England v Sri Lanka: second men’s cricket Test match, day two – live

2.08pm BST

15th over: Sri Lanka 56-3 (Chandimal 7, Mathews 13) Matt Potts ends Woakes’ opening spell and starts with a maiden.

“There can’t be many players whose first first-class century is at Lord’s during a Test match,” writes Andy Flintoff (!) (not that one) . “I’m not sure I could find the Statsguru query to find this out either.” Someone help us out.

2.02pm BST

14th over: Sri Lanka 54-3 (Chandimal 7, Mathews 13) Thumping from my guy, Angelo. Stone goes short, Mathews rocks the pull shot for four. Chandimal, who took a serious blow to the hand from Mark Wood last week, gets hit just below the thigh pad. He eases his pain with a lovely drive through mid-off for three.

1.57pm BST

13th over: Sri Lanka 45-3 (Chandimal 3, Mathews 8) Woakes bowls to Mathews in a battle of the old-timers, keeping it tight with six dots.

1.52pm BST

12th over: Sri Lanka 45-3 (Chandimal 3, Mathews 8) Stone skips in with that incredibly straight run-up, like he’s trying to squeeze through the closing train doors. He strays on to Mathews’ pads, the batter clipping past short leg for four.

1.48pm BST

11th over: Sri Lanka 36-3 (Chandimal 0, Mathews 2) Woakes continues from the Nursery End. The two veterans, Chandimal and Mathews, have been tasked with a rescue-job. Chandimal sees the ball skip through the gap between his bat and pads but somehow miss the stumps.

1.44pm BST

WICKET! Nissanka c Potts b Stone 12 (Sri Lanka 35-3)

And we’re back, with Olly Stone finishing his over after picking up Karunaratne before lunch. And he closes it with another ! Nissanka is a victim of the trap, clipping straight to Matt Potts at leg slip. It’s another miserable day for Sri Lanka’s top three.

10th over: Sri Lanka 35-3 (Mathews 1)

Updated at 2.00pm BST

1.03pm BST

LUNCH: Sri Lanka 32-2, trail England by 395 runs

The good news for Sri Lanka? They had a tougher time up top in Manchester, reduced to 6-3 and 1-2 in the first Test. Their middle order remains their greatest strength.

1.01pm BST

WICKET! Karunaratne b Stone 7 (Sri Lanka 32-2)

And another one. It’s a drag-on again, with Karunaratne pushing at a ball outside off only to see his stumps splattered. That’ll be lunch, too, with Gus Atkinson leading England off the field. It’s been a pretty tough morning for the tourists.

Updated at 1.59pm BST

12.59pm BST

9th over: Sri Lanka 32-1 (Nissanka 10, Karunaratne 7) A pearler from Woakes beats the outside edge of Nissanka, who responds with an authoritative cut for four.

12.55pm BST

8th over: Sri Lanka 24-1 (Nissanka 6, Karunaratne 7) Nearly a remarkable run out. Nissanka clips Olly Stone to the leg side and begins to race off for a single but Dan Lawrence, with fine reflexes, collects cleanly at short leg and has a shy at the stumps. He misses, allowing for overthrows. Stone has replaced Atkinson by the way and looks sharp in his first Test since 2021, operating in the mid-80s (mph) in his first over.

12.51pm BST

7th over: Sri Lanka 21-1 (Nissanka 3, Karunaratne 7) The very talented Pathum Nissanka enters the fray for the first time in the series and is met with two lbw appeals. He drives through mid-off for three to get himself going.

12.49pm BST

WICKET! Madushka b Woakes 7 (Sri Lanka 18-1)

It was coming. Chris Woakes strikes first, getting Madushka to drag the ball on to his stumps. The opener’s having a tough series, having scored 4 and none in the first Test.

12.47pm BST

6th over: Sri Lanka 18-0 (Madushka 7, Karunaratne 7) “So, Gus gets on the Lords honours board for batting and bowling in different matches,” writes Robert Clough . “Has anyone done this in the same match, ideally in the first batting and bowling innings of the same match?

