Britain is.

10.55am GMT

49th over: Sri Lanka 134-1 (Thirimanne 63, Mendis 6) Another top edge off Leach as Mendis plays a conventional sweep, but there’s nobody on the 45 and the ball just lollops onto the grass. Mendis celebrates with a cut for two, his first hint of aggression.

10.51am GMT

48th over: Sri Lanka 130-1 (Thirimanne 62, Mendis 3) A maiden from Broad, who doesn’t quite have a banana on his head, but definitely has a good head on his shoulders. His figures are magnificently Broadish: 7-5-3-0.

10.46am GMT

47th over: Sri Lanka 130-1 (Thirimanne 62, Mendis 3) Mendis is beaten by an even better delivery from Leach: the ball grips, the batsman gropes. Just when he might have been taken off, Leach is locating his mojo.

“Broad bandana,” goes the subject line from Garry Sharp. “It’s famously well known that, if there were no D in the alphabet, Edward Woodward would be Ewar Woowar. But nobody has spotted that, also, Mr Broad would be wearing a piece of soft fruit on his head. I felt it important that this be mentioned.
Thanks for the great coverage.” Our pleasure – thank you for the entertaining emails.

10.43am GMT

The ump was spot-on – it was a good ball, but it was missing the leg bail.

10.41am GMT

Leach thinks this one is turning into leg stump. The ump thinks it’s doing too much. I can see both sides.

10.40am GMT

46th over: Sri Lanka 128-1 (Thirimanne 61, Mendis 3) Broad concedes a run! A tuck off the pads by Thirimanne. Broad is holding the ball delicately, in his fingertips, to stop it getting sweaty, a sure sign that England are yearning for some reverse swing. If it comes, Wood could be lethal.

10.36am GMT

45th over: Sri Lanka 127-1 (Thirimanne 60, Mendis 3) Thirimanne reverse-sweeps Leach again and gets a top edge, but escapes as the ball lands safely in no-man’s-land.

Meanwhile Mendis summons the 12th man, who brings him a drink and what looks like a painkiller. He hasn’t batted for this long for ages – he’s probably aching all over.

10.31am GMT

44th over: Sri Lanka 123-1 (Thirimanne 57, Mendis 2) Curran comes off after doing his job as the partnership-breaker, and here’s Stuart Broad. Bandana? Check. Line’n’length? Check. Maiden? Check.

“Hi Tim,” says Ian Wilson. “It’s actually sun shining here in Side, Turkey, after a bit of rain yesterday.” Enviable. “I just don’t understand the logic that separates Broad and Anderson in this match. On this surface Anderson’s guile would be a far better bet than Wood’s pure pace and given the fact that England are going to be using the spinning team most of the innings, both Broad and Anderson would get plenty of rest between spells.” They would, but I thought England got this one right. Anderson bowled 41 overs last time they were in Sri Lanka and took one wicket.

10.26am GMT

43rd over: Sri Lanka 123-1 (Thirimanne 57, Mendis 2) Leach continues, and he still can’t find the control that spinners expect on a turning pitch. Thirimanne reverse-sweeps him for four. Leach bounces back by turning one past Mendis’s outside edge, but his figures, 12-0-48-0, confirm that he hasn’t been himself today.

10.23am GMT

42nd over: Sri Lanka 118-1 (Thirimanne 52, Mendis 2) Thirimanne flicks Curran for three to reach a patient fifty off 128 balls. And then he’s dropped in the gully by Dom Sibley – a loose guide that went at a very catchable height. Root covers his face in his hands, turning himself into an emoji.

10.17am GMT

41st over: Sri Lanka 113-1 (Thirimanne 48, Mendis 1) When you’ve reached a milestone like that, it’s only human to relax. Mendis misses his next sweep and there’s an appeal for LBW that looks good to me, but England don’t review.

10.14am GMT

Off his seventh delivery, Mendis sweeps Leach, very carefully, and this time there is a single. His Olympic dream has died, but he’ll always have his Audi.

10.13am GMT

40th over: Sri Lanka 111-1 (Thirimanne 47, Mendis 0) Thirimanne tucks Curran for the most comfortable of fours. Since Perera was out, he has taken over as the main man, in his quiet way. The deficit is down to a mere 175.

Here’s Brad McMillan. “Having followed the OBO on my phone since waking at 6am, I finally crawled out of bed just now and, coffee in hand and settled on the sofa, the very first ball I saw on the TV coverage was the wicket. Rest assured I won’t be moving from this spot for the next few hours.”

10.09am GMT

39th over: Sri Lanka 107-1 (Thirimanne 43, Mendis 0) Thirimanne sweeps Leach for four before taking the single England want so they can get at Mendis. Can he go from an Audi to the Olympics? His eyes are on stalks, understandably, and Leach is making him play. Block, block, sweep – but it’s not getting past the man behind square. The tension is delicious.

10.05am GMT

38th over: Sri Lanka 102-1 (Thirimanne 37, Mendis 0) In comes Kusal Mendis, who should be driven to the middle in an Audi – his last four Test innings have gone 0, 0, 0, 0. History is beckoning to him: one more duck and he’ll be the first specialist batsman to get five ducks in a row in 143 years of Test cricket.

10.02am GMT

He makes things happen! Curran bowls a long hop outside off, possibly a homage to Ian Botham, and Perera slaps it straight to Leach at wide third man. That’s the end of a fine innings, and a brave one.

9.59am GMT

37th over: Sri Lanka 100-0 (K Perera 62, Thirimanne 37) Leach troubles Perera, finding an edge and a glove, twice (ouch), but among the false shots there’s a very classy one, the finest of glances, which bisects leg slip and the keeper to bring up the hundred partnership. It’s been a masterclass in the art of nil desperandum.

“Panic?” says the subject line of an email from Steve Hudson. “Call me pessimistic (call me an England fan),” he continues, “but SL maybe getting a 150 lead on a wearing, turning pitch facing three handy spin bowlers? Fancy England to get them?” Yes, I would, as they have some fluent players who barely got going in the first innings – Crawley, Buttler, Curran, Bess, even Broad. But you’re right, it would make a great finale.

9.52am GMT

36th over: Sri Lanka 93-0 (K Perera 56, Thirimanne 36) Thirimanne takes a sharp single, the throw comes into the keeper’s end and it hits Perera on the leg. England are hell-bent on sending him to hospital, one way or another, but again he grits his teeth, or bites them together as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of his players at Burnley the other night.

9.48am GMT

The players are back out there, including the impregnable Perera, and it looks as if Sam Curran is going to have a bowl. So far in this match he hasn’t taken a wicket, or scored a run, but he always has it in him to make something happen.

9.30am GMT

35th over: Sri Lanka 90-0 (K Perera 55, Thirimanne 34) Perera cuts Bess for two, blocks the rest of the over, and makes it to tea. The session belongs firmly to Sri Lanka, who have shown the grit they so conspicuously lacked in the first innings. In fact, they’ve ruled the day so far, but thanks to Joe Root’s mastery, they’re still in a hole. See you in 15 minutes.

9.27am GMT

34th over: Sri Lanka 88-0 (K Perera 53, Thirimanne 34) Wood is ruthless enough to keep banging it in to Perera, but Root isn’t ruthless enough to post a short leg, and Perera is capable enough to fend the ball off for a single and a breather.

Meanwhile, the camera noses into the England dressing-room and spots the familiar silhouette of Moeen Ali, released from solitary confinement after going down with the damned virus. “He came out of quarantine an hour ago,” Mike Atherton reports. “And came straight to the ground, as you would if you’d been in isolation for two weeks.”

9.21am GMT

33rd over: Sri Lanka 87-0 (K Perera 52, Thirimanne 34) A quiet over from Bess ends with Perera getting yet more strapping on his hand. His right arm is half man, half mummy.

“Hello Tim from a very damp Sussex,” says James Evans. “Can’t help thinking that a leg-spinner would be more useful here than Mark Wood. Where’s Ian Salisbury when you need him?” Ha. I suspect he’s in a very damp Sussex. By the way, this email came in before Wood produced that snorter, which showed exactly why he’s there.

9.15am GMT

32nd over: Sri Lanka 83-0 (K Perera 51, Thirimanne 32) Perera pulls Wood again to reach an assured fifty, just what Mickey Arthur ordered. But then he gets a brute of a bouncer – how does Wood do it, on this slow pitch? – which hits him on the top of his hand. As Mike Atherton says, that’s like the blow Graham Gooch took from Ezra Moseley in Port-of-Spain in 1990. I was there and even the old lags in the press box winced. Perera whips off his glove, walks around, studies the damage and gets some spray from the physio, who follows up with some heavy strapping. The next ball is short but not vicious, and calmly worked off his hip for a single. Test cricket is a test of character, and Perera just passed.

9.07am GMT

31st over: Sri Lanka 79-0 (K Perera 49, Thirimanne 29) Root takes himself off, with figures of 6-0-10-0 and a couple of moral victories, and brings back his other off-spinner, Bess. Thirimanne sweeps him for four, only his second boundary from 96 balls.

9.03am GMT

30th over: Sri Lanka 74-0 (K Perera 48, Thirimanne 25) Root agrees that it’s time for seam, but he plumps for the pace of Wood rather than the pique of Broad. The field is interesting – slip, gully, leg gully and a deepish short leg. When Wood tries a bouncer, Perera bypasses the last two of them by playing a textbook pull to deep square’s right.

“As to snow,” says Ralph Jennings, “we have had plenty here in Finland. Snowing for the last three days. It’s warmer today at -18, thank goodness, as yesterday’s -27 was a bit parky.” Oof. “Later today I’m off to skate on the local frozen lake and trust me with 184,000 lakes in Finland everyone has a local lake. Regards and come on England.” Nice factoid there. If the Beatles had known about it, we might never have heard about the 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire.

8.55am GMT

29th over: Sri Lanka 68-0 (K Perera 43, Thirimanne 24) Another beauty from Root – in the channel again but fuller, almost yorker length, and spinning past Perera’s outside edge. Buttler appeals but doesn’t press for a review.

8.52am GMT

28th over: Sri Lanka 67-0 (K Perera 43, Thirimanne 23) Perera finds the gap at mid-off with a push for three and Leach is leaking runs again. England can afford it but it’s a sign that Leach, good though he was in the first innings, has a fair amount of rust to shake off.

8.49am GMT

27th over: Sri Lanka 62-0 (K Perera 40, Thirimanne 21) Root continues to ask questions, luring Thirimanne into a sweep that ends in a play-and-miss and a bye. If he carries on like this, Root can be the spinner in the Ashes and have Jos Buttler coming in at No.8.

Here’s Harry Lang. “Hope you’re keeping well. Typing in from a very damp Earlsfield (south west London). Great to see Root mastering the perfect sweep (square root?) and some youngsters showing such promise. I had a thought (may have been a dream - lockdown insomnia is a confusing mistress) - has any team in the modern age gone full Moneyball on their selection policy? Using A.I. rather than suggested form to pick teams based on conditions, opponents, wicket and other such factors? Would be fun to see a random selection from the lower leagues dropped in just because a computer says so (and then have them absolutely nail it).Thanks as ever for the OBO for those of us too tight to line Sky’s pockets.” Pleasure. And that’s a great point.

8.45am GMT

26th over: Sri Lanka 60-0 (K Perera 39, Thirimanne 21) After that flurry of strokes, Leach retires order. He has none for 24 from seven overs. Time for some seam, I would have thought. Stuart Broad must be hatching a plan, and may well be bearing a grudge after being left high and dry by Root when he was just getting going.

“Good morning Tim,” says Simon McMahon, “I hope you are well.” I am, thank you, touch wood. “Icy cold with sleet and snow showers here on the east coast of Scotland. Given that it’s a Saturday, and everyone’s at home anyway, I was a bit surprised to be woken up by a machine clearing the pavements at 7am. Still, a good excuse, as if you need one, to follow the cricket. Surely only the weather can save Sri Lanka. There’s no snow forecast in Galle, is there?” Ha. They are expecting rain, but it’s holding off for now.

8.40am GMT

25th over: Sri Lanka 58-0 (K Perera 38, Thirimanne 20) No such liberties are taken with Root.

8.40am GMT

24th over: Sri Lanka 57-0 (K Perera 38, Thirimanne 19) Perera charges Leach again, and this time he does bring out the big shot, lofting over long-on for six. Next ball, he sweeps hard for four. And that’s the fifty partnership, Sri Lanka’s second one of the match. England managed three – the difference was that two of them went past a hundred, 114 by Root and Bairstow, and 173 by Root and Lawrence, adding up to 287. Those stands account for England’s lead on first innings – 286. Sri Lanka simply have to turn this one into a big one.

8.34am GMT

23rd over: Sri Lanka 45-0 (K Perera 27, Thirimanne 18) Just a couple of singles off Root, who has 3-0-7-0 and has performed like a proper bowler.

8.32am GMT

22nd over: Sri Lanka 43-0 (K Perera 26, Thirimanne 17) Perera gives Leach the charge and ... nurdles a single. The footwork was lovely, stealthy, supple, a real dance down the track, and he kept his head when he saw that the ball wasn’t quite there for the big heave. When a harder shot is played, Jonny Bairstow, who took a nasty blow on the ankle at short leg in the first innings, gets one in the knee.

8.28am GMT

21st over: Sri Lanka 41-0 (K Perera 24, Thirimanne 17) Root beats Thirimanne with a ball straight out of the MCC coaching manual – pitching on off, turning so sharply that it was heading for slip.

“Following from the north of Luxembourg,” says Paul Townend. “And we are buried under piles of soft snow. So glad for Joe!” That’s great. Sri Lanka are doing their best not to be buried under piles of soft Joe.

8.24am GMT

20th over: Sri Lanka 40-0 (K Perera 23, Thirimanne 17) Jack Leach is back, changing ends, as Mark Butcher (who is actually in Galle) has been demanding. The rough doesn’t drum up anything dramatic but it’s a tidy over. For Leach, this game is partly about getting back into the groove.

8.21am GMT

19th over: Sri Lanka 39-0 (K Perera 22, Thirimanne 17) Joe Root needs to shake things up, so he sends for his third spinner: himself. He’s an off-spinner like Bess, but quicker. That brings runs – 2, 1, 2 – but also a thick outside edge as Thirimanne squirts through the vacant gully. If Root is going to bowl himself, he needs to back himself too, with the attacking fields that his runs have enabled.

8.17am GMT

18th over: Sri Lanka 34-0 (K Perera 19, Thirimanne 15) Bess resumes with a full toss, but then finds his length and turn one past the outside edge. That’s a maiden.

8.15am GMT

Thanks Rob and morning everyone from north London, which is waking up to a faceful of sleet, when we were promised snow. if you’re writing in, do say where you are and what the weather’s like.

8.10am GMT

That’s drinks. It’s time for me to hand over to Tim. You can email him on tim.delisle.casual@theguardian.com or tweet @TimdeLisle. Bye!

8.10am GMT

17th over: Sri Lanka 34-0 (K Perera 19, Thirimanne 15) Perera mows a full ball back towards Leach, who does well to field it in his follow through. The next ball kicks from the pitch and is gloved not far wide of Sibley at leg slip. Leach has started pretty well.

8.07am GMT

16th over: Sri Lanka 32-0 (K Perera 18, Thirimanne 14) Bess’s length still isn’t quite right. Nothing much is happening, so it won’t be a surprise if Joe Root switches the spinners round, or brings himself on for a few overs.

8.04am GMT

15th over: Sri Lanka 30-0 (K Perera 17, Thirimanne 13) The Sky commentators think England have their spinners at the wrong end, as there are big rough patches outside the left hander’s off stump that Leach could bowl into if he switched. For now Sri Lanka are defending relatively comfortably, though England know that this is the kind of pitch on which one wicket can bring three.

8.01am GMT

14th over: Sri Lanka 27-0 (K Perera 16, Thirimanne 11) “Morning from freezing Sale, Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “I’m with Luke Regan here. For all our batting and pace bowling options we do (as always) seem thinner for spinners. I like Leach a lot, and feel he’s had a bit of a tough deal such is England’s penchant for bits and pieces bowlers. Bess is a big prospect, who can definitely bat, but he’s learning his trade on the job and you worry he’ll suffer from that at some point. I dearly hope Mo comes back well and is handled well too, because who else is there?”

I like Amar Virdi, though it probably wouldn’t be right to parachute him into an Ashes series in Australia. Moeen has a mental block against Australia with bat and ball, so I would leave him out of the squad unless he makes an irresistible case this year, but I suspect England will be seduced by his potential. Finger spinners are often marmalised in Australia, especially English ones, and I would fear for Bess at this stage of his development. Leach is probably the most likely to bowl first-innings spells of 25-4-70-2.

7.57am GMT

13th over: Sri Lanka 26-0 (K Perera 16, Thirimanne 10) Jack Leach replaces Mark Wood. He bowled well in the first innings, even though he only took one wicket. He goes around the wicket to Perera, with a slip, leg gully and short square leg. It’s an accurate start from Leach, and Perera continues to defend responsibly. He has 16 from 45 balls, which is slow going for a man with a Test strike rate of 74.

7.52am GMT

12th over: Sri Lanka 25-0 (K Perera 16, Thirimanne 9) An arm ball from Bess is inside-edged onto the pad by Perera, with the ball landing safely on the off side. A silly point comes in, so Perera waves a single to get down the other end. Bess has been too short at times in this spell, a recurring problem.

7.49am GMT

11th over: Sri Lanka 23-0 (K Perera 15, Thirimanne 8) “Morning Rob, morning everyone,” says Luke Regan. “Hard to describe to a non-cricket fan the odd frisson of excitement checking the overnight England sub-continent score first thing. It’s like an absurd Xmas morning for the middle-aged, where Santa may have delivered everything you wanted but equally could have delivered nothing and taken all your stuff. Anyway, Bess, Leach or a leg-spinner for the Ashes? It’s the one area we seem under-powered and unless one of those two have the year of their lives, we might have missed a trick not gambling on Rashid’s shoulder and resting him in ODIs. He’s the only English spinner with the x-factor.”

I think it will be Moeen. I’m not sure who it should be, probably Leach as he’s the most reliable. I don’t think Rashid’s heart is in it, even if his shoulder was up to it.

7.44am GMT

10th over: Sri Lanka 21-0 (K Perera 14, Thirimanne 7) A maiden from Bess to the unusually watchful Kusal Perera.

7.41am GMT

9th over: Sri Lanka 21-0 (K Perera 14, Thirimanne 7) A double bowling change, with Mark Wood coming on for Stuart Broad. He goes over the wicket to Thirimanne, who pings a straight ball sweetly through midwicket for four. That was a lovely shot, played with barely a follow through.

“In answer to your kind enquiry, Rob, Toby is fine since vomiting up the tablets all over the sofa in the study,” says Ian Forth. “He is smugly licking his paws as I type, with nothing to be smug about, in my opinion.”

7.36am GMT

8th over: Sri Lanka 16-0 (K Perera 13, Thirimanne 3) With two left-handers at the crease, Dom Bess comes on for an early bowl. He starts with a few shorter deliveries, which allows the batsmen to take three low-risk deliveres, but the last two balls of the over are right on the money. Encouragingly for England, one turns a long way and the other goes straight on,

7.32am GMT

7th over: Sri Lanka 13-0 (K Perera 11, Thirimanne 2) Broad looks shattered already, such is the heat, so this over will be the last of his spell unless he takes a wicket. Thirimanne ensures he doesn’t with some diligent defence. Another excellent little spell from Broad: 4-3-2-0.

7.27am GMT

6th over: Sri Lanka 13-0 (K Perera 11, Thirimanne 2) Perera forces Curran through the vacant gully area for four. It went at catchable height, too, and the Sky commentators can’t understand why England don’t have a gully. The next ball is slightly too wide, which allows Perera to free his arms and spank it to the cover boundary. Curran responds with a good delivery that pops from a length to beat Perera.

“Over the years my cocker spaniel Toby has eaten a wide variety of nonsense (earphones, quite a lot of a Mona Lisa jigsaw, my Sebadoh Bakesale CD) but last night diversified for the first time into pharmaceuticals,” says Ian Forth. “He got into the antibiotics for my toothache, despite the fact they were wrapped in one of those silver foil vacuum seals humans need a chainsaw to open. Nice variation on ‘the dog ate my homework’ when I phoned the dentist for a repeat prescription this morning.”

7.23am GMT

5th over: Sri Lanka 5-0 (K Perera 3, Thirimanne 2) Broad is bowling around the wicket to Perera and over the wicket to Thirimanne, who survives an LBW appeal to a ball that pitched just outside leg. There might have been an inside edge as well. But he looks nervous, Thirimanne, and clips the next ball just short of the diving Lawrence at short midwicket.

