Second day
It was not scintillating cricket but Sri Lanka will not mind. They had their best day of the series to date and their highest score of da Silva when in the afternoon they fought back resolutely. Sit Lanka started the day at 26-1.
The morning witnessed two fine pieces of fielding by Ben Stokes, a run out of Karunatne from a sheer angle at point and catch of Mendis so at lunch Sri Lanka were uneasily poised at 137-5. In the afternoon their tail wagged with a further 172 runs and they finished up with 336 some 46 runs ahead. England now have the pressure of the third crucial innings on a pitch that is turning. They will need 250 plus.
I am no fan of Joe Root’s captaincy.
He seems to agree his tactics in advance with Trevor Bayliss and then is unable or unwilling to change. He is therefore incapable of that element of intuition to prise open a partnership that is unyielding.
I feel sure that the supreme physchologist Brearley conscious of Stokes ‘s achievements in the morning would have thrown him the ball particularly as he showed some venom with it in Galle.
Instead Root bowled his spin to a passive field which the Sri Lankans farmed. Graham Gooch observed in his day half the team were county captains: Botham at Somerset, Gatting at Middlesex, Lamb at Northants, himself at Essex.
Nowadays, with central contracts offered at 21 to Alistair Cook and Root, they have virtually no previous experience and then have to deal with the demands of leading your country, dealing with the media, on field tactics and decision making and maintaining your own game which frequently wilts under these demands.
The cricket was not scintillating the Test is nicely set up.
A cricket match offers great opportunity to people-watch. Among the England supporters are 3 distinct groups: the MCC, the travelers with a tour company like ourselves and the Barmy Army.
The MCC always wear a shirt tie and jacket on the first day. I expect a large majority of the MCC voted Brexit as they disliked the perceived non-elected EU officialdom and their imposition of rules. Just like the MCC in fact.
All you needed was to see that great comedian Terry-Thomas in blazer, egg and tomato tie, cream trousers and brown brogues to complete the image of the archetypal British buffoon.
The travelers are identifiable by the polo shirts of their tour company. Ours is light blue. Howzat, Gullivers,ITc have all big groups here.
Finally there is the Barmy Army in their own section. Though many support English soccer clubs and display the flags, they are quite different from England supporters. There is no hooliganism, humour or appalling behaviour but a ready wit and loyal support epitomised by the singing of Jerusalem in the first over.
England is the only cricket side that’s dispatches supporters in such numbers. I reckon 80% of supporters in the stadium were English. So they are really keeping Test match cricket going in an era when the red ball game is under threat.
Finally, a correction.
An Essex supporter in our group and big fan of Graham Gooch did take issue with my comment of an unblemished career as he played in a rebel tour in South Africa and skippered Western Province.
