It wouldn't be a Test match at Headingley without some form of a rain delay. Hopefully play resumes in the near future as this is set up to be a compelling final session.
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England being pulled out of a deep hole by Hales and Bairstow against a sharp Lanka side. BTW when was the last time Root was out for duck?
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Rather coincidentally, the last time Root was out for a duck also came here at Headingley, last year against New Zealand.ย
And that's that. Play abandoned for the rest of the day. Though a truncated day, it featured two action packed sessions of cricket. Sri Lanka dominated early, Bairstow and Hales dug in after lunch and have at least got England back in the match.
I was seriously impressed with Hales today. He looked nervy early, but fought through it, dug in and never gave his wicket away. A very valuable contribution that will surely do his confidence a world of good.
Great to have Test match cricket back again. Lets hope Mother Nature smiles on us for the next four days, though, a quick look at the forecast doesn't look too clever.
Everything I had heard and read about Shanaka was that he was military medium and very much a part time bowler in the side for his batting. His first delivery was so wide it was almost taken by first slip. His second was a rank full toss, and then he bowled an absolute jaffa to Hales. From that point on he found his range and was the only Sri Lankan bowler to pitch the ball up nice and full. This tempted the batsman forward and picked up the wickets of Cook, Compton and Root - all in similar fashion.
Shanaka showed the value of bowling a nice and full line. You don't have to be pumping it down at 90+ mph to be effective. Lovely to see and a memorable debut.
Sri Lanka caught everything yesterday but have put two down this morning. Tough chance in the slips, but a chance nonetheless. Hales survives. England 219/5.
Hales' first shot in anger of the morning results in his downfall. He took on Herath but didn't quite get to the pitch and he trudged off back to the pavilion, 14 runs short of a deserved century.
