Rathnayake helps Sri Lanka recover from horror start against England

After being subjected to biting early season conditions on their ­previous five Test tours of England, Sri Lanka could have been forgiven for ­believing that the UK in August might be a time of sunshine and warmth. Manchester had other ideas, however, with the opening day at Old Trafford featuring leaden skies, chill winds and spectators wrapped up in duvets on the balconies of the ground’s two adjoining hotels.

The tourists had also hoped for more than the one warm-up match they ended up with and when they stumbled to six for three inside the first half an hour and then 92 for six shortly after lunch, Ollie Pope’s first day as England’s stand-in captain looked a doozy. Bar losing a toss – and even then wanting to bowl first had he won it – nearly every move went Pope’s way, even if this was aided slightly by a couple of poor shots from Sri Lanka’s top order and the odd bit of capricious bounce from the surface.

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By stumps, however, Sri Lanka had pushed back in characterful fashion, suggesting they were perhaps just a couple of hours undercooked at the start. Dhananjaya de Silva delivered a captain’s knock, crafting 74 to douse those early flames, while a more unlikely saviour first supported his cause and then took on the baton. Milan Rathnayake was the name and precious runs from No 9 was his game.

Striding out on his debut at 113 for seven, Rathnayake compiled 72 from 135 balls in a manner that suggested his position was a fraudulent one, the left-hander surviving a short-ball barrage and taking the attack to the hosts. It allowed Sri Lanka to make 236 all out from 74 overs; a sub-par total, certainly, but not nearly the match-losing effort that seemed likely after Chris Woakes claimed a double-wicket maiden with the new ball.

Having forced Pope to bowl two spinners at the back end of the innings, the bleak conditions eventually became unacceptable for the umpires. Bad light brought the close just before 6pm, England’s opening pair of Ben Duckett and the returning Dan Lawrence having raided three boundaries en route to 22 for no loss from four overs. For those punters under the duvets, it was time to head into the warmth.

Still, even after that Sri Lanka fightback, and with their tail lengthened by the absence of Ben Stokes, ­England could head to their hotel ­feeling ­confident and plenty went back to those early exchanges: two hours of largely one-way traffic that left Sri Lanka 80 for five at lunch. Only the recalled Matthew Potts struggled for impact here but, in a five-man attack, his leaky first spell from first change was not too damaging.

After an emotional tribute to the late Graham Thorpe before the anthems it was down to business and perhaps fitting that a Surrey man should get things moving. A surprise short ball from Gus Atkinson in the sixth over led the experienced Dimuth Karunaratne to feather a pull shot behind, this breakthrough compounded when Woakes made it three in 10 balls. Nishan Madushka was caught behind on the drive to a full outswinger, before Angelo Mathews was plumb lbw fifth ball when shouldering arms.

If that third dismissal was a case of batter error – Woakes was always threatening to wobble one back in – the same could not be said about the fourth. Kusal Mendis, a player whose sub-40 average belies his eye-catching talent, could do little about the ball from Mark Wood that sent him packing for 24: a 93mph stinger in the fast bowler’s second over that reared up to chest height and flew to the slip cordon via thumb.

More alarming was the one that wiped out another old head, Dinesh Chandimal, for 17. Shoaib Bashir had been brought on by Pope before the break and got one to shoot along the ground for a cruel lbw. Bashir was almost embarrassed but enjoyed a strong day overall, the young off-spinner’s figures of three for 55 from 23 overs offering control for Pope and suggesting he need not be shielded in the first innings.

Woakes was the other to claim three and once he and Atkinson struck again after lunch – the latter first removing Prabath Jayasuriya with a no‑ball given for height, only to atone two balls later – it seemed the purring De Silva was Sri Lanka’s only hope. One chance came and went here, Jamie Smith unable to stump his man on 65 for a first error in seven innings. In fairness, given how unsighted Smith was, it was a tough one.

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But even after the Sri Lanka captain eventually fiddled Bashir to Lawrence at leg slip on the stroke of tea to end an eighth-wicket stand of  63 with Rathnayake – the mode of dismissal fulfilling a prophecy from the Chingford chirper – his junior partner pushed on for a maiden half-century when launching the off-spinner back over long-on for six.

Inspiration had apparently come from Kumar Sangakkara after Sri ­Lanka’s legendary southpaw presented him with his cap in the ­morning. And though it followed a sleepless night, this left-arm seamer by way of day job showed gumption against a bouncer ­barrage and punished anything loose. ­Rathnayake’s dismay at skying a third attempted six said plenty about how confident he was feeling.