SaqDebutant Josh Hull experienced the highs and lows of Test cricket at the Kia Oval, celebrating his first international wicket but dropping a costly catch as Sri Lanka fought back.
England batted sloppily in a chaotic morning session to turn their overnight stand of 221 for three into a disappointing 325 all out, with Sri Lanka finishing on 211 for five after a difficult start to the reply.
Hull, 20, quickly dropped out of the County Championship second division after just 10 first-class appearances, was promoted because of his imposing 6ft 7in frame and left-arm angle, and found himself in the thick of the action on day two.
Coming in at number 10, he was part of England’s batting collapse in the morning session, with the hosts losing their last six wickets for just 35, but the youngster’s real challenge came when stand-in captain Ollie Pope, who had earlier turned his overnight century into 154, threw the ball to him for the first time.
Midway through their third over, Hull had a moment they will never forget when Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka was brilliantly caught at short cover by a diving Chris Woakes.
The tourists slumped to 93 for five soon after – Olly Stone taking two as well as making an opportunistic run out – but rallied as Dhananjaya de Silva (64no) and Kamindu Mendis (54no) put on 118.
Due to poor light, England were unable to use the ball until after tea. There was only one real chance to separate the two players and Hull wasted it. Shoaib Bashir was the victim of a poor shot from De Silva and the ball flew straight to the newcomer, who wasted a legal opportunity by wriggling on the ground.
He looked dismayed as his mistake was replayed on the big screen and would have felt every one of the 59 runs that preceded play being stopped for the day.
England remained wicketless in the evening gloom, with 17 overs of spin split between Bashir, Dan Lawrence and Joe Root, and will relish the opportunity to unleash Hull and his fellow seamers under clearer skies on Sunday.
Pope had earlier completed his existing century with 51 runs, almost a run a ball, but never quite found his footing. Three edges went through gaps in the slip cordon, an lbw shout went perilously close and an inside edge that seemed destined for leg stump somehow missed. When he finally managed a pull towards deep square, he could hardly complain.
He and Harry Brook set the tone for a frivolous first session, adding a quick 40 to the total but bowling with abandon. Brook was badly run out on 12, missing a wild throw off the end of the bat but seeing it land in the deep, but made only seven more before picking cover.
The lower middle order evaporated amid a series of soft dismissals, with Jamie Smith flicking Vishwa Fernando to mid-wicket and Woakes lasting just four balls as he bowled a catch off De Silva.
The tail was bowled over with a minimum of fuss, Gus Atkinson, Hull and Bashir combining for eight runs from 25 balls between them, the latter pair contesting the worst miss of the day.
After a solitary over from Woakes before lunch, the real work began after the break, with Sri Lanka’s openers scoring 34 runs in a steady start. It took just one mistake to undo their work, a poor decision prompting Stone to throw down the stumps and send Dimuth Karunaratne on his way.
Woakes was bizarrely instructed to bowl off-spin for the next four balls, with the umpires deciding the light was too low to bowl at speed before reversing their decision at the end of the over.
Woakes, whose tweakers left much to be desired, was happy to find his long run again and soon had Kusal Mendis slipping in. Stone made further inroads, finding Mathews’ edge outside off stump and then trapping Chandimal on the back leg, but the biggest cheers were reserved for Hull.
His wicket needed valuable assistance from Woakes, who rushed to catch the lively Nissank, but he bowled some fine deliveries in his first five overs as an international.
After tea the crowd were given a short break as Pope was unable to rely on his fast bowlers. The in-form De Silva and Mendis were more than capable of handling the challenge of England’s slow bowlers, although Bashir was unlucky as a handling error by Hull cost him a breakthrough.
Saq
