Sri Lanka v England: second Test, day one – as it happened

Two more wonderful innings from Jos Buttler and Sam Curran helped England to a competitive but not imposing score on a pitch that ragged from the start, setting up what could be a thrilling Test

Day one report from Vic Marks

12.11pm GMT

Read Vic Marks’s report from the ground:

Related: England fight back against Sri Lanka thanks to Sam Curran’s rearguard action

11.48am GMT

Still, Sri Lanka might find batting easier as the ball gets softer - might - and if they can get some momentum, we’ve seen that there are runs to be had. Join us tomorrow to find out if they do!

11.46am GMT

What a day’s play that was! Sri Lanka bowled pretty well, the pressure they imposed at least partly responsible for the loose shots which cost wickets. But then Sam Curran intervened, and as things stand, you’d bet on that being the crucial period of the match.

11.44am GMT

12th over: Sri Lanka 26-1 (Karunaratne 19, Pushpakumara 1) Another first-ball single to Karunaratne, leaving Pushpakumara to face the final five balls of the day. He’s immediately beaten but one which spins big, then a drive hits Buttler at short extra - even he couldn’t catch that - and then another pearler dips, grips and jazzes past the edge. The last two deliveries are dots, but this pitch looks an absolute minefield now, and Sri Lanka are in all sorts.

11.42am GMT

11th over: Sri Lanka 25-1 (Karunaratne 18, Pushpakumara 1) Moeen, so cool he looks windswept in a place distinctly shy of wind, lollops in and this is getting nervy. He’s bowling an attacking line, just outside off so also threatening the stumps, so Karunaratne leaves Pushpakumara to deal with it, getting down the other end off the first delivery; he survives, but that’s all he does.

“Maybe we should produce five bunsens and play all three,” tweets Adrian Foster. “Spin the Aussies out.”

11.37am GMT

10th over: Sri Lanka 24-1 (Karunaratne 17, Pushpakumara 1) Turns out that appeal was a good one - the ball wasn’t going down, but it was umpire’s call on height. “Open the door for him, Leachy,” advises Joe Root; what a nickname that is, how do they think of these things? The batsmen take a single apiece.

11.35am GMT

9th over: Sri Lanka 22-1 (Karunaratne 16, Pushpakumara 0) Four dots from Moeen to Karunaratne, and then one straightens, clunking the pad! There’s an appeal but it was going down; another dot completes the maiden. Three overs to go in the day.

11.32am GMT

8th over: Sri Lanka 22-1 (Karunaratne 16, Pushpakumara 0) Pushpakumara is the nightwatchman and Leach beats him with another beauty; there are all sorts of shouts and the bat clips the turf and Foakes takes the bails off, but nothing doing. So here’s a question: who is or are England’s spinners in the summer?

11.29am GMT

Silva never looked comfortable, and Leach, who looks like the patronised policeman in an Agatha Christie, finds a peach! A peach from Leach! The ball slants in, grips on middle, straightens, beats the edge, and kisses the top of middle stump!

11.27am GMT

7th over: Sri Lanka 21-0 (Karunaratne 16, Silva 6) Ali into the attack, and Karunaratne slides his first delivery to cover for two. Them after two dots, an edge ... but just short of slip ... and a single. This is going well for Sri Lanka, and I wonder if Root might give Rashid a g before the close to see if he can find a magic ball.

“This might turn into a full-on, wine-fuelled, over-hyphenated rant,” says Tim Maitland, so wine-feulled as to have forgotten what the OBO is, “but why is cricket (and why are other sports) getting the concept of video review so wrong? Atherton (I think?) was crapping on about ‘how can the umpires give a soft signal when they’re so far away’, but the whole issue should be based (in cricket) on the benefit of the doubt. Curran should have had the benefit of the doubt, so the soft signal should always be not out.

11.22am GMT

6th over: Sri Lanka 16-0 (Karunaratne 10, Silva 6) Leach into the attack and Karunaratne comes down ... misses .. and takes it on the back pad. England contemplate a review when Umpire Erasmus rejects their appeal, but he was too far down. And a replay shows that the ball was going over the top, so well done all concerned; three singles follow.

11.19am GMT

5th over: Sri Lanka 13-0 (Karunaratne 8, Silva 5) Anderson goes again - it might be done after this - and Silva is squared up by one, but manages to tilt the face so that the ball runs across it and past third man for four. Anderson responds beautifully, a lifter off a length that Silva gets nowhere near, another that pushes him back, and a third that raps the pad. It’s taken him three overs to get going, but he might not be allowed another.

11.15am GMT

4th over: Sri Lanka 9-0 (Karunaratne 8, Silva 1) Lovely shot from Karunaratne, stepping down as Curran overpitches and driving four to long on. He’s started well, and will be desperate to still be out there tomorrow morning. In the outfield, Jack Leach is warming up.

11.10am GMT

3rd over: Sri Lanka 5-0 (Karunaratne 4, Silva 1) Jaffa from Anderson first up, 86mph and and shaping away, beating the outside edge. Foakes appeals, but nothing doing. Karunaratne then bangs a single to point, and that’s another over ticked off.