7.18am GMT

4th over: Sri Lanka 5-0 (K Perera 3, Thirimanne 2) The early signs are that Sri Lanka intend to block their way out of trouble. Thirimanne takes a single and is hit on the arm by a loose throw from Bess. That’s about it for Curran’s second over; he’s finding a little bit of swing but nothing particuarly troublesome for the batsmen.

7.13am GMT

3rd over: Sri Lanka 4-0 (K Perera 3, Thirimanne 1) Perera doesn’t look comfortable against Broad, who is bowling very straight from around the wicket. A thick edge squirts along the floor to point, the most notable event of an excellent maiden from Broad.

7.08am GMT

2nd over: Sri Lanka 4-0 (K Perera 3, Thirimanne 1) Sam Curran shares the new ball. He’s had a quiet game so far, just four wicketless overs and a golden duck. Thirimanne, who is aiming to improve on a desperate record against England, works a straight one off the pads to get off the mark.

7.05am GMT

1st over: Sri Lanka 2-0 (K Perera 2, Thirimanne 0) Stuart Broad goes straight around the wicket to Kusal Perera, with two slips and a man on the drive. His second ball takes a leading edge and loops over the vacant gully region for a couple. It’s a very accurate first over from Broad, who has bowled beautifully in this game.

6.34am GMT

“Morning Rob,” says Daniel Lees. “Andrew in the Canary Islands should get a dog: mine, Teddy, woke me up (I think he just knew what I wanted) allowing me to sneak downstairs quietly for a few hours of cricket while the family sleeps. Teddy, however, cannot find me a working radio stream here in France to allow me to listen while in a doctor’s waiting room for two hours later on this morning: can anyone help me out, in exchange for this dog?”

6.27am GMT

Kumar Sangakkara on Joe Root’s innings “For sheer control, finesse and the ease of batting, without a doubt it belongs on the list [of the greatest innings by a visiting batsman in Sri Lanka]. It was beautiful to watch him; he was very adept, not just at defence but also in terms of attack, especially using the sweep so well to put the bowlers off their length. In Test match cricket, forget the boundaries, the key is to reverse pressure smartly and to rotate strike. There was never a moment that Joe Root got stuck for too long at one end. It was an absolute masterclass.”

6.24am GMT

England collapsed at the end of the innings, losing their last six wickets for 49. But the bigger picture is that they lead by 286 and are well set to win their fourth consecutive Test away from home.

6.22am GMT

Joe Root drags Perera to cow corner to end majestic innings. He made 228 from 321 balls on an awkward pitch, at a strike rate of 71, yet he barely seemed to take a risk. It was a masterpiece.

6.19am GMT

117th over: England 421-9 (Root 228, Broad 11) Asitha Fernando returns to the attack. That change of pace is good for Broad, who smears consecutive short balls for for four - the first was pinged round the corner, the second top-edged over the keeper’s head.

6.13am GMT

116th over: England 412-9 (Root 227, Broad 3) Stuart Broad is given out LBW to Perera twice in the space of three balls - but he reviews them both successfully. The first was missing leg, the second missing off. In defence of the umpire Kumar Dharmasena, the first one was almost certainly out. But because the ball hit Broad’s boot on the full, Hawkeye had to track the original angle rather than take into account the probable turn.

6.05am GMT

115th over: England 411-9 (Root 226, Broad 3) Broad gets off the mark with a sweep for two. He had a good time with the bat last year - his average of 36 was his highest in a calendar year since 2011 - and he can tee off with impunity here. England lead by 276. Enough already.

“John Starbuck may be right about restoring the norm by feeding the cat, but the cat is now asleep,” reports Andrew in the Canary Islands. “She’ll undoubtedly complain about being woken up when I change the bedding later (it’s 6am, I’m not doing it yet).”

6.00am GMT

114th over: England 406-9 (Root 224, Broad 0) Since the ball was changed, England have lost five wickets for 34. In happier news, this is only the second time they have scored 400 in a Test in Sri Lanka. The first was in 2012, when Kevin Pietersen went berserk.

5.58am GMT

A quick break between overs includes an advert for Numan: “Order clinically proven erectile dysfunction treatment from the comfort of your own home.” Targeted advertising par excellence.

Meanwhile, Mark Wood has gone for two. He toe-ended a sweep straight up in the air, and Dickwella helped himself to an easy catch.

5.53am GMT

113th over: England 403-8 (Root 223, Wood 0) Root, on the walk, survives a decent LBW shout from Shanaka. Sri Lanka have no reviews remaining, though replays show he was outside the line anyway. A princely flick through midwicket for four takes Root to 222 - we miss you, Richie - and he works another single off the next delivery.

5.49am GMT

112th over: England 398-8 (Root 218, Wood 0)

5.47am GMT

Leach has gone this time. He played defensively across the line of a big offbreak from the new bowler Perera and was hit just above the flap of the pad. Kumar Dharmasena gave it out and, though Leach reviewed, replays showed it was hitting the top of middle stump. It was a guilt-free review from Leach, because England had three remaining. Now they have two.

5.43am GMT

In other news, it is hooning down at the Gabba.

5.42am GMT

111th over: England 397-7 (Root 217, Leach 4) The medium-pacer Dasun Shanaka replaces Fernando, who bowled a fine spell of 4-1-10-2. His fifth ball brings a review for caught behind against Jack Leach, who leaned into an expansive drive. Niroshan Dickwella was certain it was out - he usually is - but there was nothing on UltraEdge and Leach survived. Sri Lanka have used up their reviews.

5.35am GMT

110th over: England 396-7 (Root 215, Leach 4) Leach gets off the mark from his 12th delivery, sweeping Embuldeniya vigorously for four. England’s lead is an extremely healthy 261.

5.32am GMT

109th over: England 391-7 (Root 215, Leach 0) Root pulls Fernando smoothly round the corner for his 17th four. As Ian Ward says on Sky, he has “made batting look supremely easy”. When he bats like this, with such class, serenity and authority, it feels absurd that he failed to score a Test hundred in 2020. And he really looks like he’s enjoying himself, which hasn’t always the case in recent years.

“Rob,” says John Starbuck. “Feeding a cat after it’s vomited is simply a way of restoring the norm. Our cat, Beaumont, is usually first fed by my wife who tends to rise early. When I fed him today he simply didn’t believe it. I don’t think he really appreciates cricket.”

5.25am GMT

108th over: England 384-7 (Root 208, Leach 0) Root had a great first summer as England captain, when he scored hundreds of runs against South Africa and West Indies. But since then he has been much more prolific away from home. In the last three years - since the end of the 2017-18 Ashes - he averages 34 in England and 50 overseas. That’s partly down to conditions, but I suspect there’s a bit more to it than that. The captaincy weighs more heavily at home.

5.21am GMT

107th over: England 383-7 (Root 207, Leach 0) The new batsman Leach is beaten by another good delivery from Fernando, which zips off the pitch from a length.

“Hi Rob,” says Andrew in the Canary Islands. “My cat just woke me up by vomiting on the bed. Not the best way to enter the weekend, but I did get to tune in and immediately see three wickets and Root reach his double ton. The cat is now wiping its face on my arm, and wants fed.”

5.15am GMT

106th over: England 382-7 (Root 206, Leach 0) Well that was an eventful over. The Root LBW appeal was pretty close, though I suspect he was just outside the line. I did Bess a slight disservice: when he knew there was going to be a run out, he sprinted past Root to ensure he would be the man to go.

5.14am GMT

Dom Bess has been run out for a duck. Root was the subject of a big LBW appeal from Embuldeniya after missing a paddle sweep, and set off in an attempt to distract the umpire Kumar Dharmasena. Bess didn’t get the memo and was left stranded when Root kept running.

5.13am GMT

105.5 overs: England 382-6 (Root 206, Bess 0) Root slog-sweeps Embuldeniya for four to reach a marvellous double hundred: 291 balls, 15 fours and one six. It’s his fourth in Tests, which takes him joint third on the all-time England list behind Wally Hammond and Sir Alastair Cook, and his second against Sri Lanka.

Root repeats the stroke next ball, hammering another sweep for four, and then paddles a couple more. He has swept so often in this innings, and he’s played the shot almost flawlessly.

5.08am GMT

105th over: England 372-6 (Root 196, Bess 0) Bess blocks the hat-trick ball, another potential stump-buster. That was a spectacular over from Fernando, a double-wicket maiden.

5.03am GMT

Bowled him! Sam Curran has gone first ball, cleaned up by a full, straight inducker. That was another cracking delivery from Fernando, who is suddenly on a hat-trick.

5.01am GMT

The ball is out of shape, so there’s a brief delay while it is changed - and Buttler falls to the first delivery with the new one! It was a fine piece of bowling from Fernando: full, a tight line and just enough movement to take the edge as Buttler lunged into a drive. The keeper Niroshan Dickwella did the rest.

4.56am GMT

104th over: England 372-4 (Root 196, Buttler 30) Root, on the walk, inside edges Perera through the vacant leg-gully area. A single takes him into the 190s, and later in the over he clouts Perera back over his head for six. Shot!

4.52am GMT

103rd over: England 364-4 (Root 189, Buttler 29) Asitha Fernando returns in place of Embuldeniya. He has a slip and a gully but nobody else around the bat. Buttler squirts a drive to deep backward point for a single, and then Root steers past gully for one.

4.46am GMT

102nd over: England 362-4 (Root 188, Buttler 28) England have scored at almost a run a ball this morning. I was going to do they’ve done so without breaking sweat, but that’s clearly not the case in this humidity. There are even unconfirmed rumours that Sir Alastair Cook once perspired in Sri Lanka.

4.43am GMT

101st over: England 359-4 (Root 187, Buttler 26) The groundstaff are preparing the covers, which is a wee bit irritating. While we wait for the rain, Buttler hits Embuldeniya for consecutive boundaries. The first was a well placed reverse sweep off a full toss, the second a dismissive cart over midwicket when Embuldeniya overcompensated and dropped short. That brings up the fifty partnership. Root completes a terrific over - 13 from it - with a lovely sweep for four. This really has been a majestic innings.

4.39am GMT

100th over: England 346-4 (Root 183, Buttler 17) Four low-risk singles from Perera’s over. After a difficult start to his innings, Buttler is looking a bit more comfortable.

4.36am GMT

99th over: England 342-4 (Root 181, Buttler 15) One of the interesting things about Root’s innings is that he has hit only 13 fours in a score of 181; that’s less than 30 per cent of his runs in boundaries. Contrast that with his aggressive 124 in Pallekele on the previous tour, when 42 per cent of his runs came from boundaries. This has been a really methodical innings, similar in many ways to his career-best 254 against Pakistan in 2016.

4.31am GMT

98th over: England 338-4 (Root 178, Buttler 14) Perera, bowling round the wicket, gets one to rip sharply back into Root. Perera goes up for LBW but it was too high. Unless it rains for the best part of two days, it’s hard to see how Sri Lanka can save the game on this pitch.

4.29am GMT

97th over: England 337-4 (Root 178, Buttler 13) Embuldeniya replaces Fernando after one over. A pair of twos take Root to the mighty milestone of 8000 Test runs. He’s the seventh Englishman to achieve the feat; if all goes well, by the end of 2021 he will be only the second Englishman to score 9000 Test runs.

“Good morning/evening from abnormally not snowy Montreal Rob,” says Jesse Linklater. “How’s the forecast looking for Galle? Talk yesterday of two of the next three days being rain-reduced. Declaration coming before lunch?”

4.24am GMT

96th over: England 330-4 (Root 173, Buttler 12) Jos Buttler gets going with a reverse sweep for four off Dilruwan Perera. This pitch is turning appreciably now, so England are in a ludicrously. Incidentally, if you’re into the whole podcast thing, Buttler was predictably brilliant on this week’s episode of Don’t Tell Me The Score. Eff it, why not have a listen?

“Morning Rob,” says Dave Adams. “Great to see Test cricket right now. Up at this hour courtesy of third nocturnal child in a row. Do I subconsciously want them to wake in the night so I can watch it?”

4.19am GMT

95th over: England 324-4 (Root 172, Buttler 7) Asita Fernando opens the bowling to Joe Root, who moves into the 170s with a pristine cover drive for four. He’s been both stylish and clinical in this innings; you can’t ask for much more.

4.09am GMT

Pre-play reading

5.52pm GMT

Hello. Here’s how it usually works in Galle: the team that wins the toss bats first and wins the match. Nice job everyone, thanks for coming. On a pitch that deteriorates like no other in world cricket, batting second is a huge disadvantage - and one that, for touring teams in particular, has been almost impossible to overcome.

The away side has won only two of the 21 Galle Tests in which they have fielded first. Pakistan were the victors on both occasions, in 2000 and 2015. Since then, India, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh have all lost the toss and then the match.

View more on Rob Smyth's website »

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Published on January 16, 2021 04:40

Sri Lanka v England: first Test, day three – live!

Over-by-over updates from the third day in GalleEngland all out for 421 (Root 228)Get in touch! Email Tim or tweet @TimdeLisle

9.27am GMT

34th over: Sri Lanka 88-0 (K Perera 53, Thirimanne 34) Wood is ruthless enough to keep bowling short to Perera, but Root isn’t ruthless enough to give him a short leg, and Perera is capable enough to fend the ball off in a way that gets him a single and a breather.

Meanwhile, the camera noses into the dressing-room and spots the familiar silhouette of Moeen Ali, released from solitary confinement after going down with the damned virus. “He came out of quarantine an hour ago,” Mike Atherton reports. “And came straight to the ground, as you would if you’ve been in isolation for two weeks.”

9.21am GMT

33rd over: Sri Lanka 87-0 (K Perera 52, Thirimanne 34) A quiet over from Bess ends with Perera getting yet more strapping on his hand. His right arm is half man, half mummy.

“Hello Tim from a very damp Sussex,” says James Evans. “Can’t help thinking that a leg-spinner would be more useful here than Mark Wood. Where’s Ian Salisbury when you need him?” Ha. I suspect he’s in a very damp Sussex. By the way, this email came in before Wood produced that snorter, which showed exactly why he’s there.

9.15am GMT

32nd over: Sri Lanka 83-0 (K Perera 51, Thirimanne 32) Perera pulls Wood again to reach an assured fifty, just what Mickey Arthur ordered. But then he gets a brute of a bouncer – how does Wood do it, on this slow pitch? – which hits him on the top of his hand. As Mike Atherton says, that’s like the blow Graham Gooch took from Ezra Moseley in Port-of-Spain in 1990. I was there and even the old lags in the press box winced. Perera whips off his glove, walks around, studies the damage and gets some spray from the physio, who follows up with some heavy strapping. The next ball is short but not vicious, and calmly worked off his hip for a single. Test cricket is a test of character, and Perera just passed.

9.07am GMT

31st over: Sri Lanka 79-0 (K Perera 49, Thirimanne 29) Root takes himself off, with figures of 6-0-10-0 and a couple of moral victories, and brings back his other off-spinner, Bess. Thirimanne sweeps him for four, only his second boundary from 96 balls.

9.03am GMT

30th over: Sri Lanka 74-0 (K Perera 48, Thirimanne 25) Root agrees that it’s time for seam, but he plumps for the pace of Wood rather than the pique of Broad. The field is interesting – slip, gully, leg gully and a deepish short leg. When Wood tries a bouncer, Perera bypasses the last two of them by playing a textbook pull to deep square’s right.

“As to snow,” says Ralph Jennings, “we have had plenty here in Finland. Snowing for the last three days. It’s warmer today at -18, thank goodness, as yesterday’s -27 was a bit parky.” Oof. “Later today I’m off to skate on the local frozen lake and trust me with 184,000 lakes in Finland everyone has a local lake. Regards and come on England.” Nice factoid there. If the Beatles had known about it, we might never have heard about the 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire.

8.55am GMT

29th over: Sri Lanka 68-0 (K Perera 43, Thirimanne 24) Another beauty from Root – in the channel again but fuller, almost yorker length, and spinning past Perera’s outside edge. Buttler appeals but doesn’t press for a review.

8.52am GMT

28th over: Sri Lanka 67-0 (K Perera 43, Thirimanne 23) Perera finds the gap at mid-off with a push for three and Leach is leaking runs again. England can afford it but it’s a sign that Leach, good though he was in the first innings, has a fair amount of rust to shake off.

8.49am GMT

27th over: Sri Lanka 62-0 (K Perera 40, Thirimanne 21) Root continues to ask questions, luring Thirimanne into a sweep that ends in a play-and-miss and a bye. If he carries on like this, Root can be the spinner in the Ashes and have Jos Buttler coming in at No.8.

Here’s Harry Lang. “Hope you’re keeping well. Typing in from a very damp Earlsfield (south west London). Great to see Root mastering the perfect sweep (square root?) and some youngsters showing such promise. I had a thought (may have been a dream - lockdown insomnia is a confusing mistress) - has any team in the modern age gone full Moneyball on their selection policy? Using A.I. rather than suggested form to pick teams based on conditions, opponents, wicket and other such factors? Would be fun to see a random selection from the lower leagues dropped in just because a computer says so (and then have them absolutely nail it).Thanks as ever for the OBO for those of us too tight to line Sky’s pockets.” Pleasure. And that’s a great point.

8.45am GMT

26th over: Sri Lanka 60-0 (K Perera 39, Thirimanne 21) After that flurry of strokes, Leach retires order. He has none for 24 from seven overs. Time for some seam, I would have thought. Stuart Broad must be hatching a plan, and may well be bearing a grudge after being left high and dry by Root when he was just getting going.

“Good morning Tim,” says Simon McMahon, “I hope you are well.” I am, thank you, touch wood. “Icy cold with sleet and snow showers here on the east coast of Scotland. Given that it’s a Saturday, and everyone’s at home anyway, I was a bit surprised to be woken up by a machine clearing the pavements at 7am. Still, a good excuse, as if you need one, to follow the cricket. Surely only the weather can save Sri Lanka. There’s no snow forecast in Galle, is there?” Ha. They are expecting rain, but it’s holding off for now.

8.40am GMT

25th over: Sri Lanka 58-0 (K Perera 38, Thirimanne 20) No such liberties are taken with Root.

8.40am GMT

24th over: Sri Lanka 57-0 (K Perera 38, Thirimanne 19) Perera charges Leach again, and this time he does bring out the big shot, lofting over long-on for six. Next ball, he sweeps hard for four. And that’s the fifty partnership, Sri Lanka’s second one of the match. England managed three – the difference was that two of them went past a hundred, 114 by Root and Bairstow, and 173 by Root and Lawrence, adding up to 287. Those stands account for England’s lead on first innings – 286. Sri Lanka simply have to turn this one into a big one.

8.34am GMT

23rd over: Sri Lanka 45-0 (K Perera 27, Thirimanne 18) Just a couple of singles off Root, who has 3-0-7-0 and has performed like a proper bowler.

8.32am GMT

22nd over: Sri Lanka 43-0 (K Perera 26, Thirimanne 17) Perera gives Leach the charge and ... nurdles a single. The footwork was lovely, stealthy, supple, a real dance down the track, and he kept his head when he saw that the ball wasn’t quite there for the big heave. When a harder shot is played, Jonny Bairstow, who took a nasty blow on the ankle at short leg in the first innings, gets one in the knee.

8.28am GMT

21st over: Sri Lanka 41-0 (K Perera 24, Thirimanne 17) Root beats Thirimanne with a ball straight out of the MCC coaching manual – pitching on off, turning so sharply that it was heading for slip.

“Following from the north of Luxembourg,” says Paul Townend. “And we are buried under piles of soft snow. So glad for Joe!” That’s great. Sri Lanka are doing their best not to be buried under piles of soft Joe.

8.24am GMT

20th over: Sri Lanka 40-0 (K Perera 23, Thirimanne 17) Jack Leach is back, changing ends, as Mark Butcher (who is actually in Galle) has been demanding. The rough doesn’t drum up anything dramatic but it’s a tidy over. For Leach, this game is partly about getting back into the groove.

8.21am GMT

19th over: Sri Lanka 39-0 (K Perera 22, Thirimanne 17) Joe Root needs to shake things up, so he sends for his third spinner: himself. He’s an off-spinner like Bess, but quicker. That brings runs – 2, 1, 2 – but also a thick outside edge as Thirimanne squirts through the vacant gully. If Root is going to bowl himself, he needs to back himself too, with the attacking fields that his runs have enabled.

8.17am GMT

18th over: Sri Lanka 34-0 (K Perera 19, Thirimanne 15) Bess resumes with a full toss, but then finds his length and turn one past the outside edge. That’s a maiden.

