Alex Hales again fell agonisingly short of a maiden Test hundred as England got the better of several close calls in the third Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on Sunday.
Alex Hales again fell agonisingly short of a maiden Test hundred as England got the better of several close calls in the third Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on Sunday.
At tea on a rain-marred fourth day, England, 2-0 up in the three-match series, were 206/6 in their second innings.
That gave them a commanding lead of 334, with no side having made more to win in the fourth innings of a Test at Lord’s than the 344/1 posted by the West Indies against England in 1984 when opener Gordon Greenidge made a superb 214 not out.
This series had seen Hales come close to a century with scores of 86 and 83 in the first two Tests at Leeds and Chester-le-Street respectively.
The Nottinghamshire opener got closer still at Lord’s on Sunday with 94 before he was lbw to Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews shortly before tea. England captain Alastair Cook was 32 not out and Moeen Ali nought not out at the interval.
After rain meant there was no play before lunch, England resumed on 109/4, a lead of 237 runs.
Hales was 41 not out and nightwatchman Steven Finn six not out.
Hales had moved on to 45 when Sunday’s third ball saw him survive a confident lbw appeal from Sri Lanka paceman Shaminda Eranga.
Scoreboard (at tea) England (1st innings): 416 Sri Lanka (1st innings): 288
England (2nd innings): N. Compton c Chandimal b Eranga 19, A. Hales lbw b Mathews 94, J. Root b Pradeep 4, J. Vince b Pradeep 0, J. Bairstow b Pradeep 32, S. Finn lbw b Eranga 7, A. Cook (batting) 32, M. Ali (batting) 0. Extras: (b6, lb4, nb8) 18. Total: (for 6 wkts, in 65 overs) 206. FoW: 1-45, 2-50, 3-50, 4-101, 5-120, 6-202. Bowling: Lakmal 13-2-45-0, Eranga 12-1-44-2 (3nb), Pradeep 15-5-37-3 (3nb), Herath 19-2-60-0, Mathews 6-2-10-1.