To my gross chagrin, Duncan Wiles is back: “I feel compelled to inform you that Dave has been in touch to dispel the myth of his ippon on Putin in Bearpark... So maybe you need to watch your back and perhaps your wife may be right after all (inevitably).”

11.06am GMT

2nd over: Sri Lanka 4-0 (Karunaratne 3, Silva 1) Gosh, Curran almost nabs one second ball! Karnaratne anticipates swing, leaves a gap, and Curran finds it ... but not off stump. Karunaratne is batting outside his crease and also coming down as Curran comes in, looking to cover any swing, and gets one to square leg, the only run from the over.

11.03am GMT

Here’s Sammy....

11.03am GMT

1st over: Sri Lanka 3-0 (Karunaratne 2, Silva 1) Anderson doesn’t quite find the range first up, forcing Foakes to take a couple down leg side; obviously he does, with consummate ease. Karunaratne then gets off the mark to third man, Silva does likewise to leg, and another single makes this a fair start for Sri Lanka.

11.00am GMT

Right then, off we go. How many down will Curran have Sri Lanka at close? Twelve overs to go...

10.58am GMT

Most sixes in first 50 runs of Test innings without a 4:
5 Sam Curran today
3 Martin Guptill NZ v Bdesh Hamilton 2010

10.57am GMT

“Selfish Curran there denying Jimmy his nailed-on century,” tweets Andy H. In the studio, they’re discussing that he isn’t especially strong, he just times it beautifully. I’m absolutely certain he could take Vladimir Putin.

10.53am GMT

In the meantime, there’s great cricket going on elsewhere in the sub-Continent. I’m pretty sure that hyphen is correct, and the upper case C certainly is....

Related: Amy Jones looking to seize World Twenty20 chance with both gloves

10.51am GMT

Sri Lanka will have to tell themselves they’d have taken this position at the start, because if they don’t they’re in danger of crumbling. I’ll be back in five to see what happens next.

10.50am GMT

Curran whacks to long off and this time the catch is taken. But what an innings that was - what an individual he is, movingly brilliant and brave, youthfulness incarnate, and with the most phenomenal timing you could ask for.

10.48am GMT

Chris Gaffaney is saying it looks like fingers under the ball as we can see it bounce, then another angle is clearer still, and yes it bounced. Of course it bounced, Sam Curran told it to. NOT OUT.

10.46am GMT

Matthews isn’t sure, but I don’t think that’s out - I think the ball bounces into his hands. The picture isn’t that clear, but.

10.45am GMT

76th over: England 285-9 (Curran 64, Anderson 7) Curran drives flat to long on, and Matthews takes what might be a brilliant catch. The soft signal is not out - how can the umpires see from there - and upstairs we go...

10.43am GMT

75th over: England 285-9 (Curran 64, Anderson 7) Dananjaya to carry on ... er, ok ... and it takes Anderson exactly one ball to get down the other end. Curran it is, then, and after six sixes but no four - that must be some sort of record - he redresses the balance with a luscious sweep to the fence. Two balls left, in comes the field, and out to square leg goes the ball. This is ragged from the Lankans, and reminds me of how England allowed Kohli to farm the strike in the first innings of the first Test last summer.

10.39am GMT

And that’s drinks; Sri Lanka will hope theirs is a stiff yin.

10.35am GMT

74th over: England 279-9 (Curran 59, Anderson 6) Who wants the ball? Perera continues, and Curran plays five dots, pathetic. The field comes in - will Curran back Anderson, who’s defending well, and go for the rope, or take the one? The answer is neither; this time he can’t find a gap and Sri Lanka now have an over at the Burnley Boycott.

@DanielHarris apologies to spoil the fun, but there germans to play cricket, and the laws can be easily found here: https://t.co/Watp3FHuBr world of good technical terms!

10.30am GMT

73rd over: England 279-9 (Curran 59, Anderson 6) So here’s a question: Curran is clearly good enough to bat in the top six, but is there any point him going there when this is what he does from here? Imagine how demoralising it must be for someone so good to turn up at number 8. And, well, oh dear me. Curran twists to long on, doesn’t go hard enough, and it’s a dolly’s dolly for Pushpakamara. He watches, arms by his side, gets down, and casually grasses the chance ... and you know what’s coming next! YES YOU DO! Six more frasked down the ground, Curran equalling Kevin Pietersen’s record of six sixes in a Sri Lankan Test innings in the process. A leg-bye follows for the fifty partnership, and Anderson has one ball to survive.

10.25am GMT

72nd over: England 272-9 (Curran 53, Anderson 6) Dilwuran has a go ... good luck mate. I’m not sure what the bowlers could’ve done here; Brad Hogg explains that when Curran doesn’t get to the pitch, he just trusts his eyes and his hands. But the fielding has exerted no pressure, allowing the batsmen to ro-tate the strike at will ... and they do it again, Curran taking one off the penultimate delivery, and Sri Lanka will be feeling this match slipping away; being slipped away.

