SRI LANKA BLOWN AWAY

DAY TWO AT HEADINGLEY

England stamp their authority on proceedings as Sri Lanka struggle on day two...

Jonny B (really) Good...

Bravo Jonny, Bravo. Bairstow added 86 runs to his overnight total to help move England from 171-5 to 298 all out. The knock was his first Test hundred on English soil, and at Headingley no less. Bairstow becomes the seventh Yorkshireman to score a Test ton at Headingley. 

Finn-esse from Steven...

Bairstow may take the headlines, but he needed an ally at the other end and once Alex Hales departed, Finn proved an able companion. Finn added 17 from 46 deliveries including three boundaries in a ninth-wicket partnership worth 56.

Add to that a couple of low-down catches at mid-on – there’s a fair distance between Finn’s bonce and the earths crust – the big man did well to take both.

You can’t handle the Dukes...

England may have been slightly disappointed to be kept below 300. Without Bairstow, it could have been considerably worse. As it is 298 appears ample as Sri Lanka’s batting order looked severely vulnerable against the artistry of Anderson and Broad. The duo now share a combined 775 Test wickets.

Evening sessions are so last summer...

Yesterday it was the rain. Today it was the light. Luckily after some toing and froing the umpires decided to get on with it. The Sri Lankans probably wish they hadn’t.

Phrase of the day...

‘Cosmic Injustice’ – Ed Smith on TMS

The “dark art” a batsman possesses by which he makes it look like he’s got out to an absolute jaffa every time he’s castled or nicks off. We’ll be on the look out for some baffled looks of ‘cosmic injustice’ across the summer.

Decision of the day...

Post-match Anderson admitted that he and Broad took the decision to switch opening ends. Good call, Jimmy, good call.