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

Related: Joe Root's inspired 228 keeps England in command before rally from Sri Lanka

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.

Related: Australia v India: fourth Test, day two – live!

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

Related: 'I did a lot of talking': Joe Root puts words into deeds with Galle century

Related: Dan Lawrence settles into Test cricket with formidable familiarity | Andy Bull

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.

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