10.22am GMT

71st over: England 270-9 (Curran 52, Anderson 6) The field spreads for Curran, men guarding the rope as though he can’t just go over them whenever he wills it. This is so, so silly ... Curran is batting badly, as I said ... but then Dananjaya drops shot, so Curran shmices him for six to square leg! That’s his fifty! Behind him, Dickwella gently and inadvertently facepalms; what can you do. And the single comes next; yet again Curran has taken the Test match onto his knee and is tweaking its nose, pinching its cheek and stealing its dinner money.

10.17am GMT

70th over: England 264-9 (Curran 45, Anderson 6) Dickwella will be rueing that drop when Anderson was on 0, all the more so when Curran plays a hoik to midwicket, misses, and the turn beats yerman to the tune of four byes! You cannot beat lower-order runs v- as opposed to lower order-runs, which sounds masochistic in the extreme. Off Perera’s fifth delivery, Curran finds another gap for one - Sri Lanka have not been good enough at making that hard enough - and Anderson survives the final ball.

10.14am GMT

69th over: England 259-9 (Curran 44, Anderson 6) Sri Lanka have Anderson where they want him, so he takes a four and one! Shut up! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Sam Curran Sam Curran Sam Curran! Dananjaya gives him width, looking to keep him on strike ... so he carves six over extra cover! I swear it! He did! Then another easy single to point, for another over of affirmation and mortification! The partnership is 34.

“Whether cricket is too esoteric for the German language is debatable,” reckons John Atherton, “but Harold Pinter’s play The Birthday Party with the line ‘who watered the wicket in Melbourne’, was certainly incomprehensible to one translator who rendered the line in German as ‘who pissed on the city gates of Melbourne?’”

10.10am GMT

68th over: England 247-9 (Curran 37, Anderson 1) SAM CURRAN IS A STAR! He goes again, striking six down the ground next ball! What he’s doing - making Test cricket look pips, immediately and almost all the time - is very, very special. Lap it up, drink it in, slurp it down, because you do not see gear of this ilk very often.

10.08am GMT

This is really close ... from the off side he looks out, his back foot off the ground ... but from behind he’s in!

10.06am GMT

68th over: England 241-9 (Curran 31, Anderson 1) Perera fires them in at Curran, not really trying to spin him out, rather stop him from scoring to get a shy at Anderson. But then Curran misses one, off come the bails ... and is his foot up! Upstairs we go...

“As an Austrian, I object to your long German word.” emails Sophie Frühling. “The organisation is
called (or was) Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft, so you have to put that at the beginning and then you can put whatever comes to mind.”

10.03am GMT

67th over: England 241-9 (Curran 31, Anderson 1) Now he goes! Curran comes down and paggas Dananjaya back over his heed for six! Two defensive shots follow, then another zetz, over long on! Surely the fielders will come in now, but Curran finds a way, tucking off his pads for one. He is rrrrridiculous.

10.00am GMT

66th over: England 228-9 (Curran 18, Anderson 1) Curran still isn’t going for it, taking a single to point ... which allows us to enjoy Anderson unveiling his reverse-sweep to point for none. The ball is doing absolutely loads now, but the Burnley Buttler sweeps to square leg for one anyway, and then Curran takes a single. How was that allowed so easily?

9.57am GMT

65th over: England 225-9 (Curran 16, Anderson 0) Anderson presses forward - can’t believe he didn’t go back - and edges ... but Dickwella drops!

9.55am GMT

And it probably did too much too. “He’s missed it by miles” was a nice shtech from the third umpire though.

9.55am GMT

Another one that pitches on middle and shoots off towards off, another batsman going back, but I wonder if this is hitting .... England review...

9.52am GMT

This is a lovely delivery, finding flight, dip and rip, pitching on middle and clipping the edge of off. The track is doing bits, but Leach is another who perish going back.

9.50am GMT

64th over: England 225-8 (Curran 16, Leach 7) It’s funny to think that this is one of Sam Curran’s less impressive Test knocks, as he sticks in there for 16 not out; what a man. He goes back again and finds cover for one, then Leach taps to point and retains strike. It’s hard to see England getting to Mahela’s par of 300, but another 30 or so and they’ll feel that they’re in the game.

“Why don’t Germans plays cricket,” asks Kim Thonger. “I’ve been working out the number of words Germany would need to add to their language to play cricket seriously. I’m already over 100. For example ‘deep backward square leg’, using four existing short English words, would require a new German word ‘tiefesrückwärtigesquadratischesbein’

9.46am GMT

63rd over: England 223-8 (Curran 15, Leach 6) At what point, if any, does Curran start whacking it? This has actually been one of his less assured Test knocks - I assume that if I know he needs to go forward, so does he, but obviously that’s easier said than done. Apparently. How dare he. Useless. Anyway, he makes do with a single, then Leach edges another ... just short of slip ... then as the field comes in, he gets down on one knee and clatters Perera through midwicket. The counter-attack is on!

9.43am GMT

62nd over: England 218-8 (Curran 14, Leach 2) Leach is bamboozled by his first ball, but edges it past slip for two.

