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Well bowled Josh Hull! He has bounced out Sri Lanka’s captain Dhananjaya de Silva, who top-edged a hook high towards Bashir at long leg. He took the catch a little awkwardly, falling to his left, but held on as he hit the ground.
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That’s Hull’s second Test wicket but in a way it’ll feel like the first, because it was a proper dismissal. The line was perfect, far enough outside off stump that Dhananjaya couldn’t control his hook shot.
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Hull takes an early wicket for the Sri Lankan captain.”,”caption”:”Josh Hull takes an early wicket for the Sri Lankan captain.”,”credit”:”Photo: John Walton/PA”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1725790193000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”06.09 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1725791416000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”06.30 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1725790486000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”06.14 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”06.14″,”title”:”Wickets! Sri Lanka 220-6 (Dhananjaya c Basil b Hull 69)”,”Contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sunday, September 8, 2024 06:30 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First Published Sunday, September 8, 2024 05:00 EDT”},{“id”:”66dd731a8f08a07a6f4ce23d”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
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Morning 11am-1.15pm
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Afternoon 1.55-4.10pm
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Evening 4.30-6.30pm
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Shall we try that one again? England were very poor yesterday, but they are still in a reasonable position to complete a clean sweep. Sri Lanka will resume on 211 for 5, a deficit of 114, with Dhananjaya de Silva on 64 and Kamindu Mendis on 54.
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Let’s talk about Kamindu. Apart from Adam Gilchrist, has there been a better regular No7 in Test cricket? By that I mean the quality of the player when they were a regular No7. You can make a case for Ian Botham in the late seventies and early eighties and also Quinton de Kock, but Kamindu is in the conversation. And while Gilchrist is the best, Kamindu is probably the most classical No7 we’ve seen.
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While he is at the crease, assumptions of an England victory – and they are widespread, even among those who were most criticial of England’s confused, slightly indulgent performance yesterday – look dangerous.
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The lower order clearly had licence to thrash and Sri Lanka, re-energised after that tricky first day, were getting the old ball to swing. But among the array of swipes that accelerated things was a curious innings from Harry Brook. So often appearing already set when he arrives at the crease, Brook was instead jumpy here, surviving one howling drop in the deep by Asitha Fernando on 12 before crashing a wide ball to short cover.
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Main Events
“Regarding Josh's nickname“It doesn't seem too unrealistic to just call him Rod,” Kim Tonger writes (again). “I would call him Emu, given his stature.”
Shouldn't the unofficial rule for nicknames be that there should only be one degree of separation?
The question that comes out of your mouth is“Is Josh Hull related to Rod Hull of emu fame?” asks Kim Tonger. “And does he have a grudge against simple Yorkshire people?”
Until recently I had no idea that Rod Hull died because he wanted to watch Manchester United play in the Champions League. I knew he was doing aerial posturing but I didn't know it was to watch Henning Berg v Ronaldo. Sounds like a myth. Poor guy.
The match was cancelled due to rain
Damn it.
49th over: Sri Lanka 223-6 (Kamindu 59, Rathnayake 1) Gus Atkinson is off the field because of tight quads. The fielder is Jordan Cox, who is next in the batting ranks and is a fantastic fielder.
The next batsman Rathnayake was out chasing a very wide and full ball from Woakes. Cricket had two left-handers in the batting position but it didn't last long as the rain had just started to fall. Rathnayake was out again with the last ball of the over.
48th over: Sri Lanka 221-6 (Kamindu 58, Rathnayake 1) Hull's record is 7 wins, 0 losses, 36 draws and 2 ties – numbers that look good.
“The England team seem to be calling Josh Hull 'Harry',” wrote Stephen Cottrell. “They must be missing a big opportunity here. I don't imagine Ollie Pope is a big rugby league fan, but what about 'Kingston' or 'KR'? In my generation, anyone with the surname Hull automatically becomes 'Rod'.”
Wickets! Sri Lanka 220-6 (Dhananjaya c Basheer b Hull 69)
Great delivery from Josh Hull! He gets Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva out. De Silva top-edges a hook high towards long leg Basheer. He takes the catch a little awkwardly, falls to his left but holds on as it hits the ground.
This was Hull's second Test wicket but in some ways it will feel like his first, because it was a tidy dismissal – the line was perfect and well outside the off stump for Dhananjaya to have no control over the hook shot.
47th over: Sri Lanka 214-5 (Dhananjaya 64, Kamindu 57) Gus Atkinson was off the field and Josh Hull was set to start, which may explain why. At the other end, Chris Woakes started and after a few balls to find the line, he hit a good one back into Kamindu's stomach. First ball.