Here’s what I’ve got : Ian Botham against Pakistan in 1978, Vinoo Mankad against England in 1952.

12.41pm BST

5th over: Sri Lanka 13-0 (Madushka 6, Karunaratne 7) Karunaratne punches Woakes off the back foot for a couple. Woakes pins the left-hander’s front pad but the appeal isn’t a strong one. A stronger lbw shout follows moments later, but England don’t seem too keen on burning another review. Woakes is getting the ball to play tricks with his wobble seam.

12.37pm BST

4th over: Sri Lanka 11-0 (Madushka 6, Karunaratne 5) It’s very much Woakes v Madushka from one end, Atkinson v Karunaratne from the other at the moment. Karunaratne sees some width but cuts to Matt Potts at gully. A single closes the over.

12.33pm BST

3rd over: Sri Lanka 9-0 (Madushka 5, Karunaratne 4) Woakes gets Madushka’s outside edge … but the ball finds the gap between Smith and Root at first slip. Smith didn’t go for it, Root did – but he couldn’t reach it.

“In reply to Matt Roller of ESPN fame, I have it on the very good authority of Worcestershire supporting Mr Lloyd (of even greater CC Live! Fame) that the one-cap wonder who watched Gus Atkinson hit a hundred for Surrey’s 2nd XI was none other than George Scrimshaw,” Brian Withington correctly states. “Despite the century, Worcestershire went on and won that game so there’s an omen of sorts for Sri Lanka and the day three and four crowds to cling to.”

12.28pm BST

2nd over: Sri Lanka 4-0 (Madushka 0, Karunaratne 4) Atkinson – are you not tired? – opens up from the Pavilion End, with Dimuth Karunaratne whipping away through the leg side for four. England opt for a review from the next delivery, a vociferous appeal for an outside edge off Karunaratne’s bat. The replays show a staggeringly huge gap between bat and ball, making that a shocker of a review. Jamie Smith didn’t look interested from the get-go, but the slip cordon was adamant.

12.23pm BST

1st over: Sri Lanka 0-0 (Madushka 0, Karunaratne 0) Chris Woakes takes the new ball from the Nursery End, four slips waiting for Nishan Madushka to edge one. There’s outswing immediately, as you’d expect. The right-hander shows off his forward defence to produce a maiden.

12.15pm BST

“Now Gus Atkinson has joined that list of centuries batting at 8 or lower , there’s a nice link with the second-most recent entry on it, Matt Prior in 2013: he normally batted at 7, only being at 8 in England’s second innings because they’d used a nightwatcher,” writes Smylers. “The nightwatcher on that occasion? Steven Finn, who rang the bell to start today’s play.”

12.11pm BST

England bowled out for 427

WICKET! Stone c Kamindu b A Fernando 15 (England 427 all out) Shoaib Bashir swats away a short ball for one as Asitha Fernando continues to pepper it halfway down the pitch. The Sri Lanka quick is gunning for a five-for and he strikes Stone on the glove, sprinting in from around the wicket. Leg gully, short leg, square leg and midwicket are hovering close by … but it’s the man at deep fine leg who holds on to dismiss Stone! It was another bumper, which Stone swivelled away, straight to the man. Asitha has five. It’s lovely moment on a difficult morning for Sri Lanka.

12.00pm BST

101st over: England 426-9 (Bashir 6, Stone 15) “Ben Stokes would have declared by now and approach lunch with Sri Lanka 4 down,” reckons krishnamoorthy v. “Is a Pope always so conservative?” Anywho, it’s time for drinks.

11.57am BST

100th over: England 421-9 (Bashir 1, Stone 15) Time for Shoaib Bashir to give it a hefty swing.