“An ex-colleague of mine by the name of David Aitken practised judo to a high standard in his spare time,” emails Duncan Wiles. “When Putin visited the North East a number of years ago he included a visit to the dojo, namely Bearpark Judo Club. It was here that Dave proceeded to put Putin on his back... This I was assured was gospel and that the rumours that he was also the fourth best Call of Duty player in the world were unfounded. Some guy......and Dave wasn’t a big guy, so in relation to your question if you’re over about 5’ 8” and of reasonable build I reckon you’d take him...”

9.39am GMT

Was there ball-locks. It was plumber than the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Off he goes, after an important and enjoyable innings.

9.38am GMT

Rashid goes back - don’t do that! - and wears it on the back pad, in front of the stumps. But was there bat? He reviews immediately!

9.36am GMT

61st over: England 216-7 (Curran 14, Rashid 31) A sedate start to the session and a good one for England, four singles keeping them ticking along.

9.33am GMT

Luckily there is no need to ponder that teaser: the players are back with us.

9.32am GMT

Ok, I’m going to try and move on from grammarbantzschaft and ask you to settle an argument between my wife and me that’s not about crumbs in the hummus (of course I can’t scoop it out onto a plate and then dip into it, I’m not a monster). So here goes: Vladmir Putin is 66 but ex-KGB. Could I have him? Could you have him? How many of your mates would it take?

9.27am GMT

9.26am GMT

9.26am GMT

“To further the musings on the Lower Middle-Order style,” emails Damian Walsh, “here in FR we would sniff at the somewhat negative aspect of ‘Lower’ and just drop it altogether. We would however insist on the ‘Upper’ to differentiate the Upper Middle-Order from the Middle-Order. This principle can clearly be seen in the (Bas) Medoc and the Haut Medoc when one is drinking one’s claret.”

Easily one of my favourite Hi-de-Hi actors.

9.22am GMT

Ok, let’s try and deal with hyphens during the interval: “Surely the German compound noun formations are simply cheating when it comes to long words?” asks Steve Hudson. “Just describe anything you want to in detailed enough terms, remove spaces, et voila! Norris McWhirter comes a-running. Nothing to match up to antidisestablishmentarianism, which is a good, honest, useful word.”

I’m more a floccinaucinihilipilification man; oh the things we found funny in the 80s. I blame Thatcher.

9.16am GMT

That’s another pretty even session. On the one hand, England’s batsmen have got starts; on the other, the pitch is doing a lot, so you might expect that. On the one hand, the batsmen haven’t been done by great balls; on the other, Sri Lanka have bowled well, so you might expect that. In the studio, Mahela reckons 300 is par, and England are still well short of that, so Sri Lanka will be the happier team.

9.14am GMT

60th over: England 212-7 (Curran 12, Rashid 29) Curran flows a single to cover then Rashid turns one to leg; very nicely done. Danajaya then beats Curran again, on the back foot again - he needs to come forward and try to cover the spin, is what those of us who’ve played Test cricket are telling him - and a single later, it’s tea.

“We could simply adopt the German approach and create a new word,” says Kim Thonger on hyphengate or hyphen-gate, “‘lowermiddleorder’, simply shunting all three words into one longer one. It would be nowhere near as extreme as this, at 80 letters, the longest word ever composed in German, Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft, the ‘Association for Subordinate Officials of the Head Office Management of the Danube Steamboat Electrical Services’.”

9.09am GMT

59th over: England 209-7 (Curran 10, Rashid 28) Lakmal’s looking for reverse – good luck old mate, it’s always in the last place you look, can you remember where you had it last – and struggling to extract the necessary pace. Maiden.

9.07am GMT

58th over: England 209-7 (Curran 10, Rashid 28) If England can just sneak to tea without further damage, they’ll consider this a fair session. Rashid takes another single to leg, but then, two balls later, Curran is beaten by grip and lift ... too much grip and lift. I think Dananjaya hit that one too well. This pitch reminds me a little of the one in Mumbai where KP scored that 186 - he told me that it was so vicious you didn’t really need to worry about the spin and bounce so much, as it stopped the bowlers attacking the stumps. Yeah, easy.

9.03am GMT

57th over: England 208-7 (Curran 10, Rashid 27) Sri Lanka will feel this should be closer to over than it is, but the reality is that you rarely knock over a team with this many good batsmen for below 200 (ok, yes you do, when it’s this team). L’havdil elef havdalot, if you nailed West Indies top order, Logie and Dujon would make runs, and we all remember Andy Bichel. Anyway, Rashid batters Lakmal’s loosener through cover for four, then tries again and ends up with one.

“Does dress attire determine the email address your given at the Guardian (eg flip-flops and shorts)” emails Sam Barratt. “Could a trilby and slacks see an end to your suffix?”

8.57am GMT

56th over: England 203-7 (Curran 10, Rashid 22) Curran eases onto the back foot and drives ... tries to drive ... and edges high towards first slip! Who can’t snaffle! It would’ve been a screamer, high into the left hand, and instead it yields three. Rashid then flicks a single to leg, and that’s another useful over for England.

8.54am GMT

55th over: England 199-7 (Curran 7, Rashid 21) A single apiece, and this is now z more than nifty partnership, 28 off 54.

