TWO GOOD TOO BAD
Brilliant Root gets a double ton but some cheap wickets and dropped catches hurt England hopes
ENGLAND will be hoping that Joe Root the captain can have as good a game as Joe Root the batsman after Sri Lanka fought back from the brink in the first Test.
Root ticked over a few more records by reaching a memorable 228 before he was the last man out in England’s total of 421 that represented their best-ever tally in Galle, even if it should have been a few more.
While the skipper continued on his serene and merry way to his fourth double ton – level with Len Hutton, with only Sir Alastair Cook (5) and Wally Hammond (7) ahead – the rest of his team-mates found things considerably tougher.
And the funk that saw them lose their last six wickets for just 49 runs followed them into the field as Lankan openers Kusal Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne reached fifties with the latter enjoying an extra life when Dom Sibley dropped a simple chance in the gully.
It is mistakes like that which reveal the soft underbelly that remains around England’s Test team and which could yet hurt them significantly against both India and Australia later in the year.
Former skipper Michael Vaughan said: “It was a day that exposed a few of their weaknesses.
“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.
“Thirimanne is one, but you certainly can’t drop them in a month’s time against Virat Kohli or in 10 months when Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are out there.”
Allowances must be made for the rustiness of players getting used to the cut and thrust of Test cricket after limited preparation.
But with Dan Lawrence also dropping a sitter of a chance in the first innings there are plenty of things for England to work on despite their dominance.
Sam Curran made the breakthrough when he had Perera caught by Jack Leach, who claimed his second wicket of the match just before the close when he got one to turn and take the gloves of Kusal Mendis to Jos Buttler for 15.
“It was tough work for us, definitely,” said Leach.
“I probably came up a little short. I’ve been short of match overs, I guess for a little bit of time. You can do as much as you want in the nets but you need that stuff in games.”
Root showed the value of self -improvement by becoming the first England captain to score two double hundreds in the job and being the second fastest behind Kevin Pietersen to reach 8,000 Test runs, a sign of his greatness.
“I was really pleased to get there,” Root said. “I’ve changed a few things to get more rhythm into my batting.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with myself, that’s the advantage of Covid.
“There’s been so much time to look back, watch other cricket around the world.
“You’ve got to learn off your peers, it’s important to do that.”