11.55am BST

WICKET! Atkinson c Rathnayake b A Fernando 118 (England 420-9)

Atkinson gloves an Asitha bouncer over the keeper’s head for four before swivelling again, swatting the ball to fine leg for another boundary. But a staggering catch ends the innings! Atkinson laces a pull, but Milan Rathnayake, running to the rope at deep midwicket, dives towards the crowd, both feet off the ground, and plucks the ball out of the air. Atkinson walks off for 118, the end of his greatest innings.

11.51am BST

99th over: England 412-8 (Atkinson 110, Stone 15) Jayasuriya is nurdled away for three singles. He’s not going for any boundaries, but he’s not stopping the flow either.

11.48am BST

98th over: England 409-8 (Atkinson 108, Stone 14) Asitha Fernando and Sri Lanka opt for the bouncer barrage. It returns a maiden. Anyway, here’s a rather lovestruck Robert Wilson:

In all the giggly, schoolboy praise of Root, I think we’ve actually missed one of his crucial features. I watched yesterday’s highlights and it was particularly evident. When you compare batters, you are essentially comparing their range of mastered strokes and the particular beauty of one or two of their best (the frankly supremacist Ricky Ponting pull, Robin Smith’s piratical square cut, Viv’s actual walk to the wicket). But Root has an extra quality that few have shared - Dravid, Lara and Mark Waugh sometimes. It’s what causes that whole ‘hey, suddenly he’s got 30 odd on the board’ sensation. With Root, it’s almost like he’s not doing it. It’s as though it is just happening .

Something about his specific gravity at the crease repels the ball safely along the ground for a nice two or three. These moments don’t feel like strokes, they feel like like laws of physics. Some blighter chucks the ball at the blameless Joe and the Gods of Probity and Innocence snick it off his hip or through third man, because they love him. I watched Dravid score hundreds of runs with basically his batting stance. Root does the same. It must get him 20 runs in every hundred. Lucky bugger. I wonder how bowlers feel about it.

11.44am BST

Decent.

11.43am BST

97th over: England 409-8 (Atkinson 108, Stone 14) Jayasuriya runs through his work quickly once again, with Stone clipping away to nick three off the over.

11.40am BST

96th over: England 406-8 (Atkinson 108, Stone 11) Stone lets loose through the covers, inviting himself to Atkinson’s summer blowout.

Matt Roller, of ESPNcricinfo fame, sends a quiz question my way. Gus Atkinson hit a hundred for Surrey’s second XI against Worcestershire in 2018. Which one-cap England international was in the Worcester attack?

11.35am BST

95th over: England 399-8 (Atkinson 108, Stone 4) Prabath Jayasuriya takes the ball; Sri Lanka have their two best bowlers in play. The left-arm spinner is knocked around for four. Worth noting that Atkinson went to his ton in under half an hour this morning. Ice-cold behaviour, that.

11.31am BST

94th over: England 395-8 (Atkinson 107, Stone 1) Olly Stone is in and he’s no slouch with the bat either, having hit three half-centuries in the County Championship this year from nine innings.

11.27am BST

WICKET! Potts c Madushka b A Fernando 21 (England 393-8)

Asitha Fernando enters the attack and strikes. He gets the ball to move away from Potts, who throws the bat at it and edges behind to Madushka. Finally some joy for Sri Lanka.

11.24am BST

Gus Atkinson hits his maiden Test century!

And on to 99 he goes, punching Kumara through cover for four. Nervous nineties? Nah … until he threatens to edge one behind, reaching out for a wide one. And then the off-drive for four, the arms up in the air, a Test century at Lord’s for Gus Atkinson. Wow. 103 off 103 balls. A thumping pull takes him to 107. This bloke’s ridiculous.

93rd over: England 393-7 (Atkinson 107, Potts 21)

Updated at 11.27am BST

11.19am BST

92nd over: England 381-7 (Atkinson 95, Potts 21) Atkinson dabs the ball behind point for a single; his rotation of strike has been as impressive as his six-hitting. Rathnayake unfurls a gorgeous outswinger to beat Potts’ prod forward.