“John Starbuck is right,” reckons Adrian Armstrong . “No need for hyphens when using ‘lower middle
order’ as a noun phrase. It’s like ‘late Middle Ages’. But if it’s used as an adjective, hyphens all round: ‘a lower-middle-order batsman’.”

8.52am GMT

54th over: England 197-7 (Curran 6, Rashid 20) Deirdre is enjoying this, the muscles around his clavicles doing all sorts. He comes down again, getting right to the pitch, and drives hard through cover and to the fence. He then adds a single, and Dananjaya squirts one out of the side of the hand rather like a ball delivered by a mate of mine at university - it goes nowhere near the batsman, but unlike that mate, he saves himself 20 years of abuse by holding it down and getting the next one down the other end.

8.50am GMT

53rd over: England 192-7 (Curran 6, Rashid 15) Rashid has a look at Pushpakumara, then twinkles down the track and clouts him down the ground for six! “Havsummathat”, he’d have said were he in a comic. Yerman almost comes back with the final ball of the over, pushing one through, but Curran’s inside edge - into the pads - saves him.

8.47am GMT

52nd over: England 185-7 (Curran 6, Rashid 8) Dananjaya into the attack, replacing Perera, and two of England’s real top-order milk him for three singles.

“I’d go with lower-middle order,” tweets Simon Evans. “Compound adjective I reckon. In other news, do you think 230 or so would be a decent hit on this wicket?”

8.41am GMT

51st over: England 182-7 (Curran 5, Rashid 6) Rashid looks pretty comfy here – I wonder if, as a spinner who can bat, he mids facing spin less than other batsmen. Curran takes one to leg, then he bunts to cover.

8.39am GMT

50th over: England 180-7 (Curran 4, Rashid 5) England up the tempo, Curran taking two singles and Rashid one before the latter whips a brace away to backwards square. He does not wait to be asked, a trait especially useful on a track such as this. At what point do we reckon this is a decent score? I think we might be close.

8.37am GMT

49th over: England 175-7 (Curran 2, Rashid 2) Pushpakamura wheels through a further maiden.

“How easily doth monotony become pure joy?” asks Finbar Anslow at the Rogoredo Station - is that somewhere from This Is a Low? Apparently not. “A dull, foggy Milanese morn transformed into pure pleasure by a student cancelling, a great cappuccino and a West countryman at the crease.”

8.34am GMT

48th over: England 175-7 (Curran 2, Rashid 2) The pitch is offering a heady mix of turn and skid, and when Cuzza – surely that is his nickname, just as Rashid’s is Deirdre – leaves Perera’s fourth delivery, he’s exceedingly relieved to see it pass off stump. Maiden, but with a leg-bye.

8.31am GMT

47th over: England 174-7 (Curran 2, Rashid 2) Rashid is quickly off the mark, coming down to bang to long on, then Curran adds another and he responds.

“You don’t need hyphens at all for ‘lower middle order’,” reckons John Starbuck, “but you could initialise it as LMO, pronounced Elmo. This will save you valuable typing time.”

8.28am GMT

An uge wicket! Another sweep from Buttler, this time a reverse ... but Pushpakumara took pace off, and he can only impart the top edge, picking out backward point! This isn’t a “that’s just the way I play” scenario - he’s played a brilliant innings that the rest will do well to match, on a pitch which demands you get your runs quick, before it gets you.

8.26am GMT

46th over: England 171-6 (Buttler 63, Curran 1) NOT OUT! Curran, who is clearly just one of those lucky expletives - Joe Root is another - to whom good things just happen - kept his foot down long enough, only overbalancing once the bails were off, getting back before Dickwella could get middle stump out of the ground. As it were.

8.24am GMT

46th over: England 171-6 (Buttler 63, Curran 1) Perera finds more turn! Loads of it! And Curran, reaching and stretching, can’t find the pitch, pressing forward, face over pad, overbalancing, and off come the bails! Stumping review imminent...

8.21am GMT

45th over: England 170-6 (Buttler 62, Curran 1) One off the over again, shoved to cover by Buttler.

“May I humbly suggest a new team song for England in Sri Lanka?” emails Kim Thonger. “The Mary Poppins Dick van Dyke classic... ‘Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee. A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be’.”

8.18am GMT

44th over: England 169-6 (Buttler 61, Curran 1) So this is the partnership really; England need a hunnert out of these two at the very least ... and that does not seem likely when Perera finds drift, spin, grip and leap. This Test is not long for this world. One from the over, a sweep from Buttles, and the pitch is turning so much the batsmen will feel they’ve no choice but to play shots.

8.13am GMT

Morning all. At what point do we credit England with reinventing the way we think about Test cricket, using their least reliable batsmen to accumulate quickly while lulling bowlers into a false sense of security, before releasing the real talent in the lower-middle-order? And where do the hyphens go in “lower middle order”?

8.10am GMT

43rd over: England 168-6 (Buttler 60, Curran 1) Buttler reverse sweeps yet again to move into the sixties. He has played a quite brilliant innings of 60 from 60 balls. That’s it from me for today. The great Daniel Harris will be with you for the rest of the day’s play – you can email him on daniel.harris.casual@theguardian.com. Bye!

