Smith, Brook lead England charge

MANCHESTER, August 22

Advertisement

Jamie Smith’s unbeaten 72 propelled England to a 23-run lead over Sri Lanka on Day 2 of the opening Test at Old Trafford where only 57 overs were bowled after the first session was washed out and bad light stopped play.

Harry Brook’s 56 guided England within reach of Sri Lanka’s first innings total and the hosts were at 259/6 with Smith at the crease alongside Gus Atkinson when the teams returned to the pavilion as the skies darkened amid a light drizzle.

After posting 236 in the first innings on Wednesday, Sri Lanka could not use their fast bowlers at the end of Day 1 due to bad light as England scored 22 runs off spin in four overs. But after an early lunch due to the wet outfield today, the tourists took full advantage of the cloudy conditions to pick up three wickets in the first hour that put England on the backfoot.

Asitha Fernando opened the bowling on Day 2 and trapped Ben Duckett leg-before in his second over with an inswinging delivery. He then broke through stand-in skipper Ollie Pope’s defence to hit the top of off stump while his left-arm fast bowling counterpart Vishwa Fernando had Dan Lawrence — opening in place of the injured Zak Crawley — caught behind for 30.

Pak in command after Rizwan, Shakeel hit tons

Rawalpindi: Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel scored centuries as Pakistan posted a commanding 448/6 declared against Bangladesh, with the tourists trailing by 421 runs after Day 2 of their opening Test. The duo produced a 240-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Shakeel eventually fell for 141, but Rizwan continued to grind down Bangladesh and was unbeaten on 171 when Pakistan decided they had enough on the board. Bangladesh were 27 for no loss at stumps with Shadman Islam batting on 12 and Zakir Hasan batting on 11. Resuming on 158/4 after a rain-affected opening day, the hosts enjoyed a flawless first session in glorious sunshine.