Key events
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.
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. Heâs sprinting to that ton. Atkinson and Potts exchange singles, England already enjoying themselves under blue skies.
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 heâs 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 itâs 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; heâs throwing the bat at it, unwilling to get caught up in the nerves of the occasion. Itâs going to be his day, I feel it.
Rob Smyth, whoâll 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.
Steve Finn, suited and booted, rings the five-minute bell. Letâs get going.
âThe funny thing is heâs captaining pretty well, so given that Stokes is (hopefully) coming back soon, Iâd leave him to it, rather than compromising someone elseâs batting form by making them skipper,â writes Nick Way about Ollie Pope. âThe question of whether he keeps his place when Stokes returns is one for another time …â
Get around Dominic Booth, making his debut on the county blog today.
âHi Taha.â Hi David. âOllie Pope. Discuss.â
Ollie Pope, born in Chelsea, is a professional cricketer for England and Surrey ⦠OK, I think I know what youâre getting at. Itâs a strange one, isnât it. Heâs built a good record at No 3 for England over the last couple of years but, 48 Tests in, itâs also true that he hasnât 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, Iâm sitting on the fence at the moment.
Hereâs the good stuff from yesterday.
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 â just about â after Joe Rootâs 33rd Test ton (!) and Gus Atkinsonâs unbeaten 74. The latter, playing just his fifth Test and already on the Lordâs honours board for his bowling, is finding Test cricket way too easy at the moment. The morningâs subplot will be whether he can get himself to three figures.
Sri Lanka were poor in that final session yesterday but theyâre still very much in this game. I donât 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. Hereâs to a tight day two that sets up a proper Test match.
Iâll 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.