Summary

Live Reporting

by Sam Drury & Matthew Henry

  1. That's your lot for today, folks!

    Another day shortened by bad light, albeit we got more cricket than yesterday. Sri Lanka had the best of it and to make this a fairly match heading to day three.

    England weren't at their best and let things slip after reducing the visitors to 93-5. Having to bowl spin after tea certainly played a part in that, though, it must be said.

    You can read Stephan Shemilt's report from The Oval here.

    It's all to play for in this final Test of the summer so be sure to join us again tomorrow from 10:30 BST!

  2. 'It was a tough day in the end'

    England bowler Olly Stone on England's fielding: "It was a tough day in the end, the way they came back into it I wouldn't say was disappointing but we would have liked it to go the other way. I feel like the way we worked as a unit was great, we could've had them six down and it would've been a different story."

    On if England got complacent with their batting: "I wouldn't say so. We've always said about taking the positive option, when you are taking bouncers as tailenders sometimes you can sit there and take a few blows. If you put a few chances away it can come out differently. We took the posiitve option. On another day it goes another way and we get a few on the board.

    "The way the wicket was, we felt that was quite a lot on there. It nipped around and they have played well and got a decent score."

    On Chris Woakes' spin bowling: "I don't think we'll see him do that again. It was a strange part in the game, I didn't know what was going to happen. We wanted to stay out there. We felt there was wickets out there."

    On England deciding to stay out: "Unfortunately, they said seam couldn't carry on, we knew our spinners could get something out of that wicket. Unfortunately the chance went down, on another day we might take it and you might add another couple onto the score. We were always gonna stay out there and take the positive option."

    On being out there: "I'm loving it. I was gutted to miss my run-out opportunity at Lord's so to get that one was nice. It's great to be back out here. I'm just taking every ball as it comes and thankfully I am getting a couple of wicket at the same time. It's a massive shame for Woody. I feel like we have a great group of us bowlers. Woody's situation means there might be another opportunity."

    On Sri Lanka's partnership: "Hopefully the seamers can bowl in the morning. If we can go out there and break it, before you know it we'll have the pads on and we'll be batting again."

  3. Sir Alastair Cook
    Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    It felt like England overcomplicated today. Sometimes, it is boring, but Chris Woakes has to try and hit the top of off stump. Even at the end with Bashir. He bowled with a very hard field to bowl to. He had no-one out on the leg side so couldn't bowl straight.

    On flat wickets sometimes you have to think outside the box. It stemmed from Lord's because they did funky fields there. I think they thought it would work again. It was a bit different today. The flyer Sri Lanka got dragged a bit of the initiative back.

  4. It feels a long time ago now but a word for Ollie Pope, who this morning turned his first Test hundred as skipper into a big one.

    He made 154 from 156, not far off half of England's first-innings total...

  5. Michael Vaughan
    Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    England delight me a lot in the way they play. I like they do things completely differently. I like what they are doing. But I sometimes watch and say be careful because this game has a way of biting you. When you are so far ahead of the opposition, don't take the mick. Don't think you can do things no other player has done in the game - dance down the wicket and whack an away-swinger over mid-off.

    They will come back tomorrow and be sharper. There were one or two things I saw today - an opening bowler without a fine leg...

    If you have 500 on the board you can have what you want. When you only have 325 it is not the right time. Chris Woakes struggled to bowled with that field. it was a warning side for them today.

  6. Sir Alastair Cook
    Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    England have gone down a gear, there was an element of control yesterday, part of it could have been put down to bad bowling. Ollie Pope was just scoring what was in front of him, he didn't have to go looking for runs.

    There was an element of carelessness today. They haven't nailed the game down. By today they could have been so far ahead there was no way Sri Lanka could have come back. They have given Sri Lanka a sniff.

    You are allowed bad days. You are never perfect for five days. Today it felt like they brought it too much on themselves.

  7. Phil Tufnell
    Former England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

    How good does Kamindu Mendis look again? Sri Lanka might have found themselves a special player. He makes it look so easy.