8.15am GMT

Thanks Rob and morning everyone from north London, which is waking up to a faceful of sleet, when we were promised snow. if you’re writing in, do say where you are and what the weather’s like.

8.10am GMT

That’s drinks. It’s time for me to hand over to Tim. You can email him on tim.delisle.casual@theguardian.com or tweet @TimdeLisle. Bye!

8.10am GMT

17th over: Sri Lanka 34-0 (K Perera 19, Thirimanne 15) Perera mows a full ball back towards Leach, who does well to field it in his follow through. The next ball kicks from the pitch and is gloved not far wide of Sibley at leg slip. Leach has started pretty well.

8.07am GMT

16th over: Sri Lanka 32-0 (K Perera 18, Thirimanne 14) Bess’s length still isn’t quite right. Nothing much is happening, so it won’t be a surprise if Joe Root switches the spinners round, or brings himself on for a few overs.

8.04am GMT

15th over: Sri Lanka 30-0 (K Perera 17, Thirimanne 13) The Sky commentators think England have their spinners at the wrong end, as there are big rough patches outside the left hander’s off stump that Leach could bowl into if he switched. For now Sri Lanka are defending relatively comfortably, though England know that this is the kind of pitch on which one wicket can bring three.

8.01am GMT

14th over: Sri Lanka 27-0 (K Perera 16, Thirimanne 11) “Morning from freezing Sale, Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “I’m with Luke Regan here. For all our batting and pace bowling options we do (as always) seem thinner for spinners. I like Leach a lot, and feel he’s had a bit of a tough deal such is England’s penchant for bits and pieces bowlers. Bess is a big prospect, who can definitely bat, but he’s learning his trade on the job and you worry he’ll suffer from that at some point. I dearly hope Mo comes back well and is handled well too, because who else is there?”

I like Amar Virdi, though it probably wouldn’t be right to parachute him into an Ashes series in Australia. Moeen has a mental block against Australia with bat and ball, so I would leave him out of the squad unless he makes an irresistible case this year, but I suspect England will be seduced by his potential. Finger spinners are often marmalised in Australia, especially English ones, and I would fear for Bess at this stage of his development. Leach is probably the most likely to bowl first-innings spells of 25-4-70-2.

7.57am GMT

13th over: Sri Lanka 26-0 (K Perera 16, Thirimanne 10) Jack Leach replaces Mark Wood. He bowled well in the first innings, even though he only took one wicket. He goes around the wicket to Perera, with a slip, leg gully and short square leg. It’s an accurate start from Leach, and Perera continues to defend responsibly. He has 16 from 45 balls, which is slow going for a man with a Test strike rate of 74.

7.52am GMT

12th over: Sri Lanka 25-0 (K Perera 16, Thirimanne 9) An arm ball from Bess is inside-edged onto the pad by Perera, with the ball landing safely on the off side. A silly point comes in, so Perera waves a single to get down the other end. Bess has been too short at times in this spell, a recurring problem.

7.49am GMT

11th over: Sri Lanka 23-0 (K Perera 15, Thirimanne 8) “Morning Rob, morning everyone,” says Luke Regan. “Hard to describe to a non-cricket fan the odd frisson of excitement checking the overnight England sub-continent score first thing. It’s like an absurd Xmas morning for the middle-aged, where Santa may have delivered everything you wanted but equally could have delivered nothing and taken all your stuff. Anyway, Bess, Leach or a leg-spinner for the Ashes? It’s the one area we seem under-powered and unless one of those two have the year of their lives, we might have missed a trick not gambling on Rashid’s shoulder and resting him in ODIs. He’s the only English spinner with the x-factor.”

I think it will be Moeen. I’m not sure who it should be, probably Leach as he’s the most reliable. I don’t think Rashid’s heart is in it, even if his shoulder was up to it.

7.44am GMT

10th over: Sri Lanka 21-0 (K Perera 14, Thirimanne 7) A maiden from Bess to the unusually watchful Kusal Perera.

7.41am GMT

9th over: Sri Lanka 21-0 (K Perera 14, Thirimanne 7) A double bowling change, with Mark Wood coming on for Stuart Broad. He goes over the wicket to Thirimanne, who pings a straight ball sweetly through midwicket for four. That was a lovely shot, played with barely a follow through.

“In answer to your kind enquiry, Rob, Toby is fine since vomiting up the tablets all over the sofa in the study,” says Ian Forth. “He is smugly licking his paws as I type, with nothing to be smug about, in my opinion.”

7.36am GMT

8th over: Sri Lanka 16-0 (K Perera 13, Thirimanne 3) With two left-handers at the crease, Dom Bess comes on for an early bowl. He starts with a few shorter deliveries, which allows the batsmen to take three low-risk deliveres, but the last two balls of the over are right on the money. Encouragingly for England, one turns a long way and the other goes straight on,

7.32am GMT

7th over: Sri Lanka 13-0 (K Perera 11, Thirimanne 2) Broad looks shattered already, such is the heat, so this over will be the last of his spell unless he takes a wicket. Thirimanne ensures he doesn’t with some diligent defence. Another excellent little spell from Broad: 4-3-2-0.

7.27am GMT

6th over: Sri Lanka 13-0 (K Perera 11, Thirimanne 2) Perera forces Curran through the vacant gully area for four. It went at catchable height, too, and the Sky commentators can’t understand why England don’t have a gully. The next ball is slightly too wide, which allows Perera to free his arms and spank it to the cover boundary. Curran responds with a good delivery that pops from a length to beat Perera.

“Over the years my cocker spaniel Toby has eaten a wide variety of nonsense (earphones, quite a lot of a Mona Lisa jigsaw, my Sebadoh Bakesale CD) but last night diversified for the first time into pharmaceuticals,” says Ian Forth. “He got into the antibiotics for my toothache, despite the fact they were wrapped in one of those silver foil vacuum seals humans need a chainsaw to open. Nice variation on ‘the dog ate my homework’ when I phoned the dentist for a repeat prescription this morning.”

7.23am GMT

5th over: Sri Lanka 5-0 (K Perera 3, Thirimanne 2) Broad is bowling around the wicket to Perera and over the wicket to Thirimanne, who survives an LBW appeal to a ball that pitched just outside leg. There might have been an inside edge as well. But he looks nervous, Thirimanne, and clips the next ball just short of the diving Lawrence at short midwicket.

7.18am GMT

4th over: Sri Lanka 5-0 (K Perera 3, Thirimanne 2) The early signs are that Sri Lanka intend to block their way out of trouble. Thirimanne takes a single and is hit on the arm by a loose throw from Bess. That’s about it for Curran’s second over; he’s finding a little bit of swing but nothing particuarly troublesome for the batsmen.

7.13am GMT

3rd over: Sri Lanka 4-0 (K Perera 3, Thirimanne 1) Perera doesn’t look comfortable against Broad, who is bowling very straight from around the wicket. A thick edge squirts along the floor to point, the most notable event of an excellent maiden from Broad.

7.08am GMT

2nd over: Sri Lanka 4-0 (K Perera 3, Thirimanne 1) Sam Curran shares the new ball. He’s had a quiet game so far, just four wicketless overs and a golden duck. Thirimanne, who is aiming to improve on a desperate record against England, works a straight one off the pads to get off the mark.

7.05am GMT

1st over: Sri Lanka 2-0 (K Perera 2, Thirimanne 0) Stuart Broad goes straight around the wicket to Kusal Perera, with two slips and a man on the drive. His second ball takes a leading edge and loops over the vacant gully region for a couple. It’s a very accurate first over from Broad, who has bowled beautifully in this game.

6.34am GMT

“Morning Rob,” says Daniel Lees. “Andrew in the Canary Islands should get a dog: mine, Teddy, woke me up (I think he just knew what I wanted) allowing me to sneak downstairs quietly for a few hours of cricket while the family sleeps. Teddy, however, cannot find me a working radio stream here in France to allow me to listen while in a doctor’s waiting room for two hours later on this morning: can anyone help me out, in exchange for this dog?”

6.27am GMT

Kumar Sangakkara on Joe Root’s innings “For sheer control, finesse and the ease of batting, without a doubt it belongs on the list [of the greatest innings by a visiting batsman in Sri Lanka]. It was beautiful to watch him; he was very adept, not just at defence but also in terms of attack, especially using the sweep so well to put the bowlers off their length. In Test match cricket, forget the boundaries, the key is to reverse pressure smartly and to rotate strike. There was never a moment that Joe Root got stuck for too long at one end. It was an absolute masterclass.”

6.24am GMT

England collapsed at the end of the innings, losing their last six wickets for 49. But the bigger picture is that they lead by 286 and are well set to win their fourth consecutive Test away from home.

6.22am GMT

Joe Root drags Perera to cow corner to end majestic innings. He made 228 from 321 balls on an awkward pitch, at a strike rate of 71, yet he barely seemed to take a risk. It was a masterpiece.

6.19am GMT

117th over: England 421-9 (Root 228, Broad 11) Asitha Fernando returns to the attack. That change of pace is good for Broad, who smears consecutive short balls for for four - the first was pinged round the corner, the second top-edged over the keeper’s head.

6.13am GMT

116th over: England 412-9 (Root 227, Broad 3) Stuart Broad is given out LBW to Perera twice in the space of three balls - but he reviews them both successfully. The first was missing leg, the second missing off. In defence of the umpire Kumar Dharmasena, the first one was almost certainly out. But because the ball hit Broad’s boot on the full, Hawkeye had to track the original angle rather than take into account the probable turn.

6.05am GMT

115th over: England 411-9 (Root 226, Broad 3) Broad gets off the mark with a sweep for two. He had a good time with the bat last year - his average of 36 was his highest in a calendar year since 2011 - and he can tee off with impunity here. England lead by 276. Enough already.

“John Starbuck may be right about restoring the norm by feeding the cat, but the cat is now asleep,” reports Andrew in the Canary Islands. “She’ll undoubtedly complain about being woken up when I change the bedding later (it’s 6am, I’m not doing it yet).”

6.00am GMT

114th over: England 406-9 (Root 224, Broad 0) Since the ball was changed, England have lost five wickets for 34. In happier news, this is only the second time they have scored 400 in a Test in Sri Lanka. The first was in 2012, when Kevin Pietersen went berserk.

5.58am GMT

A quick break between overs includes an advert for Numan: “Order clinically proven erectile dysfunction treatment from the comfort of your own home.” Targeted advertising par excellence.

Meanwhile, Mark Wood has gone for two. He toe-ended a sweep straight up in the air, and Dickwella helped himself to an easy catch.

5.53am GMT

113th over: England 403-8 (Root 223, Wood 0) Root, on the walk, survives a decent LBW shout from Shanaka. Sri Lanka have no reviews remaining, though replays show he was outside the line anyway. A princely flick through midwicket for four takes Root to 222 - we miss you, Richie - and he works another single off the next delivery.

5.49am GMT

112th over: England 398-8 (Root 218, Wood 0)

5.47am GMT

Leach has gone this time. He played defensively across the line of a big offbreak from the new bowler Perera and was hit just above the flap of the pad. Kumar Dharmasena gave it out and, though Leach reviewed, replays showed it was hitting the top of middle stump. It was a guilt-free review from Leach, because England had three remaining. Now they have two.

5.43am GMT

In other news, it is hooning down at the Gabba.

5.42am GMT

111th over: England 397-7 (Root 217, Leach 4) The medium-pacer Dasun Shanaka replaces Fernando, who bowled a fine spell of 4-1-10-2. His fifth ball brings a review for caught behind against Jack Leach, who leaned into an expansive drive. Niroshan Dickwella was certain it was out - he usually is - but there was nothing on UltraEdge and Leach survived. Sri Lanka have used up their reviews.

5.35am GMT

110th over: England 396-7 (Root 215, Leach 4) Leach gets off the mark from his 12th delivery, sweeping Embuldeniya vigorously for four. England’s lead is an extremely healthy 261.

5.32am GMT

109th over: England 391-7 (Root 215, Leach 0) Root pulls Fernando smoothly round the corner for his 17th four. As Ian Ward says on Sky, he has “made batting look supremely easy”. When he bats like this, with such class, serenity and authority, it feels absurd that he failed to score a Test hundred in 2020. And he really looks like he’s enjoying himself, which hasn’t always the case in recent years.

“Rob,” says John Starbuck. “Feeding a cat after it’s vomited is simply a way of restoring the norm. Our cat, Beaumont, is usually first fed by my wife who tends to rise early. When I fed him today he simply didn’t believe it. I don’t think he really appreciates cricket.”

5.25am GMT

108th over: England 384-7 (Root 208, Leach 0) Root had a great first summer as England captain, when he scored hundreds of runs against South Africa and West Indies. But since then he has been much more prolific away from home. In the last three years - since the end of the 2017-18 Ashes - he averages 34 in England and 50 overseas. That’s partly down to conditions, but I suspect there’s a bit more to it than that. The captaincy weighs more heavily at home.

5.21am GMT

107th over: England 383-7 (Root 207, Leach 0) The new batsman Leach is beaten by another good delivery from Fernando, which zips off the pitch from a length.

“Hi Rob,” says Andrew in the Canary Islands. “My cat just woke me up by vomiting on the bed. Not the best way to enter the weekend, but I did get to tune in and immediately see three wickets and Root reach his double ton. The cat is now wiping its face on my arm, and wants fed.”

5.15am GMT

106th over: England 382-7 (Root 206, Leach 0) Well that was an eventful over. The Root LBW appeal was pretty close, though I suspect he was just outside the line. I did Bess a slight disservice: when he knew there was going to be a run out, he sprinted past Root to ensure he would be the man to go.

5.14am GMT

Dom Bess has been run out for a duck. Root was the subject of a big LBW appeal from Embuldeniya after missing a paddle sweep, and set off in an attempt to distract the umpire Kumar Dharmasena. Bess didn’t get the memo and was left stranded when Root kept running.

5.13am GMT

105.5 overs: England 382-6 (Root 206, Bess 0) Root slog-sweeps Embuldeniya for four to reach a marvellous double hundred: 291 balls, 15 fours and one six. It’s his fourth in Tests, which takes him joint third on the all-time England list behind Wally Hammond and Sir Alastair Cook, and his second against Sri Lanka.

Root repeats the stroke next ball, hammering another sweep for four, and then paddles a couple more. He has swept so often in this innings, and he’s played the shot almost flawlessly.

5.08am GMT

105th over: England 372-6 (Root 196, Bess 0) Bess blocks the hat-trick ball, another potential stump-buster. That was a spectacular over from Fernando, a double-wicket maiden.

5.03am GMT

Bowled him! Sam Curran has gone first ball, cleaned up by a full, straight inducker. That was another cracking delivery from Fernando, who is suddenly on a hat-trick.

5.01am GMT

The ball is out of shape, so there’s a brief delay while it is changed - and Buttler falls to the first delivery with the new one! It was a fine piece of bowling from Fernando: full, a tight line and just enough movement to take the edge as Buttler lunged into a drive. The keeper Niroshan Dickwella did the rest.

4.56am GMT

104th over: England 372-4 (Root 196, Buttler 30) Root, on the walk, inside edges Perera through the vacant leg-gully area. A single takes him into the 190s, and later in the over he clouts Perera back over his head for six. Shot!

4.52am GMT

103rd over: England 364-4 (Root 189, Buttler 29) Asitha Fernando returns in place of Embuldeniya. He has a slip and a gully but nobody else around the bat. Buttler squirts a drive to deep backward point for a single, and then Root steers past gully for one.

4.46am GMT

102nd over: England 362-4 (Root 188, Buttler 28) England have scored at almost a run a ball this morning. I was going to do they’ve done so without breaking sweat, but that’s clearly not the case in this humidity. There are even unconfirmed rumours that Sir Alastair Cook once perspired in Sri Lanka.

4.43am GMT

101st over: England 359-4 (Root 187, Buttler 26) The groundstaff are preparing the covers, which is a wee bit irritating. While we wait for the rain, Buttler hits Embuldeniya for consecutive boundaries. The first was a well placed reverse sweep off a full toss, the second a dismissive cart over midwicket when Embuldeniya overcompensated and dropped short. That brings up the fifty partnership. Root completes a terrific over - 13 from it - with a lovely sweep for four. This really has been a majestic innings.

4.39am GMT

100th over: England 346-4 (Root 183, Buttler 17) Four low-risk singles from Perera’s over. After a difficult start to his innings, Buttler is looking a bit more comfortable.

4.36am GMT

99th over: England 342-4 (Root 181, Buttler 15) One of the interesting things about Root’s innings is that he has hit only 13 fours in a score of 181; that’s less than 30 per cent of his runs in boundaries. Contrast that with his aggressive 124 in Pallekele on the previous tour, when 42 per cent of his runs came from boundaries. This has been a really methodical innings, similar in many ways to his career-best 254 against Pakistan in 2016.

4.31am GMT

98th over: England 338-4 (Root 178, Buttler 14) Perera, bowling round the wicket, gets one to rip sharply back into Root. Perera goes up for LBW but it was too high. Unless it rains for the best part of two days, it’s hard to see how Sri Lanka can save the game on this pitch.

4.29am GMT

97th over: England 337-4 (Root 178, Buttler 13) Embuldeniya replaces Fernando after one over. A pair of twos take Root to the mighty milestone of 8000 Test runs. He’s the seventh Englishman to achieve the feat; if all goes well, by the end of 2021 he will be only the second Englishman to score 9000 Test runs.

“Good morning/evening from abnormally not snowy Montreal Rob,” says Jesse Linklater. “How’s the forecast looking for Galle? Talk yesterday of two of the next three days being rain-reduced. Declaration coming before lunch?”

4.24am GMT

96th over: England 330-4 (Root 173, Buttler 12) Jos Buttler gets going with a reverse sweep for four off Dilruwan Perera. This pitch is turning appreciably now, so England are in a ludicrously. Incidentally, if you’re into the whole podcast thing, Buttler was predictably brilliant on this week’s episode of Don’t Tell Me The Score. Eff it, why not have a listen?

“Morning Rob,” says Dave Adams. “Great to see Test cricket right now. Up at this hour courtesy of third nocturnal child in a row. Do I subconsciously want them to wake in the night so I can watch it?”

4.19am GMT

95th over: England 324-4 (Root 172, Buttler 7) Asita Fernando opens the bowling to Joe Root, who moves into the 170s with a pristine cover drive for four. He’s been both stylish and clinical in this innings; you can’t ask for much more.

4.09am GMT

Pre-play reading

5.52pm GMT

Hello. Here’s how it usually works in Galle: the team that wins the toss bats first and wins the match. Nice job everyone, thanks for coming. On a pitch that deteriorates like no other in world cricket, batting second is a huge disadvantage - and one that, for touring teams in particular, has been almost impossible to overcome.

The away side has won only two of the 21 Galle Tests in which they have fielded first. Pakistan were the victors on both occasions, in 2000 and 2015. Since then, India, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh have all lost the toss and then the match.

View more on Rob Smyth's website »

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Published on January 16, 2021 01:27

The 80s and 90s Cricket Show: the podcast that revisits the bad old days

If you want to relive the trauma of England’s worst years, you’ll enjoy The 80s and 90s Cricket Show

A new podcast about English cricket in the 1980s and 1990s? Yes, nice one, any other childhood traumas you’d like to talk about? Here’s the thing: despite being probably the worst period in England’s Test history, the end of the 20th century provides the richest nostalgia for cricket fans. There are plenty of reasons for that: the characters, the stories, the occasional glory and the frequent farce.

Cricket fan Mark Sellek decided it was time to revisit the bad old days. He created the 80s and 90s Cricket Show so we could all bathe in an era when England had four captains in one series, Ian Botham held the front and back pages and ice baths were for the (very occasional) victory champagne.

View more on Rob Smyth's website »

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Published on January 14, 2021 04:20

Sri Lanka v England: first Test, day one – live!

Over-by-over updates from the first day’s play in GalleAndy Bull: Sri Lanka have been taxing since Jardine’s ride
Get in touch! Email Tim or tweet @timdelisle

9.22am GMT

1st over: England 5-0 (Crawley 4, Sibley 0) Last time we saw Zak Crawley, he was batting at No.3 and racking up 267 against Pakistan. His reward is to be asked to open here in place of Rory Burns, who is on paternity leave. He picks up where he left off, facing spin and looking for runs, with a pull for two and a push into the covers for two more.

9.18am GMT

So, after that classic batting collapse, what have England got? Sri Lanka are going to test them by opening with some spin, Lasith Embuldeniya’s slow left-arm.

