Thirimanne battles after Anderson’s early strikes

Thirimanne and Mathews helped Sri Lanka regroup on the first morning

LunchSri Lanka 76 for 2 (Thirimanne 43*, Mathews 26*, Anderson 2-4) v England

When James Anderson claimed two wickets in five balls to reduce Sri Lanka to 7 for 2 in the fifth over, you suspected that a Sri Lanka innings as calamitous as their 135 all out in the first Test might again unfold. Anderson had been tight and earnest, but was not gaining significant seam or swing, though there was a little more bounce and carry on offer than there had been in the previous Test.

What led to those wickets was poor batting, especially from Kusal Perera, who lined up a fullish Anderson ball delivered from around the wickets and tried to thump it high over mid-on. Predictably, he was only able to get an edge to it. The ball flew to Joe Root at first slip. Four balls later, Oshada Fernando – who returned to the side after missing the last three Tests due to a hamstring injury – failed to adequately ride the bounce against a short delivery, and inside-edged the ball into his leg stump. He was out for zero. Perera had been out for 6 off 14.

Thanks to Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews, however, Sri Lanka appear for now to have avoided a collapse as woeful as they did on the first day of the last Test. The pair hunkered down after the early losses – Mathews, in particular going into his stonewall mode, while Thirimanne attacked balls that were either too straight or too full, in between the ample defensive strokes.

Although their progress was subdued, it was never stodgy. England’s spinners came on to discover that this surface was not quite giving them the purchase they had enjoyed at a similar stage of the first Test, and found themselves methodically picked off – both batsmen working regular singles to keep the recovery moving, while Thirimanne in particular took a liking to hitting through the covers, dispatching both Mark Wood and Jack Leach through that region for two of his five fours. The confidence generated by his second-innings hundred in the first Test had transformed him into a much more assured presence at the crease than he has often been.

By lunch, he had hit 43 – the first time since 2015, when he has produced consecutive innings that have breached 40. Mathews was on 26 off 45 balls.