“My brain resembles a scrambled spaghetti right now after I tried to understand the big cup draw from last evening,” writes krishnamoorthy v . “So, I am looking forward to some simple and straight cricket to ease my brain.”

11.15am BST

91st over: England 380-7 (Atkinson 94, Potts 21) Kumara bowls a loose bumper, with Atkinson pulling away to move to 93. A stylish single behind point follows. Get there with a six, Gus! Kumara ends the over by beating Potts outside off.

11.11am BST

90th over: England 375-7 (Atkinson 89, Potts 21) Milan Rathnayake takes the ball from the Nursery End and strays down the leg side with a no ball; Atkinson tucks it away to fine leg for four more. He’s sprinting to that ton. Atkinson and Potts exchange singles, England already enjoying themselves under blue skies.

11.06am BST

89th over: England 367-7 (Atkinson 83, Potts 20) Atkinson is on strike … and he begins with a clip down the leg side for four off Lahiru Kumara. And then another boundary off the next ball, driving through the covers! What a start.

But then he’s given out! Kumara angled the ball in, struck the pad, and it took a while for the finger to go up. Atkinson reviews immediately, as it could be going down the leg side. And it’s shown to be missing! What an eventful start to the day. Marcus Trescothick punches the air from the dressing-room balcony. Atkinson gets lucky with an inside-edge that evades the stumps; he’s throwing the bat at it, unwilling to get caught up in the nerves of the occasion. It’s going to be his day, I feel it.

11.00am BST

Rob Smyth, who’ll be on after me, sends in the list of Test centurions for England from No 8 or below. Gus Atkinson is 26 runs away from joining it .

10.56am BST

Steve Finn, suited and booted, rings the five-minute bell. Let’s get going.

10.51am BST

“The funny thing is he’s captaining pretty well, so given that Stokes is (hopefully) coming back soon, I’d leave him to it, rather than compromising someone else’s batting form by making them skipper,” writes Nick Way about Ollie Pope. “The question of whether he keeps his place when Stokes returns is one for another time ...”

10.40am BST

Get around Dominic Booth , making his debut on the county blog today.

Related: County cricket: Surrey v Nottinghamshire, Somerset v Durham, and more – live

10.37am BST

“Hi Taha.” Hi David. “Ollie Pope. Discuss.”

Ollie Pope, born in Chelsea, is a professional cricketer for England and Surrey … OK, I think I know what you’re getting at. It’s a strange one, isn’t it. He’s built a good record at No 3 for England over the last couple of years but, 48 Tests in, it’s also true that he hasn’t fully convinced. He can look skittish and nervy one day and then negotiate a stellar South African pace attack the next (as he did at this ground in 2022 when no one else could lay a bat on it). So, yeah, I’m sitting on the fence at the moment.

10.30am BST

Here’s the good stuff from yesterday.

Related: Ollie Pope the batter looks like a square peg after holing out against Sri Lanka | Simon Burnton

Related: Joe Root puts England on top against Sri Lanka with record-equalling century

Related: Emotional Joe Root dedicates his century to ‘good friend’ Graham Thorpe

10.11am BST

Preamble

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to HQ for day two of this second Test between England and Sri Lanka. The opening day belonged to the hosts – just about – after Joe Root’s 33rd Test ton (!) and Gus Atkinson’s unbeaten 74. The latter, playing just his fifth Test and already on the Lord’s honours board for his bowling, is finding Test cricket way too easy at the moment. The morning’s subplot will be whether he can get himself to three figures.

Sri Lanka were poor in that final session yesterday but they’re still very much in this game. I don’t think people have clocked just how good their batting lineup is; they just need one of the top three to fire to back up a very accomplished middle order. Here’s to a tight day two that sets up a proper Test match.

I’ll be with you for the first half of the day. Send in your thoughts/queries/summer highlights/film recommendations/worries/wisdom/wishes/whatever provides you the most joy.