9.17am GMT

Here’s Phil Withall. “There’s something wonderfully comforting in finishing work for the day,” he reckons, “checking the OBO and finding England in such a strong position. I look forward to following England’s reply accompanied by a large glass of wine (or two)...” You’re not in Taunton, are you?

9.15am GMT

Until today, Dom Bess was no more than a handy bits-and-pieces player. In ten Tests, he had 19 wickets at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 88 – so he needed nearly 15 overs to take each wicket. Today, in 10.1 overs, he took five for 30 – so a wicket came along every 12 balls. He didn’t bowl any better than Jack Leach, who took one for 55. But he has got something about him – a bit of spark. He’s the guy who was in Ikea when he got the call from England. This series is his chance to become part of the furniture.

9.08am GMT

“(Ex-)Somerset spinners taking wickets on Day 1,” says Charles Sheldrick. “ECB pitch inspectors will be on the next plane!”

9.07am GMT

“Forget about the Byrds,” says Matthew Doherty. “We need Simply the Bess!”

9.04am GMT

It’s all over now. Hasaranga plays one shot too many, a reverse sweep, misses, and hands Bess a five-for – the last four wickets in a rush, plus the opener Kusal Perera. Bess will never find it easier. Sri Lanka, even if you allow for their injuries, were awful. “I think abysmal’s being kind.” says Nasser Hussain.

9.00am GMT

46th over: Sri Lanka 135-9 (Hasaranga 19, Fernando 0) Hasaranga is not going to die wondering. He flashes past slip for two, then slashes to cover, wants two more – and nearly perishes to a run-out that takes the TV umpire some time to adjudicate on.

“Morning Tim,” says Guy Hornsby, “from an absolutely biblical walk to nursery in sunny Manchester. I heartily second David Horn’s views [40th over]. Cricket has been a real ray of sunshine this last year. A gift. Much like England’s great start today, communicated via the beauty of your and Rob’s prose on the OBO and the dulcet tones of TMS are keeping the spirits dry even if my feet are sodden. Speaking of TMS, did you catch any of Ali Mitchell’s chat with Justin Langer at lunch? I like Langer a lot but it really was peak victimhood. Very strange indeed from an Aussie.” I didn’t! Langer was such a calm player, but you wouldn’t know it from the way he talks.

8.53am GMT

45th over: Sri Lanka 130-9 (Hasaranga 14, Fernando 0) Asitha Fernando restores a smidgen of order by playing out a maiden from Bess.

8.52am GMT

44th over: Sri Lanka 130-9 (Hasaranga 14, Fernando 0) Before that blow, Hasaranga thwacked Leach over extra-cover for four. He also bowls leg spin, and he looks like a star – but he may be wondering what he’s doing in this team.

8.50am GMT

Another stroke of bad luck for Sri Lanka as Hasaranga plays a lusty straight drive, the bowler gets a fingertip to it and Embuldeniya is run out backing up. It never rains but it pours.

8.47am GMT

43rd over: Sri Lanka 126-8 (Hasaranga 10, Embuldeniya 0) Bess has three for 13 in this spell. Off three overs!

8.45am GMT

Perera aims an airy drive at a full flighted delivery, plays inside it and loses his off bail. It was a good ball this time, but Perera is 38, and he’s just let down a guy playing his third Test. Sri Lanka are heading for the lowest total batting first at Galle, breaking their own record of 181.

8.40am GMT

Slo-mo reveals that it was actually Bairstow’s ankle. Ouch. He’s gone off for treatment. Still, it’ll all seem worth it when he sees it again on A Question of Sport.

8.39am GMT

Ah this is bad luck. Shanaka sweeps, Bairstow at short leg leaps – and back-heels the ball straight to Buttler, who takes a simple catch. A tale of two wicketkeepers.

8.35am GMT

42nd over: Sri Lanka 126-6 (Shanaka 23, Hasaranga 10) Shanaka joins in the fun, slog-sweeping Leach for four. Root responds by taking out his short leg, which seems like the move you’d make at 126 for one, not 126 for six.

8.32am GMT

41st over: Sri Lanka 121-6 (Shanaka 18, Hasaranga 10) Hasaranga, who is playing his third Test, is already looking as if he won’t be down at No.8 for long. He cover-drives Bess for four, then chips him over mid-on for two. After facing nine deliveries, he’s the first batsman today to go at a run a ball.

8.29am GMT

40th over: Sri Lanka 113-6 (Shanaka 17, Hasaranga 3) An over with no mishaps: things are looking up for Sri Lanka.

“Morning Tim ...” Morning, David Horn. ”A Smyth/ de Lisle opening partnership is very much the OBO equivalent of Anderson/Broad. I’m old enough to remember Booth/Bull (Harmison/Hoggard?) opening up the OBO in years gone by – another venerable double act. What a treat to have Test cricket back. I wanted the BBC to give the ECB a special award in their December shindig for the work they did last year with their bubble, and it’s not often in the last 35+ years of following cricket that I’ve said that about the sports governing body. I love football as well, but if there was ever a tonic for our times, it’s Test cricket. Fabulous to have it back, and in the capable hands of Smyth/de Lisle. Welcome back.” Thank you! Too kind. And amen to the bit about the bubble – 2020 was such a weird year that we even learned to love the ECB.

8.25am GMT

39th over: Sri Lanka 110-6 (Shanaka 15, Hasaranga 2) Bess nearly nabs another as Shanaka plays a glance perilously close to the man at leg slip. No alarms for the new batsman, the exciting Hasaranga. He’s just been Player of the Tournament in the Lanka Premier League, so we can be fairly sure he’s got the personality that this situation demands.

8.20am GMT

Another one! And it’s a shocker. Bess offers Dickwella a long hop, and Dickwella pops it to backward point, where Sibley just recovers from his amazement in time to scoop it off the turf. Bad ball, bad shot, good catch.

8.17am GMT

So it’s been England’s hour, and England’s day so far – though Mahela Jayawardene thinks 250 is a decent score here.

That was too kind from Rob. The man is a star – and a team player, which may explain why he took the 4am shift this morning, allowing me to clock on at 8.15.

8.13am GMT

38th over: Sri Lanka 105-5 (Dickwella 12, Shanaka 12) Leach is starting to find his rhythm. He didn’t bowl badly at the start, but you could tell he was a bit rusty.

Well, that’s it from me. The great Tim de Lisle will be with you for the rest of the day - please email him on tim.delisle.casual@theguardian.com or tweet @TimdeLisle.

8.09am GMT

37th over: Sri Lanka 102-5 (Dickwella 9, Shanaka 12) Wood beats Shanaka with a terrific bouncer. Shanaka shaped to hook, realised that was a fool’s errand and dropped his hands at the last minute. Wood’s average speed is in excess of 90mph, which is admirable in this humidity.

8.04am GMT

36th over: Sri Lanka 97-5 (Dickwella 5, Shanaka 11) Before this game, Jack Leach was something like 6/5 to be England’s leading wickettaker in the series. I couldn’t be bothered to put the mortgage on it but I wish I had; he should outbowl Dom Bess, and I’d be staggered if a seamer takes more wickets than him on these pitches.

Shanaka, who has started positively, sweeps Leach flat and hard for four more. His Test record is modest (avge 14 from five games) but he averages over 40 in first-class cricket so it’s fair to assume he can play.

8.01am GMT

35th over: Sri Lanka 93-5 (Dickwella 5, Shanaka 7) Dickwella, a compulsively attacking player, tries to ramp Wood and is beaten for pace. Wood offers him another next ball but this time Dickwella sways out of the way.

7.58am GMT

34th over: Sri Lanka 93-5 (Dickwella 5, Shanaka 7) Shanaka drags Leach over mid-on for four. Wood leapt optimistically but Shanaka got enough on it to clear him fairly comfortably.

“Hello Rob,” says Paul Smith. “You linked to the Byrds in your intro. I’ve been racking my brains but other than the Simon & Garfunkel classic I can’t think of any songs about Sri Lanka. Can anyone else?”

7.52am GMT

33rd over: Sri Lanka 89-5 (Dickwella 5, Shanaka 3) Mark Wood replaces Broad, whose figures of 9-3-20-3 are quietly outrageous, if that isn’t an oxymoron. After a couple of 87mph looseners - 87mph looseners! - Wood is back over 90mph. The pitch is really slow, though, and Dickwell and Shanaka play him fairly comfortably. Dickwella has enough time to touch the last ball of the over off the pads for four.

7.48am GMT

32nd over: Sri Lanka 83-5 (Dickwella 0, Shanaka 2)

7.45am GMT

31st over: Sri Lanka 83-5 (Dickwella 0, Shanaka 2) Dickwella bat-pads Broad into the leg side. There’s no short leg and the ball lands safely. Another maiden from Broad, who looks shattered and will surely take a break.

7.40am GMT

30th over: Sri Lanka 83-5 (Dickwella 0, Shanaka 2) Sri Lanka have played some really poor shots today. Kusal Mendis is the only batsman who didn’t give his wicket away. As he was out for a fourth consecutive duck, I doubt he’ll be clambering up the moral high ground.

7.37am GMT

Another one! These are golden wickets for England. Leach tosses one up to Chandimal, who thumps it inside out towards cover. Curran moves to his right and swoops forward to take a fine low catch.

7.36am GMT

29th over: Sri Lanka 81-4 (Chandimal 28, Dickwella 0) In conditions that could barely be tougher for quick bowlers, Stuart Broad has figures of 8-2-20-3. The man’s an animal.

7.34am GMT

That’s a huge wicket! Mathews slashes loosely at a shortish delivery outside off stump, and Root takes a brilliant catch to his right at slip. Stuart Broad, the remarkable Stuart Broad, has three wickets.

7.32am GMT

28.5 overs: Sri Lanka 81-3 (Mathews 27, Chandimal 28) Chandimal hooks Broad for a single. The outfield is very slow, which is another reason why Sri Lanka’s score is probably better than it looks. We’re only a session into the match but it’s already beautifully poised.

7.29am GMT

28th over: Sri Lanka 80-3 (Mathews 27, Chandimal 27) Sri Lanka are inching towards a decent position. This was always going to be such an important partnership, and I’d imagine Dan Lawrence is struggling to put that dropped catch before lunch out of his mind.

7.26am GMT

27th over: Sri Lanka 79-3 (Mathews 27, Chandimal 26) We’re having a few technical problems I’m afraid, though you haven’t missed much.

7.21am GMT

26th over: Sri Lanka 78-3 (Mathews 27, Chandimal 25) Hello! Out of nothing, Mathews chips Leach straight back over his head for six. That shot also brings up a calm, authoritative fifty partnership with Chandimal.

7.16am GMT

25th over: Sri Lanka 69-3 (Mathews 21, Chandimal 22) Stuart Broad, who took two early wickets, returns after lunch in place of Dom Bess. Angelo Mathews thick edges a cutter to third man for four, which takes him to 6,000 Test runs. He’s only the fifth Sri Lanka to reach that milestone after Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva.

6.33am GMT

Lunchtime reading

6.33am GMT

That was a decent morning for England. Stuart Broad took two wickets in a smart new-ball spell, and then Kusal Perera gave Dom Bess a wicket with an ill-conceived reverse sweep. Sri Lanka were in big trouble at 25 for three, but Angelo Mathews and the stand-in-captain Dinesh Chandimal calmly restored order. For the most part they played really well, though Chandimal was dropped by Dan Lawrence in the covers just before lunch.

6.32am GMT

24th over: Sri Lanka 65-3 (Mathews 17, Chandimal 22) Leach bowls the last over before lunch and beats Chandimal with another jaffa that curves in and then rips past the outside edge. That’s lunch.

6.27am GMT

23rd over : Sri Lanka 62-3 (Mathews 14, Chandimal 22 )

6.24am GMT

22nd over: Sri Lanka 61-3 (Mathews 13, Chandimal 22) Chandimal slaps Leach towards cover, where the debutant Lawrence drops a sitter. Eesh, that’s not a great way to start your Test career, and could be costly in what is likely to be a low-scoring game.

“Hello Rob, I appreciate your real emotional connection to the game, and your deep knowledge…” says Zaph. “However. I recently plugged into the OBO of the Aussie v India games and there’s loads more detail, e.g. the field settings, notes on variations on all balls of the over, field changes; whereas you only give the ‘highlights’ of these things. Can you not be bothered? And no, I’m not writing to Mr. correctness Ingle, just wondering what your thoughts are, do you read those OBOs?”

6.21am GMT

21st over: Sri Lanka 61-3 (Mathews 13, Chandimal 22) A couple of deliveries from the spinner have already gone through the top, which suggests this pitch will crumble long before day five. Bess and Leach have experience of bowling on surfaces like that at Somerset, though so far they haven’t been at their best. That’s understandable - Bess is bowling in a Test in Asia for the first time, Leach is bowling in a Test for the first time since 2019.

6.19am GMT

20th over: Sri Lanka 56-3 (Mathews 12, Chandimal 18) Mathews and Chandimal have played almost 150 Tests between them and know exactly what they are doing. They’re just accumulating sensibly - no fuss, no frills and hopefully no fourth wicket before lunch for England.

6.14am GMT

19th over: Sri Lanka 52-3 (Mathews 11, Chandimal 17) It’s hard to know what a good score is on this pitch, but I suspect Sri Lanka would be content with 250, especially as England have to bat last. At the moment batting looks relatively comfortable. But in Galle, there is usually one with your name on it.

6.11am GMT

18th over: Sri Lanka 50-3 (Mathews 10, Chandimal 16) “Morning Rob,” says Andy Bradshaw. “It’s a minor quibble considering he’s wanging it down at 90mph and making the batsmen play at it, but I do wish Wood slip a yorker in more often, considering how fast he is in the air and how slow the pitch is, why not take the pitch out of the equation?”

Always with the equations.

6.07am GMT

17th over: Sri Lanka 49-3 (Mathews 9, Chandimal 16) Chandimal walks down the track to clatter a full toss from Bess through the vacant mid-off area for four. He looks in good touch. Kumar Sangakkara, talking on Sky Sports, thinks the pitch will be fine for batting for first couple of days. After that, all bets are off.

6.04am GMT

16th over: Sri Lanka 43-3 (Mathews 9, Chandimal 10) Leach has changed ends to replace Wood, who bowled a vigorous spell of 3-0-10-0. I think that’s already the sixth bowling change; all hail the high priest of funk, Joseph Edward Root. Leach’s second over is a quiet affair.

6.00am GMT

15th over: Sri Lanka 40-3 (Mathews 9, Chandimal 7) After one over from Bess, then one from Leach, Bess is back into the attack. That’s a bit strange. We’ve seen quick bowlers bowl one-over spells in extreme heat, most notably Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose at the Waca in 1996-97, but I’ve never heard of spinners doing so. Perhaps, as Mike Atherton suggests, Bess briefly left the field after his first over.

Anyway, Chandimal skids back to thump a couple of runs through the covers. He and Mathews, two high-class players, are quietly restoring order after Sri Lanka’s poor start.

5.57am GMT

14th over: Sri Lanka 37-3 (Mathews 9, Chandimal 4) Wood knows that, all things being equal, his spells will be no longer than four overs. That allows him to throw everything at the batsmen, and every delivery in his third over is in excess of 90mph. Mathews and Chandimal deal with them comfortably, but it’s good to see that Wood has again found his rhythm.

“Is it just me,” says Abhijato Sensarma, “or have England been unusually rapid with their bowling changes?”

5.52am GMT

13th over: Sri Lanka 35-3 (Mathews 8, Chandimal 3) Dom Bess started with a wicket maiden - and he’s been taken out of the attack. Jack Leach replaces him, presumably because there are now two right-handers at the crease. He barely bowled in 2020, for a number of reasons, and Mike Atherton makes the point that he will probably be more nervous than usual because of that. Leach does, at least, have good memories of Sri Lanka: he took 18 wickets at 21 when England won here in 2018-19.

His first over ends with a vicious delivery that dips in and spits past Mathews’ outside edge. This is Galle.

5.47am GMT

12th over: Sri Lanka 30-3 (Mathews 6, Chandimal 0) A fuller ball from Wood allows Mathews to move tentatively onto the front foot and time a nice drive for three. Wood looks sharp, and the speedgun supports the naked eye: the fifth delivery of the over is timed at 93mph.

5.41am GMT

11th over: Sri Lanka 25-3 (Mathews 1, Chandimal 0) The new batsman is the stand-in captain Dinesh Chandimal. It’s been a perfect start for England - but this is the big partnership. In the absence of Karunaratne, these two are surely Sri Lanka’s best players.

5.38am GMT

Dom Bess strikes second ball! Kusal Perera has gloved a reverse sweep straight to Root at slip to end a feisty, foolhardy innings of 20 from 28 balls. That’s not the greatest shot in the history of Test cricket. I can understand Sri Lanka wanting to target Bess, but a reverse sweep second ball is probably pushing it.

5.36am GMT

10th over: Sri Lanka 25-2 (K Perera 20, Mathews 1) England want Wood to rough up Angelo Mathews, and he has a success of sorts when he breaks Mathews’ bat. The next ball cracks Mathews on the arm guard as he turns his back. That’s a good, hostile start from Mark Wood.

5.30am GMT

9.1 overs: Sri Lanka 23-2 (K Perera 19, Mathews 0) Mark Wood replaces Sam Curran. He played only one Test last summer, which was a little odd given his Tysonesque performances in South Africa the previous winter. There’s another delay after his first delivery, so the umpires call for drinks.

5.26am GMT

9th over: Sri Lanka 22-2 (K Perera 18, Mathews 0) The extreme humidity means this will be Broad’s last over, and Angelo Mathews knows it. He ignores everything outside off stump and defends the straight balls. That was a fine, intelligent opening spell from Broad: 5-2-14-2.

5.21am GMT

8th over: Sri Lanka 22-2 (K Perera 18, Mathews 0) Perera smears Curran back over his hand, a disgusting shot that plugs and gets him a couple of runs. He plays a better shot later in the over, timing two more through the covers.

According to world-leading statistician Nasser Hussain on Sky, the last top-order batsman to get four consecutive Test ducks was Mark Waugh in the Audi years.

5.16am GMT

7th over: Sri Lanka 16-2 (K Perera 12, Mathews 0) Angelo Mathews strolls to the crease. Incidentally, since he was dropped last summer, Stuart Broad has taken 31 wickets at an average of 13.00.

5.14am GMT

The new batsman is Kusal Mendis, who made three consecutive ducks in South Africa recently. He’s better than that, but not today: he’s gone for another duck! Mendis felt nervously for a clever full-length cutter from Broad that moved just enough to shave the edge, and Buttler did the necessary.

5.10am GMT

Excellent cricket from England. Thirimanne flicks Broad round the corner, as he has all morning, and Bairstow takes a smart catch at leg gully. That’s a triumph for Joe Root, who didn’t waste any time before setting some funky fields.

5.06am GMT

6th over: Sri Lanka 15-0 (Thirimanne 4, K Perera 11) A second maiden from Sam Curran. This looks like very hard yakka for England’s seamers, so it might not be long before we see one of the spinners - presumably Dom Bess, as there are two left-handers at the crease.

“Good morning Rob,” says Finbar Anslow. “It snowed on Christmas day here in Piedmont and thereafter froze, so we’re still in a winter wonderland. What’s the temperature like in Galle?”

4.58am GMT

5th over: Sri Lanka 15-0 (Thirimanne 4, K Perera 11) Perera drives Broad not far short of Curran at mid-off. He’s throwing his hands at anything pitched up outside off stump, and later in the over he times a lovely drive through extra cover for four. The next ball is dug in, tempting Perera into a loose pull that goes miles in the air towards Leach at long leg. But he loses sight of the ball and ends up running the wrong way. By the time he changes direction it’s too late and the ball plops a few yards in front of him.

“Last time England lost in Australia they vowed to nurture proper fast bowlers (Saqib, Stone etc., they can’t be said to have nurtured Archer) and high-class wrist spin (Crane or Parkinson),” says Digvijay Yadav. “They are playing medium pacers and finger spinners here. They will play the same in England. Does that mean they’ll drop the pacers and wrist spinners straight into the cauldron in November?”

4.57am GMT

4th over: Sri Lanka 9-0 (Thirimanne 4, K Perera 5) In a surprising development, there appears to be the square root of bugger all in the pitch for England’s seamers.

“Morning Rob,” says Brian Withington. “Great to see YDL on debut in Galle - looks like a seamer’s paradise from the air - but, as they say, appearances can be deceptive. Game on.”

4.53am GMT

There’s a bit of a delay because of a problem with the sightscreen. Let’s play Richard Osman’s House of Games, the Backwards Round: phrase favourite Lloyd’s David is what?