  8. Australia beat Scotland. Again!

    Also today, Australia completed a 3-0 T20 series win over Scotland with another ruthless display. Their next stop is England, with the first T20 in Southampton on Wednesday. Read the full report on today's action here.

  9. 'Don't take the mick out of the game'

    Michael Vaughan
    Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    This England side are not thinking about leaving it. That is their method.

    Just be careful, Harry Brook. He is a brilliant player. He is as good as I have seen. I am going towards Kevin Pietersen-style. He is an incredible player. But don't take the mick out of the game. Be very careful.

    There are cricketing gods up there and in a years time there are tougher challenges. When you don't treat things as you should, you might be getting the rub of the green now but against the very best teams you will need a bit of luck, a toss to go the right way, the DRS to work for you.

    I would ask England were you on it all day like you would be against India and Australia? If they look themselves in the mirror and say they were I would say they are lying.

  10. 'England were complacent'

    Sir Alastair Cook
    Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    England were complacent today. They expected to turn up and continue the batting at that rate of yesterday. Harry Brook was a good example. Sri Lanka bowled in the channel and he didn't like. He was moaning to the umpire in jest that it was a bit boring and went to bat on sixth stump. He then hit one straight to cover.

    Rather than finding a method he was more about trying to talk about it than deal with it. England weren't great.

    At the beginning of the summer this side were accused of letting good positions slip and allowing the opposition back in. I thought they had made an effort by playing more controlled cricket. Today they slipped back the other way.

    I still think they will win the game but at 200-3 you have to nail an opposition down and they haven't done that.

  11. Phil Tufnell
    Former England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

    Josh Hull is very young still. He got it down in the right areas. He was doing the right things. The thought process was right.

  12. One of the most intriguing aspects of the day was watching England debutant Josh Hull for the first time.

    There was some inconsistency with his bowling but also plenty of promise - and he did claim his first Test wicket.

    That was followed by a moment he'll want to forget as he dropped a dolly to give Dhananjaya de Silva a life on 23. The ups and downs of Test cricket.

  13. Russel Arnold
    Ex-Sri Lanka all-rounder on BBC Test Match Special

    Sri Lanka will be delighted, I think they bowled much better, they got the ball to move around, there was length and width.

    England were playing some poor shots, it was all about risk and we were surprised they only got 100 runs.

    Just for Sri Lanka's effort, I thought they deserved a break which came. England were trying to attack and gave away a few easy runs, the spinners went on for far too long, yes there's spin and bounce, but they Sri Lanka just ate away their lead.

  14. 'Felt like the end of term'

    Michael Vaughan
    Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    England haven't had many bad days this summer. I still expect them to get over line.

    It just felt like the end of term. Would they bat like that against India and Australia? They wouldn't.

    They came out to bowl with all of those slips and didn't have a fine leg. It was like playing school cricket and playing a school you knew you were better than.

    I like the fact they tried off-spin but it became apparent it was too easy for Sri Lanka.

    Sri Lanka have had a great day. They bowled better and with bat in hand got so many scoring opportunities because of the attacking field. England haven't had a great day.

  15. Jonathan Agnew
    BBC cricket correspondent

    It might have been England's poorest day of the summer today.

  16. Phil Tufnell
    Former England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

    Sri Lanka have got themselves right back into the game.

    I must admit I though it was a strange thought process from England to come out that strong this morning.

  17. Henry Moeran
    Test Match Special commentator on X

    At this time of year, Test cricket in England should surely start at 10.30, if not 10.00. Sunrise today was at 06.32, 4.5 hours before an 11.00 start. Sunset today is at 19.32, 1.5 hours after the scheduled close.

  18. Close of play

    That's it. Official word has come down from on high and that is stumps with bad play preventing any further play.

  19. Daniel Norcross
    BBC Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds

    I think that'll be it for today, it's pretty grim.

  20. Back in south London and there is no suggestion that play is going to resume.

    Most of the crowd seem to have given up on seeing anymore cricket and headed off. Given the dark clouds overhead, that is probably a pretty safe assumption.