8.07am GMT

42nd over: England 165-6 (Buttler 58, Curran 0) The strangest thing. We all assumed Foakes underedged that sweep, because he walked off without even discussing it with Buttler, but there was no spike on Ultra-Edge and no obvious deviation. Had he reviewed, he would almost certainly have been given not out.

8.05am GMT

Foakes has gone, caught at slip off Perera. He underedged a vigorous sweep which hit his pad and then the keeper’s pad before deflecting to Dhananjaya at slip. Sri Lanka needed that wicket because England were looking really comfortable.

8.01am GMT

41st over: England 164-5 (Buttler 57, Foakes 19) A short ball from Pushpakumara is cracked square for four by Foakes, a shot of real authority. He has quietly moved to 19 from 27 balls. England are in a superb position here.

7.59am GMT

40th over: England 158-5 (Buttler 56, Foakes 14) Perera replaces Lakmal and has the usual LBW shout against Buttler turned down by S Ravi. Sri Lanka decide not to review, which is a surprise given that it’s Buttler and they have two remaining. It was a really good shout. It pitched on off and middle, from around the wicket, and turned a mile to hit Buttler on the rump as he missed a reverse sweep.

Ah, Hawkeye shows it would have bounced over the top of the stumps. Nothing to see here.

7.54am GMT

39th over: England 156-5 (Buttler 55, Foakes 13) Buttler takes another delivery from Pushpakumara on the full, pinging a reverse sweep to the cover boundary. England have swept so much today; Foakes joins the club with a firm sweep to the fence at square leg. He looks in excellent touch.

7.50am GMT

38th over: England 147-5 (Buttler 50, Foakes 9) Buttler pulls Lakmal for a single to reach a coruscating run-a-ball fifty, an innings full of invention and authority. Foakes drives the next ball sweetly through extra cover for his first boundary.

“Buttler really is a ridiculous batsman isn’t he?” says Guy Hornsby. “His reading of the game, pitch and situation is without equal in England. You feel the innings will hinge on his score with Foakes and Curran still relatively fresh to the pressure of international cricket. I haven’t seen so many sweeps since 1984.”

7.45am GMT

37th over: England 141-5 (Buttler 49, Foakes 4) There have been a lot of LBW appeals today and Buttler survives another after an attempted reverse sweep. I think it hit him outside the line and it ma have hit the glove as well. That aside, he was plumb.

7.41am GMT

36th over: England 139-5 (Buttler 48, Foakes 3) Buttler is averaging 48 since his recall to Test cricket, and that includes a couple of declaration dismissals. This has been another excellent knock. Foakes has started calmly at the other end.

7.36am GMT

35th over: England 134-5 (Buttler 46, Foakes 0) The new batsman is Ben Foakes, who defends the last four balls of the over.

7.32am GMT

Moeen Ali survives a big shout for LBW from Pushpakumara after missing a whip across the line. Lakmal decides on a review. This is close - and it’s out! It was hitting leg stump halfway up and that meant Marais Erasmus’s on-field decision was overturned. I don’t think Moeen or Sri Lanka expected that to be given out.

7.31am GMT

34th over: England 134-4 (Buttler 46, Moeen Ali 10) Moeen has started carefully, happy to play a supporting role to Buttler. He has 10 from 21 balls, Buttler 46 from 44.

7.26am GMT

33rd over: England 130-4 (Buttler 43, Moeen Ali 9) Buttler smashes a slog-sweep for four off Pushpakumara, another different stroke to add the lap sweep, orthodox sweep and reverse sweep in this innings. He has 43 from 42 balls.

7.21am GMT

32nd over: England 124-4 (Buttler 38, Moeen Ali 8) Suranga Lakmal, Sri Lanka’s sole seam bowler, returns to the attack and bowls a good over - one from it.

7.16am GMT

31st over: England 123-4 (Buttler 38, Moeen Ali 7) Malinda Pushpakumara starts the afternoon session to Moeen, who continues the sweepathon with a couple of runs to fine leg.

6.35am GMT

30th over: England 120-4 (Buttler 38, Moeen Ali 4) Dilruwan Perera comes on for the last over before lunch and is lapped for two by Buttler. I can’t remember an England batsman playing as many sweeps since Graham Gooch’s masterpiece in the 1987 World Cup semi-final. A handful of singles make it another good over for England, who have had a terrific session. Don’t be fooled by things like “the scoreboard” - England have done very well on a pitch that is already doing plenty for the spinners.

See you in half an hour for the afternoon session.

6.30am GMT

29th over: England 115-4 (Buttler 35, Moeen Ali 2) A dipping full toss from Pushpakumara is swept ruthlessly for four by Buttler, who is playing a gem of an innings: 35 from just 30 balls. He ends the over with yet another sweep for four. All bar five of his runs, I think, have came from a variety of sweeps and laps.

