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Shanaka shatters England with triple strike

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Lunch England 57 for 3 (Hales 38*, Vince 0*) v Sri Lanka
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

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Jayawardene: Time for youngsters to blossom

Alastair Cook’s bid to become the first England batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs had been relegated to an afterthought by lunch on the first morning of the first Test at Headingley, as the Sri Lanka debutant Dasun Shanaka claimed three wickets for one run in the space of eight balls to cut a swathe through England’s much-heralded top order.

By lunch, Cook had been dismissed for 16 – still 20 runs shy of his landmark – with Nick Compton and Joe Root, the local hero and newly-crowned England Test player of the year, both following for ducks in a sensational ten-minute spell before lunch.

It was left to Alex Hales, who had been growing in confidence on 38 after an anxious first hour, and England’s own debutant, James Vince, to glue the innings together. Vince had yet to get off the mark after 15 balls of watchful defence, as England settled for a lunchtime scoreline – and a definite bout of indigestion – of 57 for 3.

Shanaka, who was the last of the five bowlers used by Angelo Mathews on an attritional morning under overcast skies, had been brought on to bowl the 19th over of the innings, with England apparently looking solid on 44 for 0 after Cook and Hales, with a similar tempo but contrasting styles, had seen off the new-ball danger of Shaminda Eranga and Nuwan Pradeep.

Instead, having launched his Test career with a maiden, Shanaka struck with his seventh delivery to shatter any preconceptions that England might have harboured. Having left the ball with his usual sangfroid for most of his 52 deliveries, Cook was drawn into a drive as Shanaka tempted him with a fuller length outside off, and scuffed an edge through to Dinesh Chandimal, the keeper.

Then, three balls later, Compton – whose anxieties cannot have been aided by his team-mates’ struggles to impose themselves – poked with caution at a perfect off-stump line and length, to squeeze a low edge through to Lahiru Thirimanne at first slip.

And, as if that was not enough of an impact on debut, Shanaka then added England’s main man to his tally, as Root – in such golden touch in all formats – was also drawn into a drive as Shanaka’s wobbly medium-pace left his shot just a fraction and scudded to Kusal Mendis at third slip instead.

It was a dream start for Shanaka, who had been awarded his Test cap by Mahela Jayawardene before the start of play, and a timely boost for a beleaguered Sri Lanka squad too, who began the match knowing that Dhammika Prasad, their matchwinning seamer on this ground two years ago, will miss the whole Test series after flying home to resolve a shoulder injury.

The second hour of the session also featured a lively but unsuccessful introduction for Sri Lanka’s pacy young quick bowler, Dushmantha Chameera, as well as a typically accurate probe from the spinner, Rangana Herath, whose solitary over was blocked out for a maiden by Hales before the break.

After being put into bat on a morning when Cook himself had admitted he would have preferred to bowl first, England’s openers were obliged to be at their most watchful. Cook got off the mark with his sixth ball, a firm clip for four through midwicket as Eranga strayed too straight, and he later added a second boundary with a well-timed cover drive as Pradeep over-pitched outside off stump, before one shot too many opened England’s floodgates.

At the other end, Hales – under pressure for his place following a disappointing maiden series in South Africa – grew in confidence after a nervous first foray in which his hard-handed technique looked in danger against Sri Lanka’s tight lines and gentle lateral movement.

He opened his account with a well-timed clip through midwicket off Pradeep, then followed that up with a rather streakier edge through the vacant third slip off Eranga. An emphatic punch through the covers dented Mathews’ figures after a tight start to his spell, then, having notched his first single of the morning from his 48th delivery, Hales added two more fours in the space of three balls off Mathews, each drilled through the covers off the front and back foot respectively.

With seven boundaries to his name by the interval, Hales was looking England’s likeliest source of forward momentum, but first they will need to regroup after a chastening first session of the series.

Both sides are wearing black armbands in recognition of the floods that are currently affecting Sri Lanka.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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