SL tour of Eng, Aug 21 - Sept 10

[Arthur Crabtree]

This summer.

Crawley 76/0/3/18 Laurence 30/34/9.
Duckett 3/71/76/3/25*/18/11/40.
Pope 57/121/51/10/6/6/1.

Openers getting starts, Pope inconsistent.

[sussexpob]

Brook gone 130/4....

Another breakthrough soon, and its looking a shrewd move by SL

[sussexpob]

Brook gone 130/4....

Another breakthrough soon, and its looking a shrewd move by SL

Proper Watson-Broad review that one...not sure what Brook thought that ball was missing, dead in the water all the way

[sussexpob]

England will target 300 ish from here. Both sides would be happy with that I reckon

[Arthur Crabtree]

More necessary heroics from Root. Woakes is just the man to hold up an end too.

[sussexpob]

Kumara seems to have lost so much pace with the injuries. Low 80s is not "Fast" as he is billed.

In the Lions game he looked like he was bowling at slow-medium

[sussexpob]

100 for Honest Joe....

Did inside edge one that bounced over his stumps on 99.... little bit of luck

[Arthur Crabtree]

33rd ton equals Cook's record.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Great stand. 71 in 13 overs. Must be frustrating for SL.

[Arthur Crabtree]

More of a calamity than frustrating.

[bigfluffylemon]

33rd ton equals Cook's record.

Just 200 behind Cook's overall aggregate too, will be well past it by the end of the year.

[sussexpob]

I wonder how long Root will play on for

[alfie]

Root saved England's blushes there , eh ? Some rather careless batting from most of the other bats against steady rather than venomous Sri Lankan bowling. Atkinson with a very important knock in that last session - really made the tourists pay for some tired bowling (their lack of a viable fifth bowling option cost them heavily). If he and Potts can add more on resumption their call to field first may prove a serious error.

England may not find wickets all that easy to come by , mind. This looks a good batting surface and I understand the sun will be out again...Could yet prove a high scoring match.

Very inexperienced England attack in Test terms , apart from Woakes. Should be a useful test for them - and Pope in using his various options.

Root moving up that all time batting record list - and this was one of his best knocks in terms of calm authority with others falling around him. I trust he will be playing on for a fair while yet as he will not be easily replaced !

[Gingerfinch]

I wonder how long Root will play on for

I reckon he'll still be our best or one of our best players in 4-5 years time.

[sussexpob]

I trust he will be playing on for a fair while yet as he will not be easily replaced !

I think to a certain extent, all bets are off in terms of longevity of players nowadays, because we are now coming into a period where the first true three format players are getting to their mid to late 30s, and cricket has never really had this situation before. Root may have not played as much T20Is or IPL as others, but he has played far more tests, and a very high proportion as captain.

To look at players in Root's career span who scored the most test runs.....

Virat Kohli.... who got passed 30 and his test form fell very badly for a long time
Steve Smith.... who got to 32/33 and I think its fair to say is show a notable decline over the last 2 years.
Hashim Amla.... 4 of his last 5 years past 31 he averaged under 30 in tests. Very sharp decline
Ben Stokes.... Since 2021, his batting output has declined, has ran into fitness issues.
Cook... retired very early
Chet Pujara.... 3 of last 4 test seasons average under 30 (from 32)
Ross Taylor....steep decline after 33 years old
Azhar Ali... significant decline at 31-32 years old
Dave Warner.... significant decline around 34 years old

Those that didn't decline much

ABDV... but he retired at 34
Kane Williamson.... although his stats are padded against poor side. Averages sub 40 against the best 3 teams.