6.25am GMT

28th over: England 103-4 (Buttler 25, Moeen Ali 0) Terrific batting from Buttler, who nails consecuive sweeps for four off Dananjaya. That shot, in its various guises, has been England’s best friend this morning. Buttler demonstrates the point by breezily reverse sweeping his third boundary in as many balls.

6.20am GMT

27th over: England 90-4 (Buttler 12, Moeen Ali 0) This looks like a carbon copy of the first day at Galle, when England lost five wickets before lunch, but I think they have played much better this morning in pretty tricky circumstances. The main frustration is Root’s absent-minded dismissal; he was looking very good.

6.17am GMT

26th over: England 89-4 (Buttler 11, Moeen Ali 0) The new batsman is Moeen Ali.

6.15am GMT

Akila Dananjaya strikes in his first over! Burns pushed at a difficult delivery which turned a long way to take the edge, and Dhananjaya de Silva took an excellent low catch at slip. Burns will be frustrated to miss out on a first Test fifty but he played very well to make 43 from 81 balls.

6.11am GMT

25th over: England 87-3 (Burns 41, Buttler 11) Both batsmen are trying to manipulate the field by sweeping and reverse sweeping Pushpakumara. It’s an interesting tactical battle; at the moment, Burns and Buttler are winning.

6.06am GMT

24th over: England 81-3 (Burns 36, Buttler 10)

6.04am GMT

23rd over: England 79-3 (Burns 35, Buttler 9) Buttler laps Pushpakumara for consecutive twos before being beaten by a slower delivery that rips past the edge. He responds with two more two from a reverse sweep and a lap sweep. England were criticised for their skittish approach on the first morning at Galle but I think they’ve judged it very well here. There are booby traps everywhere on this pitch so they can’t just try to bat time.

5.59am GMT

22nd over: England 71-3 (Burns 35, Buttler 1) Perera (10-3-31-1) is replaced by Dhananjaya de Silva, another offspinner. Burns continues his impressive knock with a single to deep cover and then Buttler gets off the mark with a clip wide of leg slip.

5.57am GMT

21st over: England 69-3 (Burns 34, Buttler 0) Buttler survives a stumping referral after being beaten by a gorgeous delivery from Pushpakumara. He did leave his crease but dragged his foot back in plenty of time. A maiden. The first session of a Test is often sedate but this has been thrilling.

5.53am GMT

20th over: England 69-3 (Burns 34, Buttler 0) Burns sweeps Perera for four and then survives a big LBW shout. Too high.

5.52am GMT

19th over: England 65-3 (Burns 30, Buttler 0) Jos Buttler is the new batsman.

5.48am GMT

This is a huge wicket. Root has gone, cleaned up by a straight delivery from Pushpakumara that somehow sneaked between bat and pad. It looked like a straightforward defensive stroke from Root but he left a bit of a gate and paid the price. He inside edged the ball onto the pad, from where it deflected onto the stumps. That’s a strangely soft dismissal, not least because Root had started brilliantly.

5.45am GMT

18th over: England 60-2 (Burns 29, Root 10) Root is sticking to his positive approach from Galle. That doesn’t just mean big shots; he and Burns have also been busy between the wickets.

5.42am GMT

17th over: England 58-2 (Burns 28, Root 9)

5.39am GMT

16th over: England 55-2 (Burns 27, Root 7) Oof. Burns is almost run out for the second time in his short Test career. He pushed Perera towards short leg, leaving his crease in the process, and was still out of his ground when Mendis gathered the ball and whistled a throw just past the stumps.

5.35am GMT

15th over: England 51-2 (Burns 24, Root 6) That’s a beauty from Pushpakumara, which turns past Root’s attempted drive and prompts an optimistic shout for caught behind from Dickwella. Root responds emphatically, charging down the ground to thump a boundary back over the bowler’s head. This is fascinating stuff.

5.31am GMT

14th over: England 45-2 (Burns 23, Root 1) Almost another one for Perera, with Burns edging short of slip.

5.27am GMT

Stokes survives another huge LBW appeal from Perera. Sri Lanka have reviewed again, and this one looks very close. It was another wicked delivery, which curved onto middle stump and turned a long way to hit the flap of the back pad. I reckon this will be out. Here we go... yes, he’s out! It was hitting the top of off stump and Stokes has gone. He made a promising start to his new role, making a positive 19 from 27 balls.

5.25am GMT

13th over: England 42-1 (Burns 23, Stokes 17) The left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, the replacement for Rangana Herath, comes into the attack. He has an absurd record at domestic level, with a bowling average below 20 in all three forms, but this is only his fourth Test. He starts with a maiden to Burns.

5.21am GMT

12th over: England 42-1 (Burns 23, Stokes 17) A short ball from Perera is cut confidently for four by Burns. There’s a clarity and a certainty to his batting that is very exciting if you’re an England fan. Both he and Stokes have got the balance between attack and defence spot on so far.

5.18am GMT

11th over: England 35-1 (Burns 18, Stokes 15) Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous from Ben Stokes, who drives Lakmal immaculately through mid-off for four and holds the pose at the end of his followthrough.