4.48am GMT

3rd over: Sri Lanka 7-0 (Thirimanne 2, K Perera 5) Thirimanne gets the first run of the day, rolling his wrists to work Broad round the corner for a single. Perera does likewise, and then Thirimanne does it a third time. Perera ends the over by dumping Broad straight back over his head for four. It’s the third over of a Test match, man.

We’ve just seen a replay off that Curran LBW appeal - it was hitting leg, a decent portion of it, but it was Umpire’s Call so the decision wouldn’t have been overturned had England reviewed.

4.44am GMT

2nd over: Sri Lanka 0-0 (Thirimanne 0, K Perera 0) Sam Curran shares the new ball with Stuart Broad. He’s bowling to Kusal Perera, the man who made that astounding 153 not out in South Africa a couple of years ago. He has struggled a little since then, though he did make a pair of rumbustious sixties in South Africa over Christmas. He’s a dangerous player, especially in what might be a low-scoring game.

Curran almost gets rid of him quicksmart, but Perera survives a huge shout for LBW after pushing around his front pad at the fifth ball of the over. Joe Root decides against a review, thinking it was sliding past leg stump. It looked really close; I suspect it was umpire’s call.

4.35am GMT

1st over: Sri Lanka 0-0 (Thirimanne 0, K Perera 0) Stuart Broad bowls England’s first over of 2017, and it’s maiden. There’s a hint of a run-out chance second ball, when Thirimanne is sent back by Kusal Perera. It was the right decision - the throw thundered into the stumps, and though Thirimanne was back in time, Perera would have been in big trouble had he taken the single.

4.31am GMT

Here come the openers, Lahiru Thirimanne and Kusal Perera. Thirimanne has a desperate record against England - nine Tests, 167 runs at 11.13 - although it’s usually Jimmy Anderson who torments him.

4.27am GMT

The weather forecast for today isn’t great, with heavy showers expected later in the day. But it’s dry at the moment, so we’re going to start on time.

4.11am GMT

It's happening

Cap number 697, @DanLawrence288 pic.twitter.com/MGJDxwupm6

4.09am GMT

Pre-match reading

4.09am GMT

Dan Lawrence makes his England debut, as expected. Stuart Broad is preferred to Jimmy Anderson, and England have decided to go in with only two frontline spinners plus Joe Root and Lawrence. There are suggestions that Root will bat at No3, though I’ve put Bairstow there for now because I don’t trust the internet.

Sri Lanka Thirimanne, K Perera, Chandimal (c), Mendia, Mathews, Dickwell (wk), Shanaka, Hasaranga, D Perera, Embuldeniya, Fernando.

4.06am GMT

Sri Lanka have won the toss and will bat first

That’s a good toss to win on a pitch that should turn more and more as the match progresses.

3.59am GMT

Early drama department The Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne is out of the match - and presumably the series - with a fractured thumb. It’s the latest, and most damaging, in a grotesque injury list. Dinesh Chandimal will take over.

6.05pm GMT

Shouldn’t you be asleep? I’m glad you’re not; it’s nice to have the company. Now, pay attention. All being well, England will play 17 Tests this year. That’s not great news for Jimmy Anderson’s rectus femoris, or any of his other muscles, or any of the other fast bowlers’ muscles, but it is good news for locked-down sports fans. Even at 3.29am, Test cricket is a vaccine for the soul.

Yep, England are about to start their two-Test series in Sri Lanka, the one originally scheduled for last March, a more innocent time when we thought awkward elbow bumps might keep Covid at bay. Both games will be played at Galle, so for the next 10 days you should have only one Byrds song in your subconscious. Galle is the most spin-friendly pitch in world cricket, the scene of a many a low-scoring dogfight down the years, and local experts expect more of the same.

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Published on January 14, 2021 01:22

Marine 0-5 Tottenham: FA Cup third round – as it happened

Carlos Vinicius’s hat-trick helped Spurs to a comfortable victory over Marine, though they were given a scare when Neil Kengni hit the bar at 0-0

9.26pm GMT

And some reaction ...

9.25pm GMT

Barney Ronay on the charming FA Cup fixture.

7.11pm GMT

Andy Hunter’s match report has arrived, so I shall leave you with that. Thanks very much for your company, emails and especially your Neil Young tips. Goodnight!

6.58pm GMT

Here’s the Marine manager Neil Young

“I’m very proud of the players. It was always gonna be tough – you only have to look at the Spurs side. You have to give great credit to Jose Mourinho for the side he picked. He showed us great respect. At the end we were laughing about [which superstar] would be coming off the bench next.

6.53pm GMT

Joe Hart has a long post-match chat with his opposite number Bayleigh Passant. The Marine players are then applauded off by everyone at the ground or in their back grounds. There’s been plenty of humanity on show today.

6.49pm GMT

Everyone’s a winner. Marine had their day in the sun and Spurs avoided an FA Cup embarrassment for the ages. Carlos Vinicius hit a first-half hat-trick and the 16-year-old Alfie Devine scoring on his debut. Lucas Moura got the other goal. Marine had a couple of moments - Neil Kengni twanged the crossbar at 0-0 - and will remember everything about this game with the greatest fondness.

6.47pm GMT

90 2 min Vinicius misses a sitter, shooting wide on the turn from eight yards after unselfish play from Devine.

6.46pm GMT

90 min Two minutes of added time.

6.45pm GMT

89 min Vinicius gallops away from Miley on the left side of the area, but his cross is too close to Passant.

6.42pm GMT

86 min The match is starting to peter out, althoug today was only partially about the football. It’s been a warm and fuzzy experience for all connected with Marine, and a 5-0 defeat won’t change that.

6.39pm GMT

84 min At the other end, Bale’s long-range shot dribbles well wide.

6.39pm GMT

83 min A Spurs clearance is picked up by Kengni, who welts a shot from 25 yards that is blocked by Rodon. He caught that really well.

6.36pm GMT

81 min Gedson Fernandes’s imaginative through pass is just too heavy for Doherty. Marine make their final substitution: Danny Shaw replaces David Raven.

6.35pm GMT

80 min “Hi Rob,” says Pete Salmon. “Is it too early to start the debate on Alfie Devine and the England squad? Surely what he needs now is pressure! I’m calling it - he’s the New Rooney. What is Southgate playing at?!”

You’ve got to give youth a chance. If Devine doesn’t start the next game alongside Phil Foden, Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane’s newborn son, then I’m afraid Southgate has to go.

6.34pm GMT

78 min Crikey, a yellow card. James Joyce is the recipient, for a cynical foul on Doherty.

6.32pm GMT

76 min Barrigan is very late on White, a yellow card in normal circumstances. Michael Oliver, who has been in an understandably generous mood, settles for giving a free-kick.

6.31pm GMT

75 min Two more Marine substitutions: Kenny Strickland and Ryan Wignall replace Jay Devine and Niall Cummins, whose hopes of a famous

red card
goal are over.

6.30pm GMT

74 min White, fed by Clarke, spanks a shot into orbit from 25 yards.

6.30pm GMT

73 min Marine don’t really look like scoring. This wouldn’t normally be of much importance at 5-0, but I suppose it is today. I reckon most non-league teams in this situation would rather lose 8-1 than 5-0, just to have one euphoric moment.

6.27pm GMT

71 min Ben Davies has been replaced by Sergio Reguilon.

6.26pm GMT

70 min Kyle Bosman is in the mood for song.

I’ve seen Vinicius and the Damage Done /
Alfie Devine he’s even got him one /
No Harry Kane or even Heung-min Son

6.26pm GMT

69 min Bale hits a wobbling free-kick from 25 yards that is shovelled round the post by Passant. The corner is played short and worked to Ge

l
dson Fernandes, whose shot from the edge of the area is headed away by the stooping Raven. I think it was going wide anyway.

6.24pm GMT

68 min “Sixteen,” says Matt Dony. “Six-flipping-teen. Do you know what I was doing at 16, Rob? Dreaming of being a rock star, pining over unobtainably cool girls, drinking cheap, weak lager, and reading books that I thought would make me look smart. Do you know what I wasn’t doing? Scoring on my first team debut, in the FA Cup. Good on Alfie Devine. What a story for him.”

Sure, you might have been an immature mess at 16, but look at you n-oh.

6.23pm GMT

67 min Another change for Marine: Alex Doyle replaces Josh Hmami.

6.20pm GMT

65 min A double change for Spurs: Gareth Bale and Jack Clarke replace Dele Alli and Lucas Moura, who both played really well.

6.20pm GMT

64 min So does Harvey White, who clips it over the bar.

6.19pm GMT

63 min Lucas Moura is fouled on the edge of the D, just to the right of centre. Dele Alli fancies this.

6.18pm GMT

61 min Breaking news: Alfie Devine won’t be sleeping a wink tonight.

6.17pm GMT

Alfie Devine, 16, has scored on his Spurs debut! It was a really good goal, too. He ran onto Moura’s backheel, just inside the box on the left. Then he faced up Solomon-Davies, shifted the ball inside and cracked a low shot that beat Passant at the near post. What a lovely moment.

6.16pm GMT

Romance is back!

6.14pm GMT

59 min Davies’s fast first-time cross is studded into the ground and wide of the far post by Lucas Moura. That was a pretty good chance to make it 5-0.

6.14pm GMT

58 min Niall Cummins shapes to plunge his studs into Rodon’s achilles and then thinks better off it. I fear he is going to give Michael Oliver a difficult decision in the next half an hour.

6.12pm GMT

57 min Alli plays a classy one-two-three with Lucas Moura, who is in the act of shooting when Joyce makes a vital tackle.

6.10pm GMT

54 min Lucas Moura’s high, hanging cross is pulled down by Carlos Vinicius, who turns smartly but then spanks his half-volley out of the ground.

6.08pm GMT

52 min Hmami’s long-range shot is comfortably saved by Hart.

6.08pm GMT

51 min Niall Cummins has a gratuitous kick at Dele Alli and then goes looking for a follow-up. Alli has a few words back. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Cummins has spent much of the game kicking people.

6.06pm GMT

50 min Marine have had a lot of the ball at the start of the second half. I suspect Neil Young - sorry, I still can’t type that without sniggering - has told them to enjoy themselves, to try to score a goal, and the hell with how many they concede.

6.05pm GMT

49 min “Michael Howard?” says Richard Hirst. “Now they’ve got politics covered as well!”

6.03pm GMT

48 min Thanks ever so much for all your Neil Young gateway suggestions; they’re much appreciated. The consensus seems to be that I need to listen to his entire back catalogue because it’s all great.

6.03pm GMT

47 min Kengni has another pop from distance. This one isn’t as well struck and Hart saves comfortably.

6.02pm GMT

46 min Peep peep!

6.01pm GMT

Both teams are making half-time substitutions

Marine Michael Howard replaces Adam Hughes, which means a switch to a back four.

5.48pm GMT

Half-time reading

5.46pm GMT

Peep peep! Spurs are winning with ease, as we knew they would. But there was a delicious moment after 20 minutes, with the score 0-0, when Neil Kengni pinged the top of the crossbar from 30 yards. Carlos Vinicius has helped himself to a hat-trick since then, with Lucas Moura smacking the other goal. See you in 15 minutes for more doomed romance.

5.44pm GMT

44 min Sissoko is eased to the canvas by Niall Cummins, the Marine captain. He has put himself about with considerable glee.

5.42pm GMT

42 min “Re: Neil Young,” begins David Wall. “Isn’t the real question, for both Spurs and Marine, how they approach the rest of the match After the Goal Rush?”

Enough of the puns, where I should start if I’m a Neil Young ignoramus? Asking for a deadbeat.

5.40pm GMT

40 min It seems that Kengni hitting the bar from 30 yards woke Spurs up. They scored four in 15 minutes thereafter.

5.38pm GMT

His third goal was scored from miles out, relatively speaking - around 14 yards. He fought for a loose ball with Hmami, waited for it to bounce and lobbed it sweetly over Passant. That was a delightful finish.

5.37pm GMT

A first-half hat-trick for Carlos Vinicius!

5.37pm GMT

37 min “People have noticed James Joyce at left-back and Neil Young in the dugout,” says Milo Nesbitt, “but Marine also have a substitute called David Lynch. One to watch.”

Gotta light?

5.36pm GMT

36 min: Great block from Rodon! Now it’s all about whether Marine can get a consolation goal. They almost manage it when Barrigan picks up a loose ball on the right and plays an inviting angled pass to Joyce, whose stinging first-time shot from the edge of the area is brilliantly blocked by Rodon.

5.35pm GMT

36 min Dele Alli couldn’t win today, but it would be remiss not to point out that he has been the best player on the pitch so far.

5.33pm GMT

34 min “Hi Rob,” says Meredith. “Wanted to point out a fun factoid for today: a Spurs fan, blog, Cartilage Free Captain raised the $ to sponsor Marine’s shorts for the match. The blog’s logo is the patch you can see on the back of their shorts. Info here. That the blog is named after Ledley King, who is there coaching Spurs adds yet another layer of fun to it all.”

5.33pm GMT

Lucas Moura makes it 3-0 with a sizzling free-kick. It was just outside the D, slightly to the right of centre, and Moura whipped a beauty into the far corner. Passant had no chance.

5.32pm GMT

Have a heart lads.

5.31pm GMT

32 min “Re: John Parker’s comment about Thomas Frank testing positive and the ‘arrogance’ of Jose Mourinho not isolating,” says Ben Hayward. “The rules define someone as being a contact and having to isolate if they were in contact with the person testing positive up to two days before the test. On that basis, Jose is fine (Tues pm being >2 days before Friday), and doing what he should be. I think it’s worth pointing out what the actual rules are so people know what they are obliged to do, rather than unjustly attacking Mourinho for being arrogant. Not that he isn’t arrogant, but when you’ve got so many reasons to call him arrogant choose one that’s accurate rather than spreading misinformation.”

5.31pm GMT

Carlos Vinicius gets another one-yard tap-in. Dele Alli was again the provider with a delicious pass over the defence to find Doherty. He stretched to sidefoot a volley that was was brilliantly saved by Passant, but Vinicius gobbled up the rebound.

5.30pm GMT

Romance RIP.

5.26pm GMT

27 min Gelson Fernandes blooters the ball over the bar from 20 yards.

5.25pm GMT

25 min “Adam Levine is making jokes about people who share names with musicians?” sniffs Matt Dony. “Marine 5?”

5.24pm GMT

Carlos Vinicius walks the ball into the net to give Spurs the lead. Alli played a one-two in the inside-right channel and slid a superb low cross to find the unmarked Vinicius six yards out at the far post. He made a total mess of his attempted shot but took advantage of a lucky ricochet and walked round Passant to score.

5.23pm GMT

Ach.

5.21pm GMT

21 min Marine appeal for a free-kick/penalty when a cross hits Fernandes’s hand right on the edge of the area. Michael Oliver doesn’t give it and there’s no VAR today. I don’t think it was a handball, and even if it was it might have been outside the box. But these are encouraging signs for Marine.

5.21pm GMT

20 min: Kengni hits the bar! Marine almost took the lead in sensational circumstances. Kengni received the ball on the halfway line and started to run at a backpedalling defence. When he got to within 30 yards of goal he put his entire body into a swirling shot that was deliberately left by Joe Hart, who thought it was going over. It wasn’t: it dipped onto the top of the bar and bounced straight up in the air, forcing Hart to push the rebound behind for a corner.

5.18pm GMT

19 min “Marine have a player named James Joyce in the starting lineup,” says Peter Oh. “Spurs are, literarily, toast.”

5.17pm GMT

18 min Gelson Fernandes slices a cross straight out of play. Marine are doing really well at the moment; Spurs, for all their possession, haven’t had a clear chance.

5.15pm GMT

15 min It’s Marine 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur, in an FA Cup association football match, and if that’s not breaking news then I don’t know what is.

5.14pm GMT

14 min Marine win a free-kick just past the halfway line, their first set-piece opportunity of sorts. Hmami curls it into the area and Davies heads clear.

5.13pm GMT

13 min “Hi Rob,” says Adam Levine. “So Neil Young is managing Marine? Ah, the Ragged Glory of the FA Cup. Is Tonight the Night for them? If they can get a win here they could be On the Beach tomorrow. And of course Joe Hart at some point this evening will be asking himself the question Why do I keep F@#%ing Up?”

Poor Joe Hart. He used to be a national treasure, sort of.

5.12pm GMT

12 min So far, so good for Marine. I’m not sure they can keep this up for 45 minutes, never mind 90, but for now they’ll be very happy.

5.11pm GMT

11 min “On Tuesday night, Jose Mourinho was having a touchline bromance with Brentford manager Thomas Frank,” says John Parker. “On Friday, Frank was revealed to have tested positive for Covid. In the real world, Mourinho would be legally obliged to self-isolate. On Planet Football, Mourinho is in Crosby. I have loved football for sixty years. Right now, I loathe the complacency, arrogance and contempt for the rest of us that is being shown.”

The complacency is a big problem I think. It’s probable that somebody involved in the Premier League will die of Covid in the next few months, and then what happens?

5.09pm GMT

9 min Lucas Moura adds a bit of electricity with a fine run past two players. He reaches the edge of the area and lashes a shot just over the bar.

5.08pm GMT

8 min White’s corner is punched away by Passant.

5.06pm GMT

6 min Doherty and Vinicius combine well to tee up Alli, who shoots straight at Passant from 20 yards.

5.05pm GMT

6 min It’s been a reasonable start for Marine. They’ve barely had a kick, but their defence has kept Spurs at arm’s length. The last thing they want to do is concede an early romance-killer.

5.04pm GMT

5 min Harvey White’s free-kick hits the top of the wall and spins to safety.

5.04pm GMT

4 min Gelson Fernandes is hoofed up in the air by Hughes, giving Spurs a free-kick 25 yards from goal.

5.01pm GMT

2 min One of the Marine supporters is already fiddling with a smartphone. I bet that didn’t happen in Ronnie Radford’s day.

5.00pm GMT

1 min Peep peep! Tottenham Hotspur kick off against Marine AFC.

4.58pm GMT

The players are out on the field. There’s no official crowd but those who live in the surrounding houses are making plenty of noise. There are big dumb smiles plastered across their faces, and quite right too. This is the game of a lifetime.

4.50pm GMT

The teams in (possible) formation

Marine (5-4-1) Passant; Solomon-Davies, Hughes, Raven, Miley, Joyce; Kengni, Hmami, Kengni, Devine, Barrigan; Cummins.

4.49pm GMT

#MARTOT pic.twitter.com/8dmpOJRQp1

4.41pm GMT

“Ths year ends in one,” says Niall Mullen, “so that means it’s Tottenham’s year. (Please check the sell-by-date on this aphorism.)”

4.39pm GMT

“Hi Rob,” says Gary Naylor. “As a teenager, Marine was my local club. I would watch the team of Roly Howard (he cleaned Kenny Dalglish’s windows - as Granada’s Kick Off would remind us every couple of years or so) on cold weekends. I recall the rain seeping into my shoes once, getting so cold that even the chip shop fare bought opposite the turnstiles failed to warm me.

“Waterloo Rugby Club is nearby and Northern Cricket Club, with championship level golf links stretching up the coast from Blundellsands to Ainsdale, Liverpool’s golden age coinciding with the Victorians’ organising of sports into competitive structures.You can still see their money and confidence 150 years on.

“I took it all for granted with the insouciance of youth - I don’t now.”

4.33pm GMT

The @SpursOfficial players warming up on the hallowed MTA turf! #COYM pic.twitter.com/WW6ZWnNQOt

4.26pm GMT

There’s already been one appreciable shock today

4.25pm GMT

“Afternoon Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “I wonder what Gareth Bale is thinking about this afternoon. When he agreed his loan from the Bernabeu, I doubt he thought he’d be on the bench at Marine. The FA Cup is still magical but speaking as a Spurs fan, I’d like to think we’ve had our upset already. It’s such a crying shame there’s no fans in today. Life, eh.”

4.13pm GMT

Pre-match reading

4.12pm GMT

Here’s our line-up for the big game! @EmiratesFACup #COYM pic.twitter.com/7DKnhVDbXn

⚪ Hart, Doherty, Alderweireld, Rodon, Davies (C), Sissoko, White, Gedson, Dele, Lucas, Vinicius.@WilliamHill latest (18 ):https://t.co/XmZWEmB3dm #THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/7hPrePo1JL

1.23pm GMT

Hello. Donald Trump? Not interested! Covid-19? Do one! For the next few hours we are all eligible for a spiritual vaccine that will briefly enable us to forget real life and lose ourselves in romance. It’s Marine v Spurs, Marine v Mourinho, or - if you’re into the whole football pyramid thing - 165th v fourth.

