HOSTS BITE BACK AFTER ROOT ROARS
Captain’s fantastic but England are flawed
ENGLAND will be hoping Joe Root has started this tour as he means to go on but Sri Lanka made sure not everything went his way on day three. Root ticked off more records by reaching a memorable 228 before he was the last man out in England’s first-innings 421 – their best ever total in Galle, even if it should have been a few more.
While the skipper went on his serene and merry way to his fourth double ton – level with Jack
Hobbs, with only Sir Alastair Cook (five) andwally Hammond (seven) ahead – his teammates found things considerably tougher.
And the funk that saw them lose their last six wickets for 49 runs followed them into the field as both Sri Lanka’s openers reached 50, with Lahiru Thirimanne enjoying an extra life when Dom Sibley dropped a simple chance in the gully.
Such mistakes reveal the soft underbelly that could hurt England against both India and Australia later in the year.
Former skipper Michaelvaughan said: “Their spinners weren’t at their best, allowing Sri Lanka to play them easily, and then there is their catching.that Sibley catch – you just can’t drop those against real quality.
“You certainly can’t drop them in a month’s time againstvirat
Kohli or in 10 months, when Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are out there in Brisbane.”
Allowances must be made for the rustiness of players getting used to the cut and thrust of Test cricket for the first time this year after limited preparation.
But with Dan Lawrence also dropping a dolly in the first innings, there is plenty for England to work on despite their dominance in this match.
There was a moment of joy for Jack Leach, who claimed his second wicket of the match just before the close. He got one to turn and take the gloves of Kusal Mendis to Jos Buttler for 15.
Leach said: “They batted well, their openers did really well and we found it tough.
“I probably came up a little short. I’ve been short of match overs, I guess.you can do as much as you want in the nets but you need that stuff in games.”
Root became the first England captain to score two double hundreds in the job and the second-fastest to reach 8,000 Test runs after Kevin Pietersen.
“I’ve changed a few things to get more rhythm into my batting,” said Root.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with myself.that’s the advantage of Covid – there’s been so much time to watch other cricket around the world.you’ve got to learn off your peers.”