“Looking at that list of England’s No3s,” says Steve Underhill, “it’s fair to say that the most experienced player by far, one JM Anderson, really hasn’t been given a fair go to nail down the spot. He certainly knows what the new ball is all about...”

5.12am GMT

10th over: England 28-1 (Burns 16, Stokes 10) Stokes survives a big LBW appeal after being turned round by a delivery from Perera that pitches on middle stump and straightens dramatically. Sri Lanka are going to review. It’s close but I think it might be too high. Stokes was a long way back, mind you. Here comes ball-tracking... it’s umpire’s call and Stokes survives.

5.08am GMT

9th over: England 28-1 (Burns 16, Stokes 10) Stokes hooks Lakmal in the air but well short of deep square leg. Stokes is England’s tenth No3 in Tests since the start of the 2013-14 Ashes tour, which was the beginning of the end of Jonathan Trott’s international career. And the man with the highest average is...

5.02am GMT

8th over: England 27-1 (Burns 16, Stokes 9) Burns sweeps Perera for four, another decisive shot. He looks very clear-headed at the crease.

4.58am GMT

7th over: England 20-1 (Burns 11, Stokes 7) Stokes steers Lakmal wide of gully for three. He looks in positive mood.

“Morning Rob,” says Phil Withall. “By a strange quirk of fate I have finished work for the day and have the next four days off. I look forward to enjoying some good, engrossing, attritional cricket. Or failing that some woeful batting on an evil wicket.”

4.53am GMT

6th over: England 17-1 (Burns 11, Stokes 4) Burns sweeps Perera solidly through backward square leg for four. I suspect England will play fairly aggressively and try to get their runs before the pitch gets them.

4.51am GMT

5th over: England 11-1 (Burns 5, Stokes 4) Ben Stokes is the new batsman, and he gets off the mark with a swaggering flick through square leg for four. I’m getting hopelessly carried away at 4.48 in the morning, but it already feels like this match could become a sensational dogfight.

4.48am GMT

Told you Lakmal’s bowling was filler. This is an excellent breakthrough for Sri Lanka. From the moment Lakmal went around the wicket, Jennings looked less certain. He played and missed in the previous over and now he has gone, caught behind by Dickwella. The length was perfect, just full of good, and it straightened enough to take the edge as Jennings pushed rigidly outside off stump.

4.45am GMT

4th over: England 7-0 (Burns 5, Jennings 1) Perera’s first ball keeps very low and hits Burns on the pad. Thankfully for him it was going down leg. Two balls later Burns survives a very good shout for LBW. Sri Lanka decide not to review, presumably because they thought it was bouncing over the stumps. Replays confirm it was umpire’s call so the decision would not have been overturned. But batting already looks fiendishly difficult against Perera. This isn’t a fourth-over pitch; it’s a fourth-day pitch.

4.42am GMT

3rd over: England 7-0 (Burns 5, Jennings 1) The (very) early impressions are that 250 would be a strong first-innings score for England. We’ve only had 10 minutes of the Test but already the seam bowling of Lakmal feels like filler between Perera’s overs. Saying which, he goes around the wicket to beat Jennings with a lovely straightener.

4.37am GMT

2nd over: England 5-0 (Burns 4, Jennings 0) Dilruwan Perera, who is Sri Lanka’s senior spinner now that Rangana Herath has retired, shares the new ball. His first delivery is more than a little ominous, a lovely curving off-break that beats Jennings’ outside edge. There are seven left-handers in this England side, including the top three, so Perera should enjoy himself in this game. He ends his first over with a vicious delivery that beats Burns all ends up. Breaking news: you won’t be watching Test cricket from Sri Lanka on Saturday and Sunday.

4.32am GMT

1st over: England 4-0 (Burns 4, Jennings 0) The Sri Lanka captain Suranga Lakmal opens the bowling to Rory Burns, who gets off the mark with a wristy clip between midwicket and mid-on for four. That’s a nice, confident start.

4.21am GMT

“Morning Rob,” says Simon Richards. “Not sure about Rooty’s beard. Good toss to win though. An early wicket and then a stoic Stokes 20 to make it 85-1 at lunch?”

I suspect the pitch will turn from the off. If it does, I wonder whether England might attack from the start like they did at Galle.

4.05am GMT

Of course they will. That’s an excellent toss to win on what looks like a spinners’ paradise.

Sri Lanka K Silva, Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Mendis, Mathews, R Silva, Dickwella (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Perera, Lakmal (c), Dananjaya, Pushpakumara.

3.46am GMT

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3.41pm GMT

Forget “Brexit”. There’s a far more pressing and important issue that we need to discuss: is there such a thing as momentum in sport? Fifty per cent say it clearly exists and is collective confidence by another name; the other fifty per cent think the first fifty per cent are talking one hundred per cent nonsense.

If momentum does exist, England are in a heckuva position going into the second Test in Pallekele. They won with almost disturbing ease in Galle - their sixth victory in seven Tests - and have named an unchanged XI, if not an unchanged batting order. Win this match and they wil secure a landmark series victory: the first overseas since 2015-16, the first in Asia since 2012-13, and the first in Sri Lanka since the wonderful winter of 2000-01.

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