“Mo's retirement is a bad day for cricket – he was a truly fine player – but it's a good day for Wilfred Rhodes,” says Pete Salmon. “Mo never batted at No. 10 or No. 11, so our Wilfred has kept his record.”
As of now, Ben Stokes has batted at every position except number two.
46th over: Sri Lanka 214-5 (Dhananjaya 64, Kamindu 57) England opened with Josh Hull, which, depending on how you look at it, was either a) a clever way to boost confidence or b) a tough stance on mother cricket. Hull started well, sending a fine outswing to the left-handed Kamindu, who edged a good ball thick outside the cordon for a single.
“It's incredible that Moeen Ali played 298 matches for England – 68 Test matches, 138 ODIs and 92 T20s,” says Andrew Goudie. “The ultimate team player.”
It's been a unique career, you know? Well, yes, technically, I know every career is unique, but I can't think of anything quite like Moeen's.
Play begins. Not sure how long it will last, but let's enjoy it while it lasts.
Anyone interested in TMS international links? How much is it worth?
Today's Schedule
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morning 11:00am – 1:15pm
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afternoon 1:55pm – 4:10pm
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evening 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Frank Music Interlude
Bernie Ronay talks about Josh Hull
Selecting Hull is arguably the most poignant thank-you-or-no-thank-you statement ever made to county cricket. And some would say it is. By selecting Hull you are literally saying that you have nothing to gain from success here. Instead, you pick a 20-year-old who has taken 16 wickets at 62 because you like the way he looks. How does a 27-year-old who has worked his way up the county ladder, winning games every week, fighting through pain and dreaming of bigger stages, feel about that?
I had a problem with the lights yesterday.It also included a bizarre few minutes when Chris Woakes had to bowl four off-spin balls. Here's what Olly Stone thought about it.
“Imran Khan played 48 of his 88 Test matches at number seven with an average of 35.” Gary Naylor wrote: “He'll be on the shortlist. Shaun Pollock played half of his 108 Test matches at No. 8, averaging 31!”
Imran always comes up when you talk about great cricketers. I think he played his best cricket at number six but he was still a giant.
“Hello, Rob.” Marcus Abdullahi wrote: “Bats who have averaged 40 or more while batting at No. 7 (min. 20 Tests), from highest to lowest average: de Kock, Gilchrist, Greg Matthews, Litton Das, Chris Cairns, Wasim Raja, Alan Knott, Matt Prior, IT Botham.”
That's a good list. Litton Das played a great innings in that position.
Well, the weather forecast is from Andrew Miller.
Besieged all morning, ruined everything all afternoon. How hilarious. #English pic.twitter.com/lHf9lWGW45
— Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) September 8, 2024
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We think we will be able to start on time, but there has been a yellow weather warning since 2pm so please bear with us on that.
International cricket lost its appeal overnight When Moeen Ali announced his retirement from all forms, his England career was difficult to summarise. He could excite or annoy people in equal measure. He was England's most elegant left-hander since David Gower. He was too altruistic for his own good. And for richer and poorer, he was a beacon of humanity. Moeen has an endearing honesty and self-awareness, as evidenced by his own assessment of his career:
I hope people remember me as a free spirit, I had some good shots and some bad shots, but I hope people enjoyed watching me play.
He was not a great player, but he left the cricket world in a better place than he found it, and the extent of his impact on British Asian cricketers may not become clear for another 10 or 15 years.
Ali Martin's Day 2 report
The lower order had clear freedom of attack and Sri Lanka had recovered from their first day's difficulties and were swinging the ball with good old fashioned force. But among the string of powerful hits that accelerated their momentum was a bizarre innings from Harry Brook. Brook always looks ready when he steps up to bat but here he looked the other way, restless, slicing through a hard-hitting ball from Ashita Fernando in the deep at number 12 before smashing a wide ball to short cover.
preamble
Let's try that again. England were very poor yesterday but are still in a position to win outright. Sri Lanka resume at 211 for 5, trailing by 114 with Dhananjaya de Silva on 64 and Kamindu Mendis on 54.
Let's talk about Kamindu. Apart from Adam Gilchrist, has there ever been a better regular No.7 in Test cricket? I mean, the quality of the player when he was a regular No.7. You could mention Ian Botham or Quinton de Kock in the late 70s and early 80s, but Kamindu is also on the shortlist. Gilchrist is the best, but Kamindu is probably the most classic No.7 we have seen.
With him in bat, speculation that England will win looks dangerous – and it is rife even among those who were the biggest critics of England's disorganised and somewhat sloppy performance yesterday.