Marine are sixth in the Northern Premier League Division One North West, the eighth tier of English football, and the 161 places between the teams is an FA Cup record. Ergo, if Marine win today it will be the greatest shock in FA Cup history.

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Published on January 10, 2021 10:59

Reading 0-5 Chelsea: Women's Super League – as it happened

Fran Kirby scored four times against her old club as the champions Chelsea thrashed Reading to move up to second in the WSL table

3.54pm GMT

Peep peep! That was an ominous statement of intent from Chelsea, who hammered a decent Reading side to move up to second in the table. Fran Kirby scored four (yep) classy goals against her old club, and the substitute Ji’s stylish finish completed an emphatic victory. Chelsea have picked up where they left off before Christmas, and they will be in fine mood going into next week’s match against the leaders Manchester United. Thanks for your company, ta-ra!

3.51pm GMT

90+2 min Eriksson’s corner is volleyed a fraction wide by Ingle. In fact it took a deflection, without which it might have gone in.

3.50pm GMT

90+2 min Chelsea are still trying to improve their goal difference. After a patient build-up, Fleming whistles a shot that deflects over the bar.

3.49pm GMT

90 min There will be four minutes of added time.

3.46pm GMT

Ji completes the rout with a beautifully taken goal. Blundell’s cross from the right skimmed the head of a Reading defender at the near post and flew towards Ji, arriving late in the box. She took it down on the chest, lobbed it past Leine and hooked a shot that hit Bartrip and flew past Moloney. The shot was going in anyway, and the way Ji created the space was lovely.

3.43pm GMT

85 min Ji curls the free-kick just wide of the right-hand post. Moloney looked very relaxed about it all but it wasn’t far away.

3.43pm GMT

84 min England is fouled 22 yards from goal by Cooper. Ji and Eriksson are over the free-kick...

3.41pm GMT

80 min Danielle Carter replaces Emma Mitchell for Reading.

3.40pm GMT

79 min Kirby wins the ball in midfield and gives it to Ji. She slides it forward to Harder, who outpaces the last defender Bartrip and lifts a shot that is really well saved by Moloney. Moments later, Eriksson’s mishit cross grazes the top of the crossbar.

3.37pm GMT

77 min It’s really petering out now. The main point of interest is whether Fran Kirby can get a fifth goal.

3.33pm GMT

74 min Yes, Bartrip is on for Woodham.

3.33pm GMT

73 min There’s a break in play while Lily Woodham receives treatment. It looks like Molly Bartrip is going to replace her.

3.32pm GMT

72 min Harder and Eriksson replaces Andersson and Charles.

3.30pm GMT

70 min With Chelsea’s 4-0 lead in jeopardy, Emma Hayes is about to bring on the big guns, Magdalena Eriksson and Pernille Harder.

3.26pm GMT

66 min Berger makes a terrific one-on-one save from Harding, though it wouldn’t have counted as the flag had gone up.

3.25pm GMT

65 min The corner is headed away at the near post.

3.24pm GMT

65 min This is a decent spell for Reading. Bruton finds the overlapping Woodham, whose cross is put behind for a corner by Blundell.

3.22pm GMT

62 min A triple change for Chelsea. Beth England, Jessie Fleming and Ji replace Kerr, Cuthbert and Reiten.

3.21pm GMT

61 min Rachel Rowe replaces Fara Williams for Reading, and immediately flattens Erin Cuthbert.

3.20pm GMT

60 min Kirby’s imaginative pass is bravely claimed by Moloney, who just beats Kerr to the ball.

3.19pm GMT

59 min Reading are wrongly awarded a corner on the left. Williams swings it straight out of play.

3.16pm GMT

56 min This is a brilliant scoreline for Chelsea. Reading may not be among the big three/four but it’s a long time since they’ve been 4-0 down at home.

3.13pm GMT

This is getting silly. Reiten drives the corner towards the near post, where Kirby gets above James and flicks an excellent header into the far corner. That’s her fourth goal, and her face is a picture of joyous disbelief.

3.11pm GMT

53 min Andersson fizzes a beautiful pass down the left to Kerr, whose cross is put behind for another Chelsea corner.

3.10pm GMT

51 min Another chance for Chelsea. Cuthbert plays in the underlapping Kirby, who stands up a lovely deep cross towards Reiten. She heads just wide from eight yards.

3.09pm GMT

50 min Kirby misses a good chance for her fourth goal. She was put through on goal but overran the ball slightly just enough to allow Fishlock to make a brilliant recovery challenge.

3.08pm GMT

49 min A quiet start to the second half. Deep down, both teams know the game is over.

3.04pm GMT

46 min Peep peep! Chelsea begin the second half. Reading have made a half-time change: the teenager Emma Harries has been replaced by Lauren Bruton.

3.04pm GMT

The Reading keeper Grace Moloney was booked for dissent after Chelsea’s third goal. She was convinced the ball had gone out of play before Sam Kerr lobbed it across to Fran Kirby.

2.52pm GMT

Half-time reading

2.50pm GMT

That was the last touch of the half. It was very tight as to whether Kerr kept the ball in play, but the flag stayed down and Kirby finished confidently. All three goals were expertly taken, and she is warmly embraced by some of the Chelsea backroom staff as she leaves the field. After all she has been through, that’s a seriously popular hat-trick. It’s also a perfect one: right foot, left foot and finally a header.

2.49pm GMT

Cuthbert flipped a free-kick over the Reading defence that was just kept in play by Kerr on the right side of the area. She lobbed the ball back into the middle, where the unmarked Kirby steered a header past Moloney.

2.48pm GMT

Fran Kirby has scored a first-half hat-trick against her old club!

2.47pm GMT

45+1 min Fara Williams is booked for a lunging tackle on Guro Reiten.

2.46pm GMT

45 min Leupolz, who has done some excellent defensive work in midfield, nicks the ball off Fishlock just outside the penalty area.

2.45pm GMT

44 min Here’s the WSL table as things stand. It’s deliciously poised ahead of Chelsea v Man Utd a week today.

2.44pm GMT

41 min There’s an impressive authority to Chelsea’s play, with and without the ball. Ingle sprays a superb crossfield pass out to Charles on the right. She confidently beats Woodham and tries to pick out Kirby, who is tackled by Fishlock. The ball runs back towards Charles, whose snapshot is accidentally blocked by her teammate Kerr.

2.41pm GMT

39 min A half chance for Reading. Harding’s flick-on releases Fishlock on the left side of the area. She tries to screw a cross back towards James on the edge of the area, but it’s slightly overhit and Chelsea clear.

2.37pm GMT

36 min: Chance for Chelsea! Kerr breaks through on goal in the inside-left channel. She could shoot herself but tries to give a hat-trick goal to Kirby, who has the ball taken off her toes by Mitchell. That’s twice in this match that Kerr has tried to find Kirby when she was in a good position to score.

2.35pm GMT

34 min A quiet spell in the game. We haven’t seen possession stats but I suspect Reading have had more of the ball. This hasn’t been the mismatch that the scoreline might suggest.

2.31pm GMT

30 min Reading have played pretty well in the first half hour. The difference has been Chelsea’s quality in the final third, and particularly the ruthless finishing of Fran Kirby.

2.29pm GMT

28 min Harding runs onto a long pass from James and tries an imaginative, booming lob over Berger from 25 yards. It drifts just wide of the far post, though Berger probably had it covered.

2.26pm GMT

25 min After more good play from Kirby, who is having a stormer against her old club, Reiten’s tame shot is easily saved by Moloney.

2.26pm GMT

Twenty seconds after hitting the post, Fran Kirby gets her second goal. She intercepted Mitchell’s pass into midfield and set off towards the Reading area. Mitchell tried to wrestle her off the ball but Kirby was strong enough to resist the challenge and calm enough to slide the ball past Moloney. That’s another excellent finish.

2.24pm GMT

23 min: Kirby hits the post! That was a spectacular effort. She received a short pass from Andersson, turned and rifled a rising shot that beat Moloney and smacked off the far post.

2.21pm GMT

21 min “Hi Rob,” says Redmond Grimes. “Chelsea leaving out Ji is always a mystery for me. She is the most creative player in the WSL.”

I’m sure she’s just being rested. Chelsea have a lot of fixtures coming up, including a humdinger against the leaders Manchester United next weekend.

2.20pm GMT

19 min Reading win their first corner. Fara Williams drives it towards Fishlock in the D and Kirby intercepts. The ball goes back to Williams, whose cross drifts over the bar.

2.19pm GMT

17 min There hasn’t been a side-on replay, never mind VAR graphics, but the angles we have seen suggest Kirby was offside.

2.18pm GMT

Chelsea are in front! A hooked clearance was headed on by Kerr towards Kirby, who looked offside but was allowed to continue. She scurried into the area and moved smoothly around Moloney before clipping the ball into the empty net.

2.13pm GMT

12 min Chelsea are starting to look dangerous, particularly on the counter-attack. Reading have had plenty of the ball but need to be careful when they lose possession.

2.10pm GMT

8 min Kerr’s shot is well saved by Moloney, though the flag had gone up for offside. I’m not that sure that was the correct decision, not that it matters.

2.07pm GMT

5 min Kerr’s low cutback towards Kirby is put behind for a corner by Fishlock. That was a vital interception, without which Kirby could probably have scored.

2.05pm GMT

4 min Reading have straight brightly. Williams played a nice through ball towards Harding, who is flagged offside. She miscontrolled the ball anyway.

2.02pm GMT

1 min Peep peep! Reading kick off from left to right. They are in blue and white; Chelsea are wearing their ember glow (sic) third kit. There’s been a late change to the Chelsea team: Hannah Blundell has replaced Maren Mjelde at right-back.

1.59pm GMT

The teams in (probable) formation

Reading (4-4-2) Moloney; Leine, Cooper, Mitchell, Woodham; Williams, James, Fishlock, Eikeland; Harding, Harries.
Substitutes: Bartrip, Bruton, Carter, Rowe, Skeels, Roberts Stewart.

1.11pm GMT

Pre-match reading

1.06pm GMT

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has rested Magdalena Eriksson and Pernille Harder.

⚪️ TEAM NEWS ⚪️

Here’s our Starting XI for this afternoon’s @BarclaysFAWSL clash against Chelsea at Madejski #REACHE pic.twitter.com/SxeiMEJsRA

Today's starting XI to take on Reading! #CFCW pic.twitter.com/W9iot0r8Nj

12.12pm GMT

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Reading v Chelsea from the Madejski Stadium. For a variety of reasons - Covid, injuries, trips to Dubai - this the only WSL match being played this weekend. It’s a chance for the champions Chelsea, who were in fine form before the winter break, to move above Arsenal and into second place.

Emma Hayes knows that Reading are awkward opponents. They’ve already drawn at home to Manchester City this season, and the leaders Manchester United needed a late goal win at the Madejski last month. Whatever happens, at least we have a football match to watch and discuss; it’s better for the soul than arguing about trips to Dubai.

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Published on January 10, 2021 07:54

FA Cup third round: Blackpool knock out West Brom on penalties – as it happened

Blackpool boing Big Sam and the Baggies out of the FA Cup on an entertaining afternoon in the third round

5.54pm GMT

The 3pm kick-off results.

5.50pm GMT

KaiKai has the chance to put Blackpool through, after misses by Edwards and Furlong. He sends the keeper the wrong way ... but his shot clatters off the base of the left-hand post and out! Head in hands. No matter, though, because Pereira’s preposterous stuttering run-up ensures the shock still happens. A dismal easy-to-read effort is snaffled by Maxwell and the 1953 winners are through! Oh Sam.

5.44pm GMT

Bardsley sends the Clarets into the fourth round with the decisive kick.

5.39pm GMT

A tedious match enlivened by a couple of lovely Fulham goals in extra time.

5.36pm GMT

EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: Blackpool 2-2 WBA. That draw at Anfield really did take it out of Albion’s players, didn’t it. Another poor performance. Allardyce chewing gum like billy-o. Can the Premier League save themselves in the penalty shoot-out?

5.33pm GMT

EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: Burnley 1-1 MK Dons. There must be something wrong with the Guardian clock. Batteries cost a few quid, to be fair. It’s going to penalties at Turf Moor.

5.30pm GMT

We’re six or seven minutes away from full time in extra time at Blackpool and Burnley. The game down at QPR is a few minutes behind, though. Penalties looming in Lancashire.

5.23pm GMT

HALF TIME, EXTRA TIME: QPR 0-2 Fulham. A double whammy just before the break in extra time has surely done for the Hoops.

5.23pm GMT

GOAL! QPR 0-2 Fulham (Kebano 105+3). The ball shuttled across the front of the QPR box, left to right. Kebano lashes home from a tight angle, and that is surely that.

5.20pm GMT

HALF TIME, EXTRA TIME: Burnley 1-1 MK Dons. It’s the visitors who have come closest to scoring.

5.19pm GMT

HALF TIME, EXTRA TIME: Blackpool 2-2 WBA. The hosts have been giving as good as they’ve been getting. Big Sam continues to chew a wasp.

5.18pm GMT

GOAL! QPR 0-1 Fulham (Decordova-Reid 104). The deadlock is finally broken at Loftus Road, and this is a gem! Decordova-Reid one-twos with Mitrovic down the middle, opens his body, and curls a forensic sidefoot into the bottom right.

5.16pm GMT

MK Dons midfielder Ben Gladwin is inches away from recreating Ronnie Radford’s famous goal for Hereford against Newcastle in 1972. He whistles an ambitious 30-yard effort towards the top left of the Burnley goal. A smidgen to the right, and it would have been in. As it is, it cannons off the post and away. Ah well. It’s a thin line between a decent effort and FA Cup immortality.

5.10pm GMT

Not a great deal of action to report from the three matches that have gone to extra time. You come this far, you hunker down.

5.05pm GMT

The 3pm full-times.

5.01pm GMT

Classified check coming up in a second. But for clarity’s sake ... there are three of the 3pm kick-offs going to extra time, and possibly penalties: Blackpool v WBA, Burnley v MK Dons, and QPR v Fulham. More excitement ahoy!

5.00pm GMT

FULL TIME: QPR 0-0 Fulham. So much for tempting fate.
FULL TIME: Bristol Rovers 2-3 Sheffield United. A much-needed win for the Blades.

5.00pm GMT

Something of a shock, given both sides’ Championship form.

4.59pm GMT

Yep, three in a row for the visitors.

4.58pm GMT

No real drama as the League Two strugglers are clinically dispatched by the high-flying Swans.

4.57pm GMT

FULL TIME: Blackpool 2-2 WBA. See also the third-tier Seasiders versus the Premier League’s Big Sam.

4.56pm GMT

FULL TIME: Burnley 1-1 MK Dons. And that’s the final gasp of the 90! Burnley save themselves at the death, and this one’s going to extra time.

4.55pm GMT

GOAL! Burnley 1-1 MK Dons (Vydra 90+4). Bardsley is needlessly fouled out on the right. From the free kick, the Clarets save themselves! The ball’s whipped into the mixer, and rammed home by Vydra, sliding in at the right-hand post!

4.54pm GMT

Easy in the end for the home side. Or the away side, depending on how you look at it.

4.53pm GMT

A shock as the League One side see off Championship outfit Rovers.

4.52pm GMT

Easy for Brendan Rodgers’ men.

4.51pm GMT

GOAL! Exeter 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday (Paterson 90). It’s going to be three wins on the bounce for previously floundering Wednesday. Penny for the thoughts of Tony Pulis.

4.50pm GMT

Let’s see if we can tempt fate and tease out some last-minute drama in the west London derby between QPR and Fulham. Bugger all has happened in that one.

4.47pm GMT

GOAL! Bournemouth 4-1 Oldham (King 86). A shot not so much belted past but through the keeper. King doesn’t bother celebrating.

4.46pm GMT

GOAL! Wycombe 4-1 Preston (Samuel 82). The 1889 and 1938 winners are toast. Samuel enters the box down the right and slots home calmly in the Buckinghamshire fog.

4.45pm GMT

Stevenage spurn a great chance to get back into it against Swansea. A penalty kick, dispatched towards the bottom left by Norris, but turned around the post brilliantly by Swans keeper Woodman.

4.42pm GMT

GOAL! Blackpool 2-2 WBA (Pereira 80 pen). A lifeline for Big Sam! A cross hits Turton’s arm. Nowhere near his silhouette, and it’s a penalty kick. Pereira lashes it into the bottom right, the keeper guessing correctly but given no chance.

4.40pm GMT

GOAL! Stoke 0-4 Leicester (Barnes 81). This is a rout now. Some pinball in the Stoke area. The ball breaks to Barnes, who slams home from 12 yards.

4.39pm GMT

GOAL! Stoke 0-3 Leicester (Perez 79). Bragging rights in ATVLand confirmed for the Foxes. A lovely move, the ball shuttled in from the right by a couple of blue shirts, then slammed home from the penalty spot by Perez. This is over.

4.37pm GMT

GOAL! Bournemouth 3-1 Oldham (King 74) or Oldham 1-3 Bournemouth (King 74), whichever you prefer. Quite a few headed goals this afternoon. Here’s another!

4.36pm GMT

Still plenty of time to go in the 3pm kick-offs. But there’s a big match kicking off in just under an hour, and the teams contesting it have landed. Barry Glendenning has the details of The Arsenal v Newcastle United.

4.33pm GMT

BREAKING NEWS: Big Sam continues to stomp about the technical area with a face on.

4.32pm GMT

Burke continues to shine against Bristol Rovers. He drives down the left and sends a shot across Day and off the base of the right-hand post. Meanwhile another near miss, this time at Ewood Park, where Blackburn still trail Doncaster. Harvey Elliott has come on, and goes close with a curler towards the top left. Balcombe in the Donny goal fingertips spectacularly, then parries the rebound as well. Magnificent play all round.

4.29pm GMT

GOAL! Blackpool 2-1 WBA (Madine 66). A lovely sweeping move by the 1953 winners, and Big Sam is under pressure again! Lovely combination play between Yates and Madine, and the latter moves into space down the middle before whistling a low shot into the bottom left! Anyone interested in the aforementioned Matthews Final should click below, or perhaps consider this.

4.25pm GMT

Whatever happens in Bristol, this should serve Sheffield United well. They’ve been so constipated in the Premier League, with just eight goals in 17 matches. This should blow a few cobwebs off, and yes, it’s for the best that I mixed metaphors there.

4.23pm GMT

GOAL! Bristol Rovers 2-3 Sheffield United (Bogle 63). More good work by Burke, followed by a smooth run into the area by Bogle down the inside-right channel. He slots home at the near post, and this is turning into a classic!

4.22pm GMT

GOAL! Bristol Rovers 2-2 Sheffield United (Ehmer 62). A corner from the right. A flick-on at the near post, and Ehmer can’t miss from a couple of yards. Dismal defending. However ...

4.21pm GMT

GOAL! Bristol Rovers 1-2 Sheffield United (Burke 59). The latest jinking genius off the Scottish conveyor belt is sent scampering down the middle. No mistake. He slots home. However...

4.20pm GMT

GOAL! Stoke 0-2 Leicester (Albrighton 59). A lovely goal this, as the ever-underrated Albrighton swans in from the right, drops a shoulder, and whips a lovely curler into the bottom left. Could this be Leicester’s year in the FA Cup at long last? Four losing appearances out of four in the final. It has to happen sometime, surely.

4.18pm GMT

Just in case you’ve been as confused as me ... and if that’s that case, I feel for you ... but the Oldham-Bournemouth tie is being played at the Vitality Stadium, on account of the Boundary Park being frozen. So we’ve been referring to Bournemouth-Oldham as well as Oldham-Bournemouth. No idea what the official line is. I suspect traditionalists will go with the latter, as per the draw, but for clarity I may keep on with the former. In either instance, feel free to sue us.

4.13pm GMT

GOAL! Blackpool 1-1 WBA (Ajayi 52). See Swansea’s second, just there. Easy as that, with the assist going to Big Sam’s Half-Time Hairdryer.

4.12pm GMT

GOAL! Stevenage 0-2 Swansea (Gyokeres 50). Cross from the right. Header down. In!

4.10pm GMT

GOAL! Oldham 1-2 Bournemouth. (Riquelme 49). A few cute triangles down the right, and Riquelme is on hand to slam home a low cross. Lovely move.

4.05pm GMT

Second halves underway again, y’all. Remember, extra time and penalties could be coming up. Almost certainly will be, somewhere or other. Here we go, then.

3.56pm GMT

The half-times, then. A very entertaining first 45.

