England negotiate final hurdle in Galle to secure fourth straight overseas Test win

Not since the days of Compton, May, Laker and Latham have England put together such a successful run on foreign shores, with victory on the southern Sri Lankan coast added to three straight wins in South Africa at the start of 2020

Galle (final day of five): Sri Lanka 135 & 359, England 421 &  76-3 - England won by seven wickets

Scorecard

England have won four consecutive away Tests for the first time since 1957 after avoiding any further mishaps on the final morning in Galle to beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets.

Not since the days of Compton, May, Laker and Latham have England put together such a successful run on foreign shores, with victory on the southern Sri Lankan coast added to three straight wins in South Africa at the start of 2020 to complete an impressive quadruple.

Jonny Bairstow ended unbeaten on 35, with Dan Lawrence adding 21 to his first-innings 73 on debut, as the tourists ensured there would be no drama at the end of an undulating encounter. 

The scene had been set early on day one, as Sri Lanka tumbled out of the starting blocks and into an ignominious heap. In what their batting coach, Grant Flower, called “some of the worst batting I’ve seen in Test cricket”, the hosts’ strangely excessive aggression and clumsy decision-making saw them crumble to 135 all out.

Once Joe Root had led England to a first-innings lead of 268 with his fourth Test double-hundred - a classy exhibition of how to play spin bowling - the outcome of this match appeared to be a foregone conclusion.

^{Jonny Bairstow steers England towards victory in Galle}

But Sri Lanka responded to their head coach Mickey Arthur’s request to show their bottle and make England bat again. Lahiru Thirimanne, a specialist batsman with 37 Tests to his belt and an average below 25, made his second Test century just shy of eight years after his first, and with Angelo Mathews contributing from the middle order, Sri Lanka proved they are much more than whipping boys.

England toiled in the humidity and heat. Stuart Broad, who had set the tone with a wonderful new-ball spell on the first morning, sent down 17 overs for 14 runs; Jack Leach, after a torrid 18 months during which he has battled serious illness and barely played any competitive cricket, collected 5 for 122; Dom Bess, following what was branded in some quarters as the “filthiest” Test five-for in the first innings, lost his range on the fourth morning but responded with crucial wickets later in the day.

Sri Lanka did grant Arthur’s wish, and gave England a chase of 74. If the tourists thought that would be a comfortable task, within half-an-hour they were reminded of the perils of batting fourth on the subcontinent.

Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley fell cheaply, just as the openers had in the first England innings, and when Joe Root was run out after jogging into Dilruwan Perera in his follow-through, Sri Lanka had their guests 14 for 3. 

Test cricket, once again, had conjured up a show out of the dirt.

Following on from his side’s 3-0 series triumph in Sri Lanka in late 2018, Root has now steered England to four straight wins on the island.

At the start of such a crucial year for his captaincy, this was a mighty encouraging statement of intent.