Get Involvedpublished at 10:35 Greenwich Mean Time 23 January 2021
Text us on 81111
I don't think we should all jump on the openers just yet. Very inexperienced in these conditions. We shouldn't forget the great summers they just had.
George
Embuldeniya removes both England openers cheaply
Six-wicket haul for Anderson - becomes oldest paceman to get five wickets in Asia
Dickwella hits his highest Test score (92); Number eight Perera adds unbeaten 67
Mathews falls early, caught behind for 110
Second Test, day two, Galle, England 1-0 up in two-match series
Amy Lofthouse
Text us on 81111
I don't think we should all jump on the openers just yet. Very inexperienced in these conditions. We shouldn't forget the great summers they just had.
George
Root 10, Bairstow 6
Nearly another! Jonny Bairstow gets a leading edge as he plays across his front pad and the ball drifts just, tantalisingly, beyond Lasith Embuldeniya in his follow through.
Michael Vaughan
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special
The pitch has done a little bit more today, but we've got to honest, it was only an hour ago that the England spinners were bowling on this pitch.
Lasith Embuldeniya gets more on the ball. He spins it more. I don't know if the England spinners spin it hard enough.
Trail by 364
A maiden for Asitha Fernando first up.
#bbccricket
Thomas Knight: Unless Sibley turns things around fast, he could soon end up on the pile of discarded England openers. Too limited in terms of scoring areas and awful against spin.
One seamer replaces another - Suranga Lakmal is off and Asitha Fernando is on.
Andy Zaltzman
Test Match Special statistician
Dom Sibley has scored two runs, and been out three times from 27 balls against Embuldeniya, while Zak Crawley has scored five runs from 29 balls and been out three times.
Against the rest of England's batsman he's 1-199.
Shot! Joe Root gets down and sweeps Lasith Embuldeniya with aplomb for four.
#bbccricket
Adam Savoury: If there's one man that has come out of this series well it's Rory Burns.
Sir Alastair Cook
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special
I would be quite excited to work with Dom Sibley because he will never have experienced anything like this opening the batting. That's why Test cricket is a great challenge.
If I was him I'd be concentrating on picking length well. I'd have them throwing hundreds of balls at me, and ask 'am I picking the length from the arm?' and making that decision right, and how quick am I making it. I'd start with the basics, and it won't take that long, but he's got to do a lot of it.
Alastair Cook is talking very well and very technically on TMS about how to bat against spin. Has he got his pads with him?
Jonny Bairstow sends the crows in the deep scattering with a controlled pull for four.
#bbccricket
Dan O'Brien: Starting to feel like they should have brought Jennings to open - great record in SL.
Sir Alastair Cook
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special
If you're being very critical of Zak Crawley, as he's looking to defend his back foot is almost coming round a bit, as if he's trying to defend to mid-on.
He's a bit worried about the straight-on delivery, but I would like to see him a bit more leg side and looking to defend to mid off, looking to ride the ball a bit more and not be so rigid.
Trail by 374
You can see the difference in Root and the openers straight away, with Root's assured foot movement and ability to read length allowing him to cut his first ball away with ease.
He and Jonny Bairstow exchange singles to get themselves off the mark.
England's best player of spin, Joe Root, is in at four.
Sir Alastair Cook
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special
That's a good ball. It's exactly where you want to land it, it is the perfect seam position and it has just done enough.
Daniel Norcross
BBC Test Match Special
England are in all sorts of bother.
Crawley c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya 5 (SL 5-2)
Well, this feels remarkably familiar...
That is a lovely delivery from Lasith Embuldeniya, spinning back in to Zak Crawley as he pushes forward, and it takes the outside edge which flies to Lahiru Thirimanne at first slip.
Michael Vaughan
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special
There are many concerns with the way the tours are selected.
Jonny Bairstow has been selected for this tour and is playing well, but won't be in India for the start of that series. Dom Sibley is struggling like mad against spin. Rory Burns is coming back into the squad who hasn't played any cricket.
England are going to be taking the best team in the world on, in their own backyard, with someone who doesn't play spin very well and someone who hasn't played.
It just doesn't make sense against the best team in the world. The structure cannot be right.
Zak Crawley pulls again and this time picks up a single in the deep, which brings Jonny Bairstow on strike.
Bairstow paws at the ground, which brings up a huge cloud of dust, before he lets the final delivery go by.