Chingford stays still for Lawrence and Mickey Arthur gets his shorts in a twist... TEST MATCH TALKING POINTS

SAM MORSHEAD reviews the action on day two in Galle, as England took total control and a lead of 185 with six first-innings wickets still in hand

Sri Lanka v England: 1st Test scorecard

Lawrence lets loose

Dan Lawrence brought one community in Essex to a standstill on Friday, as the people of Chingford CC watched their boy make a seriously impressive start to life as a Test cricketer.

“Thanks to everyone for not moving for the last hour or so,” the club’s Twitter account posted at lunch on day two. 

“Get your breakfast, a fresh cuppa then get back to the same seat and get working from home! Do it for your country”.

A superstitious lot, club members were rooted to the spot to make sure they could not possibly be blamed for Lawrence making a bad first impression in England colours.

And, perhaps partially thanks to their stoic tea-drinking, but primarily because of the 23-year-old’s confident, combative performance on debut in Galle, the people of Chingford can celebrate a job well done.

Lawrence might only have been given a chance because of injury to Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes’s opportunity to rest, but he looked every bit at home in the Test arena as he posted an elegant 73.

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Sharing in a stand of 173 with Joe Root - England’s highest in Tests at the beautiful, ramparted ground on the Sri Lankan south coast - Lawrence might not have been as wristy as county connoisseurs would have expected, but he certainly fulfilled on the promise of four terrific seasons at Chelmsford.

While Root swept with robotic efficiency, Lawrence cut and drove effectively, always looking busy at the crease, always finding ways to score. It might have been a daunting task, coming into the England side for a debut on a turning Galle surface against three Sri Lankan spinners, but neither Lawrence’s nerves nor his temperament betrayed him.

He contained any aggressive urges until he was set, at which point he bulldozed Lasith Embuldeniya over wide long-on for an eye-catching six - holding his finishing position as if modelling for still life, and barely looked flustered until he was dropped twice in the space of 45 minutes, having already reached his half-century.

Three figures was a stretch too far on this occasion, but the ease with which Lawrence found rhythm and tempo at the crease will be hugely encouraging for the England selectors.

It might also pose them with a minor dilemma for India, in the event that Pope is fully fit. But in a world of Covid, quarantining and bubbles, the more resources available to England and in-form the better. Chingford’s members might have several more sedentary mornings to come this winter.

^{Dan Lawrence, right, made 73 on debut in Galle}

Getting shorty

An unsuccessful lbw review aside, Joe Root’s route to three figures was utterly serene, though Sri Lanka did think they had their man on 103.

The England captain bottom-edged a sweep into the dirt, the ball leaping up onto his glove on its way to Kusal Mendis. Not out, came the quick decision from third umpire Lyndon Hannibal. Up on the Sri Lankan balcony, Mickey Arthur was getting his disconcertingly short shorts in a twist.

A little more time spent reading the laws and a little less time hot-washing his kit would, however, have saved the animated Arthur his catwalk down to the fourth umpire for an explanation of Law 32.2.2.

Once the ball has hit the floor, you can’t be caught out.

Mickey Arthur's shorts rightfully under scrutiny on @SkyCricket #SLvENG pic.twitter.com/00jVk0hMwK

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) January 15, 2021

Spundone

Arthur’s irritation at a perfectly sound decision might well have been attributable not to a deep-seated sense of injustice but frustration at the relative impotence of his bowlers.

Having spent Thursday watching his batsmen contrive to get themselves out in increasingly inventive fashions, Friday brought an abject lack of control with the ball.

With the exception of Lasith Embuldeniya, who added Jonny Bairstow’s wicket early on day two to the pair of England openers he snagged on the first evening, Sri Lanka failed to make the most of a pitch which indicated its willingness to accommodate spin as early as the first session of the game.

The home side’s malaise was underlined by the near-total absence of maidens - just eight in the first 80 overs, whereas England managed 11 in the 46.1 overs of Sri Lanka’s first innings - and the fact that four no-balls were called against the spin trio of Embuldeniya, Dilruwan Perera and Wanindu Hasaranga. 

That triumvirate, and frankly in the context of this performance triumvirate sounds far too grand a title, leaked runs at a collective average of more than 3.5 per over and, while Embuldeniya did at least cause Root and Lawrence moments of uncertainty, neither Perera nor Haranga hit consistent lengths. While the England pair were excellent, their lives could have been made an awful lot harder.

For the nation of Muralitharan and Herath, it must have been considerably disappointing viewing.

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