3.54pm GMT

At Burnley, Richard Keogh is shown the red card when the ball hits his hand as he covers as last man. Has a clear scoring opportunity been denied? Not according to VAR, because Chris Wood, who would otherwise have been sent clear, was offside. Or was Wood in the process of fouling Keogh? Either way, the decision is overturned.

3.52pm GMT

GOAL! Oldham 1-1 Bournemouth (Bahamboula pen 45). Keillor-Dunn is brought down by Dennis - or was it a dive? It’s soft, put it that way. Bahamboula smashes the gift home.

3.50pm GMT

GOAL! Wycombe 3-1 Preston (Jakobsen pen 43). A lifeline for Preston just before the break, as Allsop rashly brings down Riis. Jakobsen slams the penalty home.

3.47pm GMT

GOAL! Blackburn 0-1 Doncaster (Richards 42). A speculative long-range effort by Richards finds the bottom right, Pears in the Blackburn goal at fault for weak hands.

3.45pm GMT

GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Oldham (Brooks 43). Not long after nearly going behind, saved by the woodwork, the Cherries take the lead with a deflected long-range effort from Brooks.

3.45pm GMT

GOAL! Blackpool 1-0 WBA (Yates 41). The Seasiders work the ball down the left. A low cross is whistled along the corridor of uncertainty. West Brom’s defence does what it usually does, standing stock still to a man. Yates comes in from the other flank to slam home from close range. On the touchline, Big Sam fumes. He’ll run out of lug-steam soon, the way this season is going. One man can only generate so much. But a shock is on!

3.42pm GMT

Oldham hit the woodwork against Bournemouth! Barnett drifts in from the left, and curls with purpose towards the top right. The ball caroms off the upright and away. What an effort that was.

3.40pm GMT

Sheffield United have the ball in the Bristol Rovers net, but it’s disallowed. Egan rises to smash a header goalwards. Day parries. Mousset slams home. But Egan is penalised for climbing all over his opponent. BREAKING NEWS: On BT Sport, Peter Walton agrees with the referee’s decision. To be fair, it is the correct outcome, but you get the wider point.

3.37pm GMT

WHAT A GOAL! Stoke 0-1 Leicester (Justin 34). James Justin cuts in from the left, beats two Stoke players, then curls a vicious shot into the top-right bin. Slightly surprised that the net, plus the entire frame of the goal, isn’t currently flying over the Stanley Matthews statue. That was one hell of a strike. And to think some were worried about missing Ben Chilwell.

3.34pm GMT

It could be one of those days for Burnley. They should equalise in short order, but somehow Tarkowski manages to hit the post from a couple of yards. What a miss!

3.33pm GMT

GOAL! Burnley 0-1 MK Dons (Jerome 29). The ball sent in from the left. A couple of flick-ons, and then Jerome sends a Houchenesque diving header back across goal and into the bottom left! A shock on here, as the mid-table League One franchise lead the Premier League club.

3.31pm GMT

GOAL! Exeter 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday (Reach 27). A lovely goal this, lashed into the net with Van Bastenesque confidence from a tight angle on the right by Reach. Wednesday are suddenly enjoying a rich vein of form under caretaker Neil Thompson.

3.30pm GMT

GOAL! Wycombe 3-0 Preston (Knight 25). A shock developing, of sorts, between these two Championship sides. A free kick sent out right is hoicked back into the six-yard box. Knight extends a telescopic leg to guide home from close range. This is over.

3.27pm GMT

There are going to be a lot of matches going to extra time at this rate. A reminder that there are no replays this season. Straight to extra time then penalties if needs be. Ah, the days of the multiple replay. There’s one of those old-school marathons in this JoS, which admittedly is mainly worth reading for an on-form Smyth wading in below the line throwing hands. Those were the days.

3.24pm GMT

GOAL! Bristol Rovers 1-1 Sheffield United (Kilgour 21). There are two divisions between Rovers and United, but the scoreline is level at the Memorial Stadium. A deep right-wing cross is met by Kilgour, who rises regally and plants a glorious header into the top left. Keeper no chance! That is a lovely finish.

3.20pm GMT

Ah the magic of the long third-round lull. Don’t shoot the messenger.

3.14pm GMT

GOAL! Wycombe 2-0 Preston (Jacobson 9 pen). Ikpeazu is bundled over by a small pocket of air, or maybe the nearby Earl. It’s soft, but it’s given. Jacobson lashes it down the middle, and Wycombe have wandered out of the blocks at Olympic pace.

3.11pm GMT

GOAL! Stevenage 0-1 Swansea (Routledge 7). The second successful downward header of the afternoon, and the Swans take the lead against the League Two strugglers.

3.10pm GMT

GOAL! Bristol Rovers 0-1 Sheffield United (Day og 6). Osborn crosses dangerously from the left. Mousset rises and slams a header off the crossbar. The ball drops down and twangs off the back of the unfortunate Rovers keeper Day, who was sprawling mid-dive. That’s unfortunate for poor Day, but the cross and header deserved reward.

3.07pm GMT

GOAL! Wycombe 1-0 Preston (Onyedinma 3). The first goal of the 3pms didn’t take long. A right-wing cross slung into the Preston box; Fred Onyedinma rises at the far post and heads back across goal and into the bottom right. What a start for the Championship’s bottom side against 12th-placed Preston.

3.05pm GMT

Burnley have flown out of the box. A ball whipped into the Franchise FC box from the left; Chris Wood has his header tipped over after a mere 23 seconds.

3.00pm GMT

As we prepare for the 3pms, then, a reminder of all the early results:

2.56pm GMT

Anything spring out at you there? Seeing we’re under no obligation to get the pom-poms out and cheerlead for the FA, the answer is surely no. Not that we’re resorting to that tiresome old jaded-contrarian schtick; it’s just that a lot of the participants really could do with Concentrating On The League in this concertinaed campaign for one reason or another. Of the 20 teams in action, five are making serious promotion pushes (Blackburn, Doncaster, Bournemouth, Swansea, Stoke); one has legitimate Premier League ambitions (Leicester); and ten are looking over their shoulders, sweating like someone who might have just blown his chances of getting his presidential pension (West Brom, Bristol Rovers, Sheffield United, Burnley, MK Dons, Sheffield Wednesday, QPR, Fulham, Stevenage and Wycombe). But on the flip side, there are no replays this season, so teams may go hell for leather anyway. Entertainment ahoy? Ach, why not. Entertainment ahoy!

2.44pm GMT

Good old Bob, eh kids? He’s already furnished you with the team news of all the upcoming kick-offs, but here’s an almost certainly redundant reminder of the 3pm fixture list, just in case, or for the record, or whatever.

2.40pm GMT

That’s it for the lunchtime games. Time for me to hand over to Scott Murray for the 3pm matches. Bye!

2.40pm GMT

Wycombe v Preston North End team news

Wycombe Allsop, McCarthy, Tafazolli, Knight, Jacobson, Wheeler, Adeniran, Bloomfield, Onyedinma, Ikpeazu, Muskwe. Subs: Grimmer, Gape, Kashket, Horgan, Akinfenwa, Charles, Samuel, Stockdale, Mehmeti.

2.38pm GMT

Exeter v Sheff Wed team news

Exeter Ward, Key, Parkes, Caprice, McArdle, Page, Taylor, Collins, Randall, Bowman, Jay. Subs: Sparkes, Atangana, Law, Seymour, Fisher, Maxted, Ajose, Kite, Hartridge.

2.37pm GMT

Full time: Everton 2-1 Rotherham Everton are through to the fourth round. It was hard work against an impressive Rotherham, who were the better team in normal time. But Everton flexed their Premier League muscles in extra time and won the match with a good goal from the substitute Abdoulaye Doucoure.

2.32pm GMT

“Afternoon Scott,” says Simon McMahon. “The KLF should sponsor the Premier League. Burning a million pounds is a weekly routine for most clubs. And maybe a symbolic dead sheep in one of the pundits chairs in the Soccer Saturday studio?”

2.29pm GMT

Here’s more on Chorley’s historic victory

2.28pm GMT

Bristol Rovers v Sheff Utd team news

Bristol Rovers Day, Ehmer, Kilgour, Baldwin, Leahy, Westbrooke, Upson, McCormick, Oztumer, Hanlan, Ayunga. Subs: van Stappershoef, Little, Grant, Kelly, Hargreaves, Harries, Rodman, Barrett, Koiki.

2.27pm GMT

Blackpool v West Brom team news

Blackpool Maxwell, Turton, Gretarsson, Ballard, Husband, Kemp, Ward, Dougall, Lubala, Madine, Yates. Subs: Lawrence-Gabriel, Thorniley, Robson, KaiKai, Sims, Mitchell, Virtue, Ekpiteta, Woodburn.

2.26pm GMT

Everton 2-1 Rotherham Seven minutes remaining at Goodison. Rotherham are having a decent spell, their best in extra time, but Everton still lead.

2.26pm GMT

Burnley v MK Dons team news

Burnley Norris, Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Gudmundsson, Cork, Stephens, Brady, Barnes, Wood. Subs: Pope, Lowton, Vydra, Mancini, Thomas, Benson, Driscoll-Glennon, Mumbongo, Nartey.

2.25pm GMT

Stoke v Leicester team news

Stoke Bursik, Shawcross, Souttar, Batth, Smith, Allen, Clucas, Mikel, McClean, Brown, Vokes. Subs: Matondo, Lindsay, Ince, Oakley-Boothe, Verlinden, Cousins, Thompson, Collins, Nna Noukeu.

2.24pm GMT

Oldham v AFC Bournemouth team news

Oldham Lawlor, Clarke, Piergianni, Diarra, Barnett, McCalmont, Ntambwe, Hamer, Keillor-Dunn, Garrity, Bahamboula. Subs: Jombati, Whelan, Fage, Jameson, McAleny, Dearnley, Badan, Luamba, Bilboe.

2.23pm GMT

QPR v Fulham team news

QPR Dieng, Kane, Dickie, Cameron, Barbet, Bonne, Chair, Ball, Carroll, Dykes, Samuel. Subs: Thomas, Willock, Masterson, Hamalainen, Bettache, Kelman, Barnes, Adomah.

2.22pm GMT

Everton 2-1 Rotherham There’s another long break in play. This time Yerry Mina is down after being elbowed in the face by George Hirst. Mina is conscious and having his head bandaged; Hirst was booked.

2.20pm GMT

“Re: the main photo of Matthew Olosunde scoring - gosh, that really is an example of hyper-extension,” says Bill Hargreaves. “See the man’s knee.”

No thanks!

2.19pm GMT

Stevenage v Swansea team news

Stevenage Cumming, Wildin, Vancooten, Cuthbert, Coker, Lines, Smith, Read, Pett, Carter, Newton. Subs: Norris, Vincelot, Prosser, Marsh, Johnson, List, Marshall, Aitchison, Oteh.

2.17pm GMT

Half time in extra time: Everton 2-1 Rotherham There was a long break in play when Angus MacDonald fell face first after colliding with another Rotherham defender and Cenk Tosun as they challenged for a cross. It looked pretty worrying at first, but he is on his feet and is going to continue.

2.15pm GMT

Blackburn v Doncaster team news

Blackburn Pears, Buckley, Lenihan, Johnson, Bell, Trybull, Travis, Downing, Dack, Dolan, Brereton. Subs: Kaminski, Armstrong, Rothwell, Gallagher, Douglas, Elliott, Davenport, Grayson, Pike.

2.11pm GMT

All the early ties are over except Everton v Rotherham, which has gone to extra time. Everton lead 2-1 with a couple of minutes remaining in the first period.

2.10pm GMT

Full time: Chorley 2-0 Derby

National League North side Chorley are into the last 32 after a relatively comfortable win over Derby’s teenagers.

2.05pm GMT

Everton 2-1 Rotherham: Bernard hits the post! Everton are well on top now. The substitute Niles Nkounkou’s cross was only half cleared to Bernard, whose first-time shot on the run slapped off the post.

2.03pm GMT

Full time: Nottm Forest 1-0 Cardiff Lyle Taylor’s classy third-minute volley has put Forest into the hat for the fourth-round draw, which will be live on Radio 2 at lunchtime on Monday.

2.01pm GMT

The substitute Abdoulaye Doucoure has put Everton into the lead, finishing calmly from the edge of the area after a lovely through pass from James Rodriguez. VAR has a look but there’s nothing wrong with the goal. Everton are in front!

2.00pm GMT

There’s been another goal at Chorley. Is it on? It’s on!

1.57pm GMT

Full time: Luton 1-0 Reading George Moncur’s first-half goal was enough to see off Reading.

1.56pm GMT

Full time: Boreham Wood 0-2 Millwall A comfortable afternoon for Millwall, who dominated throughout.

1.54pm GMT

Full time: Everton 1-1 Rotherham There will be extra-time at Goodison.

1.53pm GMT

Full time: Norwich 2-0 Coventry Two early goals from Kenny McLean and Jordan Hugill have Norwich into the last 32.

1.53pm GMT

Chorley still lead Derby 1-0 at Victory Park. Barry Glendenning has his hooks tentered.

1.51pm GMT

Everton 1-1 Rotherham They’re into the final minute of added time at Goodison Park. It looks like this intriguing match is going to extra-time.

1.47pm GMT

Everton 1-1 Rotherham Cenk Tosun has had a goal disallowed for offside. He poked James Rodriguez’s free-kick into the net, but VAR had the final say. It usually does.

1.42pm GMT

Everton 1-1 Rotherham Everton have improved since Carlo Ancelotti made all those substitutions, but they are still susceptible to a late sting. So much for the easy home win that most of us expected.

1.35pm GMT

GOAL! Boreham Wood 0-2 Millwall (Hutchinson 74) Millwall have been much the better team and Shaun Hutchinson’s goal should secure a place in the fourth round.

1.30pm GMT

With around 20 minutes remaining in the midday kick-offs, these are the latest scores.

1.28pm GMT

SPL The match between Dundee United and St Johnstone is off because of a frozen (bit of the) pitch.

1.24pm GMT

Everton 1-1 Rotherham Yerry Mina and Gylfi Sigurdsson are on now, with Lucas Digne and Tom Davies doing one.

1.23pm GMT

Everton 1-1 Rotherham Bernard and Abdoulaye Doucoure have come on for Everton in place of Anthony Gordon and Alex Iwobi. I’d love to hear Carlo Ancelotti’s internal monologue right now.

1.22pm GMT

“It’s past 2am in New Zealand,” says Everton fan Oliver Robinson. “I thought it would be worth staying up to watch the lads hopefully get an easy win against lower-league opposition (and the FA Cup’s always a good time to watch isn’t it?). Instead we’ve given up a goal to a man with no number or name on his shirt. It’s worked out well.”

He’s got no number on his back? I love that some of the readers are able to see the game, and I’m not.

1.19pm GMT

There are no replays in the third round, though drawn matches will go extra-time and then penalties.

1.17pm GMT

Hello! Matthew Olosunde has squeezed in a deserved equaliser for Rotherham at Goodison Park, and a big shock could be on. It’s Olosunde’s first goal for Rotherham. Who says romance is etc?

1.16pm GMT

“Now that my personal interest in the third round has been sorted out (during last night’s weirdly entertaining match between a handful of school children and a selection of the Best Male Footballers In The World 2020), I can enjoy a stress-free day of checking results,” says Matt Dony. “In celebration of the KLF making music available on streaming platforms, I’ll be supporting any team in the (Grim Up) North. And finding yet more ways to imagine it’s still the 90s.”

Mmmm-hmmmm-hmmmm-yeah. Mmmmm-hmmmm-hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

1.11pm GMT

Everton 1-0 Rotherham It’s still all Rotherham at Goodison Park. It’s not quite Telford 1985 or Woking 1991 - Rotherham are a Championship side - but Everton are being given a bit of a scare.

1.08pm GMT

Peep peep! The second halves are underway. Everton were out early, which suggests Carlo Ancelotti has access to a hairdryer.

1.07pm GMT

Chorley 1-0 Derby is the half-time score at Victory Park. I don’t know what it is, but it’s on!

1.03pm GMT

Some more half-time reading

12.59pm GMT

Half-time reading

“At Rossett Road a little girl can shout and be heard.” @frankcottrell_b’s story about his local football club, #Marine, facing Jose Mourinho tomorrow, starts with a doting-dad anecdote and ends up reprising his #London2012 opening ceremony https://t.co/AA6NB2ZaPO

12.49pm GMT

It’s half-time in the midday kick-offs. If you don’t want to know the scores, bloody well log off this instant.

12.46pm GMT

“Evening Rob,” says Phil Withall. “I believe you have violated rule 7 subsection 3b, of the football reporter’s code. This clearly states that Derby are no longer a team named after a city but are a team named after a manager. Simply not good enough...”

I have no idea what you’re talking about, but in the interests of world peace, I have tendered my resignation forthwith.

12.44pm GMT

There are ten more FA Cup ties kicking off at 3pm.

12.37pm GMT

The latest scores

12.35pm GMT

Everton 1-0 Rotherham It’s been a very good 10 minutes for Rotherham, who are putting Everton under all sorts of pressure. At least that’s what it says here.

12.34pm GMT

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Cardiff I’ve just seen Lyle Taylor’s early goal. It was a beautiful volley, sidefooted into the roof of the net after a quick adjustment of his feet.

12.33pm GMT

GOAL! Luton 1-0 Reading (Moncur 30) It’s there!

GOAL! Boreham Wood 0-1 Millwall (Zohore 31) It’s also there!

12.31pm GMT

League Two Scunthorpe v Bradford has been postponed because of a frozen pitch. I don’t know what else to tell you.

12.27pm GMT

GOAL! Chorley 1-0 Derby (Hall 10) The National League North side have taken the lead at Victory Park! Connor Hall has put them in front with a close-range finish after a game of head tennis in the Derby area. What a moment for Chorley! Drink it in with Barry Glendenning.

12.26pm GMT

Everton 1-0 Rotherham Robin Olsen has made a fine double save to keep Everton in front at Goodison Park.

12.25pm GMT

Anyone out there? If so, I hope you’re all well. It’s feels weird to type that and mean it.

12.22pm GMT

And here are six FA Cup third-round wrong’uns

12.22pm GMT

While we wait for more goals, why not let my serotonin twin Scott Murray talk you through six classic third-round ties.

12.20pm GMT

Chorley 0-0 Derby Almost a very early goal, and a farcical one to boot, at Chorley.

12.15pm GMT

The latest scores

12.12pm GMT

GOAL! Everton 1-0 Rotherham (Tosun 9) Anthony Gordon does very well to set up Cenk Tosun, who coolly chips the ball over the outrushing goalkeeper. That’s his first goal for Everton since November 2019.

12.09pm GMT

GOALS PLURAL! Norwich 2-0 Coventry (McLean 6, Hugill 7) Well that escalated quickly.

12.08pm GMT

Everton 0-0 Rotherham Carlo Ancelotti has picked a strong side, which includes James Rodriguez and Lucas Digne, and Everton have made a fast start.

12.06pm GMT

GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Cardiff (Taylor 3) Lyle Taylor has scored the first goal of the day, putting Forest ahead in the all-Championship match at the City Ground.

11.48am GMT

Chorley v Derby is the televised game this lunchtime. Barry Glendenning’s hands are all over that one.

11.47am GMT

A bit of pre-match reading

9.54am GMT

Hello and welcome to live coverage of today’s FA Cup third round marathon: 20 games from lunch till dusk. At Guardian Towers we’re all wearing our MTFACGA baseball caps, even though deep down we know it’s a futile exercise. The FA Cup will never regain its old lustre, because that relied on a purity that can’t exist in a world of unapologetic avarice. But it still refreshes the parts other competitions - even the Premier League and the Champions League - cannot reach. (Where else can you lose 4-1 at home and still cover yourselves in glory?)

Tomorrow’s match between Marine and Spurs registers a perfect 10.0 on the romanceo’thecupometer. While a shock in that match is nigh-on impossible, we know that, at some stage this weekend, David will land a decisive blow on Goliath’s confused, entitled coupon. And when it does, just for a wee while, the world will feel like a better place.

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Published on January 09, 2021 11:38

Chelsea 1-3 Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened

Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne scored in the first half as City took Chelsea to the cleaners with an exhilarating performance

9.20pm GMT

Barney Ronay on Chelsea’s flaws.

9.04pm GMT

Frank reacts.

6.39pm GMT

6.36pm GMT

The thoughts of Kevin De Bruyne

“I think after 5-10 minutes we found our rhythm and played very well. We took our chances at the right time and defensively we were solid for 90 minutes. It’s a little shame about the goal in injury time.

