CURRAN’S RESCUE ACT SAVES ENGLAND

IT says everything about the character of Sam Curran that he has hit a six to reach each of the three half-centuries he has already made in his short Test career. He did it twice in his man-of-the-series introduction against India and did it again here yesterday in a last-wicket stand with Jimmy Anderson that looked to have turned the second Test England’s way. What a start Curran has made in Test cricket and what a performance this was, towards the end of an absorbing first day at the Pallekele Stadium on the sort of sharply turning pitch that so often provides compelling cricket. It appeared Sri Lanka’s stated policy — of trying to trap England on a spinning minefield — had paid off once Jos Buttler fell to leave the visitors 171-7. But Curran, initially with the help of Adil Rashid and then in a partnership of 60 with Anderson, changed all that with arguably his most mature display yet. He had become a little bogged down when he inched along to just 16 off his first 65 balls and risked running out of partners before he had the chance to go on the attack. It was then England enjoyed a piece of good fortune that could be the most significant moment of this Test, after Anderson was given out lbw to his first ball facing the suspect spin of Akila Dananjaya. Anderson reviewed, and the usually excellent Marais Erasmus was found to have erred, with the ball hitting England’s last man outside the line. He was reprieved again the very next ball when Niroshan Dickwella dropped an edge off Dananjaya. Curran made Sri Lanka pay but the home side helped out too, with stand-in captain Suranga Lakmal allowing him to farm the strike with frequently dozy field placings. Not that Curran needed assistance. Six times he cleared the ropes — all before he hit his only four — as he propelled his score to 64 off 119 balls and England to 285. Joe Leach then bowled Kaushal Silva as the hosts could not get through their 12 overs with the bat unscathed, finishing on 26-1. ‘Jimmy and I had quite a bit of fun out there,’ said Curran. ‘Getting close to 300 was massive. Jimmy was probably trying to calm me down, telling me to trust him. ‘You’ve just got to back your ability, take the risks when you need to. ‘Rooty (captain Joe Root) has been massive in the dressing room saying “don’t worry about making mistakes” and we’re just trying to go out with a positive mindset. ‘The next couple of days are going to be exciting for spin bowlers and batters are going to be on their toes.’