6.28pm GMT

“Twice this season, Chelsea have gone in 3-0 down at half-time,” says Andy Scott, “and my initial reaction to both was, ‘If they don’t put a shift in after half-time Lampard will be getting a call from Roman this evening.

“In both games (West Brom and City today) Chelsea have at least demonstrated some effort in the second half. It’s the absolute minimum that should be expected but its probably saved Lampard on both occasions. At least Frank can still claim to have the dressing room, even if he isn’t able to demonstrate what to do with the players in it.”

6.26pm GMT

Breaking news: Pep Guardiola is smiling

He’s sporting a big cheesy one as he rubs Joao Cancelo’s hair and chats to him. Pep must have loved that, especially the first half in which City took Chelsea to the cleaners.

6.23pm GMT

Peep peep! Time will tell whether this is the start of a revival or the last hurrah of a great side, but either way Manchester City were wonderful.

6.21pm GMT

Chelsea get a late consolation. Havertz breaks the left and curls an inviting cross to the far post, where Hudson-Odoi gets the run on Zinchenko and slams a shot past Steffen from close range. City have conceded a goal!

6.20pm GMT

90+1 min “I’m curious as to why people are still calling OGS a young manager?” says Benjamin Park. “He’s been a professional manager since 2011 (excluding Man Utd reserves) and the same age as Brendan Rodgers. I’m not commenting on his performance as a manager, but to still classify him as a young manager seems a bit weird to me. In comparison, this is Lampard’s third season in total and Arteta’s first full season.”

He’s a young manager at big-club level, in his second full season; that’s what people mean I guess. And he looks like he’s 28 years old.

6.20pm GMT

90 min Bernardo Silva is booked for something or other.

6.18pm GMT

88 min Chelsea win a corner. Werner is on his haunches; it’s been another chastening day for him. Mount takes the corner and Fernandinho heads it away.

6.17pm GMT

87 min “I really like John Stones, the Rio Ferdinand of this generation, the Rolls Royce of English defenders,” says Robert Lin. “Remember Rio had many shaky moments himself in his early years before becoming arguably the best English centre half since Bobby Moore.”

That’s true - though he didn’t have as many, and he’d cracked it long before the age of 26. But right now Stones looks the best centre-half available to England.

6.15pm GMT

86 min City make their last two changes: Riyad Mahrez and Sergio Aguero replace Kevin De Bruyne, whose genius almost brings a lump to the throat, and the superb Phil Foden.

6.14pm GMT

85 min “Hi Rob,” says Habib Butt. “I hope the Frank Lampard press conference makes up for the disappointing second half.”

6.13pm GMT

84 min De Bruyne plays the ball back to Steffen from 70 yards, because he can.

6.13pm GMT

83 min De Bruyne’s shot hits the wall and goes behind for a corner.

6.12pm GMT

83 min Thiago Silva fouls Sterling just outside the area. The free-kick is a fair way to the right of centre, and De Bruyne is over it.

6.12pm GMT

83 min “Hi Rob,” says Admir Pajic. “Unlike any other Abramovich’s manager at Chelsea, Lampard is a club legend (more importantly, a club legend who earned that status during Abramovich’s reign) and that’s going to buy him more time than, say, Andre Villas Boas or Di Matteo had.
“That being said, Lampard’s Chelsea look like the most naive incarnation of Emirates-era Arsenal - so much talent across the team but troubles in front of either goal prove costly in big games. Just think of that 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford last season which now looks like a trailer for the Lampard’s era.”

They had a really good run of clean sheets earlier in the seaosn, but in the last month or so they’ve been a mess. I’m not sure what to make of them.

6.10pm GMT

81 min An excellent cross from Hudson-Odoi is headed wide at the far post by the flying Pulisic. It wasn’t an easy chance on the run.

6.06pm GMT

77 min Another Chelsea change: Kai Havertz replaces Mateo Kovacic.

6.06pm GMT

76 min Werner tries to run Stones, who guides him out of play with the minimum of fuss. His unexpected revival is a really nice story.

6.04pm GMT

76 min “Whilst acknowledging that I have no expertise on the use of colloquial terms by Uruguayans,” begins Stefan Volkmann, “Germain Ott’s comments seem to lead to the conclusion that we should treat the use of the same (or very similar) term by individuals of the same nationality differently because of the (apparently clear) different intent behind the use of that term. That is problematic when it comes to uniform application.”

6.04pm GMT

75 min Fernandinho replaces Ilkay Gundogan, whose masterful first goal started it all. He’s such an admirable player, a poster boy for unobtrusive excellence.

6.03pm GMT

74 min There was a spell at the start of the second half when it looked like Chelsea were about to give up, but they have played with decent intent since then. Frank Lampard will be pleased with that if nothing else today.

6.01pm GMT

72 min “Evening Rob,” says Tom Atkins. “The PL’s three young club ‘legends’ currently managing (I always thought that was a bit of a stretch for Arteta, but what the hell) seem to be swapping roles quite a bit. One is flavour of the month (currently Solskjaer), the jury’s out on one (Arteta) and one is a charlatan stealing a living (Lampard). Might it not be the case that they’re all talented but flawed coaches still learning at the top level and the game is more interesting for having the three of them there?”

You haven’t grasped how social media works, have you?

6.00pm GMT

71 min De Bruyne shrieks with pain after a foul from Kovacic, who is booked.

6.00pm GMT

70 min John Stones floors Werner with a fair ball-and-man tackle, and then looks down at him with contempt. What on earth has happened to John Stones? He’s turning into Al Capone.

5.59pm GMT

69 min City break two on two. De Bruyne finds Sterling, who charges past Thiago Silva in the area but is tackled by the last man Zouma.

5.58pm GMT

67 min “Are there any really creative midfields at the moment other than City’s?” says Richard Hirst. “Liverpool and Man Utd largely depend on the quality of their forwards, and their full backs in Liverpool’s case.”

Leicester’s is good – Tielemans can do everything, Ndidi is decent on the ball and Maddison is a hub of creativity. I like Villa’s too, and Leeds of course. That’s a different type of creativity. It also depends on your definition of midfield: are you only counting Nos 6 and 8, or do you include No10 as well? You could argue Bruno Fernandes is a one-man creative midfield.

5.56pm GMT

66 min Mendy dives bravely at the feet of De Bruyne, who was galumphing onto a return pass from Sterling. City’s front three - Foden, De Bruyne and Sterling - have been entirely magnificent. Sergio/Gabriel/Ferran/Riyad Who?!?!?!?!?!

5.53pm GMT

64 min Two changes for City: Billy Gilmoure and Callum Hudson-Odoi replace Hakim Ziyech and N’Golo Kante, who had a harrowing afternoon.

5.52pm GMT

62 min Sterling turns on the halfway line, moves forward and feeds a pass into the unmarked De Bruyne just outside the D. He tries to shape a curler into the far corner but gets far too much on it. That also came after a never-ending City passing move.

5.51pm GMT

61 min Gundogan plays the ball across the area to Bernardo Silva, whose shot is blocked by Chilwell. I think there 20-30 passes in that move.

5.50pm GMT

59 min “For all of Chelsea’s spending, if their midfield is Kante, Kovacic and Mount against Man City, sorry but they are doomed,” says Yash Gupta. “Has their midfield provided any protection and most important of all have they made any passes in central area, I know City have been really good(and they are really terrifying right now), Has Lampard done anything to stop it? I’m not sure.”

As with other young managers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mikel Arteta, I don’t think he should really be judged until the end of his second full season. But there are a few worrying signs.

5.48pm GMT

58 min Good play from Kovacic, who walks through Rodri and slices a left-footed shot wide from 20 yards.

5.47pm GMT

57 min Chelsea are having a lot of the ball. City don’t really mind that; they have been devastating on the break today.

5.46pm GMT

56 min A good cross from Mount on the left bobbles invitingly across the six-yard box. The only player in there was Zinchenko, who watched it out for a goalkick.

5.45pm GMT

55 min “Rob,” says Germán Ott. “I am Uruguayan and would like to tell Rick that penalising Cavani for his tweet was like penalising a British person for ageism for addressing a friend as ‘old man’ or ‘old chap’. Negro, negrito, are often used as terms of endearment in this part of the world – they can be used to offend, too, but this was clearly not the intent here. I am sure that Cavani could not get over the reaction over his – in his view – totally banal greeting to a friend. BTW, the Suárez-Evra incident is different, Suárez meant to rattle Evra, his defence was disingenuous and he was rightly punished.”

5.43pm GMT

54 min The corner is angled sharply towards Foden, who volleys wide of the near post.

5.43pm GMT

54 min: Good save from Mendy! De Bruyne clips the free-kick to the far post, where Rodri gets away from Ziyech and Mount to thump a header towards goal. Mendy reacts well to dive to his right and push it over the bar.

5.42pm GMT

53 min Sterling beats Kante for the umpteenth time tonight; Kante fouls him and is booked. There’s an intensity and purpose to City’s attacking play that we haven’t seen this season. They have been quite wonderful.

5.41pm GMT

51 min Chelsea are all over the show. Rodri wins the ball high up the field and City have a four-on-three break. He finds Foden, whose low cross is too far in front of Sterling.

5.40pm GMT

50 min Foden moves into space down the left and picks out De Bruyne in the D. He sweeps a left-footed shot is saved a little awkwardly to his left by Mendy. The worry for Chelsea is that this could get a lot worse.

5.37pm GMT

47 min “This has been a difficult season for the professional pundits and all of us amateur MBM wannabe pundits,” says Mary Waltz. “For the last three years the race for the top has been a choice of two teams and it has been so easy to make early predictions on who will win and who needs to be tossed onto the heap of pundit oblivion. This year every week seems to take last week’s pronouncements and turn them on their head. In other words, we have a glorious multi-team chase that makes all of us look stupid. It’s great.”

It is, but I don’t think it’ll last. This used to be quite common – a free-for-all with unlikely challengers until Christmas, then a sprint to the line from the best two or three teams. Look at this, for example. Villa finished sixth that season, 24 points off the top, and Middlesbrough ended up in ninth.

5.34pm GMT

46 min Peep peep! Chelsea begin the second half.

5.22pm GMT

Half-time reading

5.21pm GMT

After a slow start, Manchester City produced their best performances in at least 18 months to give Chelsea a fearful chasing. Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and the majestic Kevin De Bruyne scored high-class goals, and it could have been more.

5.17pm GMT

45+2 min A looping header from the off-balance Azpilicueta is easily saved by Steffen. Not since Richie Richardson stood at the non-striker’s end for most of Brian Lara’s 277 at Sydney has a sporting participant had such a good viewing experience.

5.16pm GMT

45+1 min Pulisic is booked for a lunge at Joao Cancelo.

5.16pm GMT

45 min “Hi Rob,” says Thomas Nolan. “We’ve all heard of no-look passes in football (and you guys have even done a Joy of Six on them) but that Foden goal was a no-look shot and a thing of beauty - the gap he had to sneak it in on the near post was practically non-existent and he had to use the element of surprise to get it past Mendy. It’s so beautiful when footballers improvise like that with just pure instinct. A truly gorgeous goal (and this is coming from a United fan).”

Another thing I liked about Foden’s goal is that he lifted it just enough to beat Mendy’s dive. It might have been by chance, but I’m more convinced than ever that footballers calculate these things in a split-second.

5.15pm GMT

44 min: Sheer delightful football from City! This is pure pleasure. Sterling scurries away from Kante on the halfway line and moves the ball left to De Bruyne. He plays in the overlapping Foden, who crosses low towards Gundogan at the near post. It’s slightly behind him, so Gundogan improvises another flick behind the front leg. This one drifts a few yards wide of the far post. That would have been a(nother) beautiful goal.

5.12pm GMT

41 min “In this intensive season (with only a few weeks pre-season too) hunger appears to be more important than ever,” says Gary Naylor. “A handful of kids really keen to play for Arsenal look a lot better than some teammates with bigger reputations, and I suspect Chelsea could do with some real desire to play in amongst their ranks. I’m not being critical - it’s human nature and there’s mitigation - but just a marginal increase in passivity, physical or mental, and you’re found out.”

Are you suggesting a surprise recall for Chopper Harris?

5.08pm GMT

37 min Almost a fourth goal! Bernardo Silva lifts a long cross to Foden, who mistimes a looping header over a bar. Chelsea are being humiliated. But this is less about them and more about City, who have been staggeringly good in the last 20 minutes.

5.07pm GMT

The third goal came from a Chelsea free-kick. It was headed clear towards the halfway line, where the last man Kante tried to hook the ball back into the City area. It only went as far as De Bruyne, who used his head in more ways than one to nod it firmly back towards the halfway line and put Sterling through on goal. Kante chased after him all the way to the edge of the area, but Sterling just about stayed in front of him and tried to go round Mendy.

Mendy did well to scramble across and stop Sterling from shooting, so Sterling turned back inside to look for support and waited what felt like an age to find the right pass. Nothing was on, so he whipped a shot that clattered off the inside of the far post. It rebounded to De Bruyne, who had made a 70-yard run to back up the play, just in case. He killed an awkward ball perfectly on the stretch and sidefooted it crisply into the net. He is a truly sensational footballer.

5.05pm GMT

Oh my goodness, City are on fire!

5.04pm GMT

33 min “Hi Rob,” says Rick Harris. “I must say I agree with Tim Walsh that players who break Covid lockdown rules should receive an automatic three-game ban. In my eyes this behaviour is far more serious than Edinson Cavani using a word in a social media post that some non-Latin people find offensive. He appears to have made a genuine mistake whereas the various players caught breaking the rules about people from different households meeting up can’t claim they were ignorant of the rules.”

It does feel pretty arbitrary, I agree. But there are plenty of people who feel what Cavani did was worse. I’m not sure what the answer is, except maybe moving to a digital retreat on the Kerguelen Islands.

5.02pm GMT

32 min If it stays like this, Chelsea will be seven points off the leaders having played a game more.

5.01pm GMT

31 min “There are days when I think United can win the title,” says Digvijay Yadav. “And then I watch City and Liverpool turn it on occasionally. Crikey, what a team City are.”

5.01pm GMT

30 min Zouma makes two blocks in quick succession, one from Bernardo Silva and one from Gundogan. The first was the important one, which came after another one-two, this time between Sterling and De Bruyne down the right. De Bruyne, that miss aside, has been majestic up front.

4.59pm GMT

29 min Werner’s superb return pass to Pulisic prompts a bit of a scramble in the City area. Ziyech (I think) has a shot blocked and the attack peters out.

4.59pm GMT

27 min Another classy move from City. Gundogan feeds the ball into De Bruyne, whose lovely flick finds Foden on the left. He skins Azpilicueta and stands up a deep cross to Joao Cancelo, who takes it down on the chest and hooks the bouncing ball over the bar. It wouldn’t come down for him. “Phil Foden’s turned into Marc Overmars,” says Gary Neville on Sky. “It’s making me shiver.”

4.57pm GMT

26 min Phil Foden muscles Zouma off the ball and is fouled. He’s made one, scored one and is having a blinder.

4.57pm GMT

25 min This is extremely encouraging for City, not least because they are without so many players. In the last 10 minutes they have looked like the City of 2017-19.

4.55pm GMT

24 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “A minute’s applause for The Doc seems entirely appropriate given his ebullient nature. A fine player and manager. Talking of which, I heard it suggested about Jim McLean, renowned for signing young players on ridiculously long contracts pre-Bosman, that when fans are eventually able to mark his recent passing in the stadium, there should be a minute’s silence, with an eight-minute option. I think he would have approved.”

Haha, that’s tremendous.

4.53pm GMT

23 min Bernardo Silva’s tame low shot is easily saved by Mendy. Chelsea look like they’re in shock.

4.52pm GMT

De Bruyne started the move with a through ball towards Foden, who made a terrific angled run from the left. Thiago Silva stopped Foden with a good slide tackle on the edge of the area but De Bruyne picked up the loose ball on the left wing and considered his options. He looked up and slid a low cross through the legs of Azpilicueta towards Foden, who clipped a first-time shot past Mendy at the near post.

4.51pm GMT

Another one! City started slowly but in the last five minutes they have played some mesmerising football!

4.50pm GMT

That was almost all his own work. Zinchenko fizzed the ball into Foden on the edge of the area. He controlled it deftly on the half turn and poked a square pass to Gundogan. Gundogan touched the ball behind his standing leg, away from Thiago Silva, and pirouetted gracefully to rattle a low shot into the far corner. That was a high-class goal, which needed only two touches from Gundogan: one to lose Thiago, one to beat Mendy.

4.48pm GMT

City take the lead with a brilliant goal!

4.48pm GMT

17 min Sterling plays a nice one-two with Joao Cancelo and hits a cross that deflects off a Chelsea defender into the arms of Mendy. Joao Cancelo’s lofted return ball was excellent; he’s playing with som much confidence at the moment.

4.47pm GMT

16 min: De Bruyne misses a great chance! City have done nothing to this point but that was the best chance of the match by far. Sterling played a short pass infield to Cancelo, who put De Bruyne clear of the defence with a gorgeous through ball. De Bruyne took it perfectly in his stride but then slid a low shot wide of the far post from 10 yards. It doesn’t compute that he missed that.

4.45pm GMT

14 min The more you see that Rodri challenge, the more it looks like a foul. It might have been outside the penalty area, though that was also very tight. I’m surprised VAR only took a cursory look at it.

4.43pm GMT

12 min Kante wins the ball off Rodri, 25 yards from goal, and finds Werner. Rodri almost compounds his error with a clumsy tackle on Werner, right on the line of the penalty area. Werner goes over but Anthony Taylor, in conjunction with VAR, decides it was a fair challenge. It probably was, but he took a big risk.

4.42pm GMT

11 min Chelsea have made the brightest start, with Ziyech looing very confident. He’s played a few loose passes but keeps taking the difficult option.

4.40pm GMT

9 min “Hi there,” says Tim Walsh. “Suspend all players automatically for 3-5 games when they break Covid rules and stop managers justifying appalling behaviour without apology during these very dangerous times as done during today’s interview.”

I was a bit surprised to see Mendy (and Reguilon yesterday) on the bench, but football and principles have always had a complex relationship. It’s harder than ever in an age of cancel culture, social media, PR etc to calculate a fair punishment for anything.

4.37pm GMT

7 min Rodri has a fresh-air shot after a cutback from De Bruyne. Azpilicueta did enough to put him off. It’s been a lively start to the game.

4.36pm GMT

6 min Mount’s corner is headed on by Werner in front of the near post and headed behind by Ruben Dias. Another corner. Mount swings it deeper and Stones heads away.

4.36pm GMT

6 min Mount rolls the free-kick to Ziyech, whost stinger hits the charging Gundogan and goes behind for the first corner.

4.35pm GMT

4 min The debutant Zack Steffen has had a minor shocker, picking up a backpass from Rodri. Chelsea have a free-kick on the edge of the area...

4.31pm GMT

2 min City have started with Foden on the left, Sterling on the right and Kevin De Bruyne as a false nine. Bernardo Silva is playing to the right of centre in a 4-3-3 formation.

4.30pm GMT

1 min Peep peep! City, in light blue, kick off from left to right. Chelsea are in their usual darker blue.

4.29pm GMT

There’s a minute’s applause before the game in memory of Tommy Docherty, the ebullient former Chelsea manager who died aged 92 on New Year’s Eve.

4.11pm GMT

Leicester have moved up to third after a 2-1 win at Newcastle. John Brewin has more.

4.07pm GMT

Pre-match reading

3.38pm GMT

Ederson is out with Covid-19, so the American goalkeeper Zack Steffen will make his Premier League debut for Manchester City. Nathan Ake, Ferran Torres, Aymeric Laporte, Eric Garcia, Kyle Walker, Gabriel Jesus and Tommy Doyle are also missing from the squad. Ake and Laporte are injured; the rest have tested positive for Covid.

The superb Hakim Ziyech returns to the Chelsea team, and Timo Werner gets a start at centre-forward. Olivier Giroud, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, Anthony Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, who started the 1-1 draw against Villa last year, are left out.

2.21pm GMT

Birthday Song by Frankie Cosmos, written when she was a teenager, is 68 seconds of classic pop: charming, contemptuous, wise and melancholy. The opening lyric – “Just because I am a certain age/Doesn’t mean that I am any older than I was yesterday” – captures the vague absurdity of the milestones most of us cling onto, and came to mind when thinking about this afternoon’s game between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Sure, it’s 2021 now, but the pains of 2020 haven’t disappeared miraculously into the ether. Covid-19 is still the bane of our existence, and is affecting Premier League clubs more than ever. Manchester City will reportedly be without five players this afternoon, including Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus, because of positive Covid tests. We’ll soon find out who the others are.

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Published on January 03, 2021 10:38