Second Test, Lord’s (day two of five)

England 427 (Root 143, Atkinson 118; A Fernando 5-102) & 25-1

Sri Lanka 196 (Kamindu 74; Potts 2-19, Woakes 2-21)

England lead by 256 runs

Scorecard

Gus Atkinson continued the sensational start to his career with a maiden century as England utterly dominated day two of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.

Atkinson, who took 12 wickets on debut against West Indies on this ground last month, became the first England number eight to make a Test ton in 11 years, before joining a pace quartet that laid waste to the Sri Lanka top order.

The 26-year-old, playing only his fifth Test, needed 22 deliveries on Friday morning to move from an overnight 74 to his first century in professional cricket.

Only two England number eights have made more than Atkinson’s 118 in Tests and it took a breathtaking diving catch by Milan Rathnayake to dismiss him as part of the home side’s eventual 427 all out.

In blameless conditions, Sri Lanka should have made England work hard, only to fold in the face of some relentless pace bowling.

Olly Stone took two wickets in an over in his first Test for more than three years, while Matthew Potts repeated the dose in a calamitous spell when Sri Lanka crashed from 83-3 to 87-6.

Resistance came from Kamindu Mendis, who followed up his century in the first Test with a defiant 74. His was the last wicket to fall to leave Sri Lanka 196 all out, 231 behind.

England opted against the follow-on and Dan Lawrence felt aggrieved to be caught behind for seven.

Ollie Pope joined Ben Duckett and England closed on 25-1, a lead of 256.

England are racing towards their fifth successive Test win and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

For Sri Lanka, this was a chastening day, one that left them ruing their decision to bowl first. The tourists battled hard before being beaten in the first Test, yet had little stomach for the fight on this second afternoon at Lord’s.

Atkinson and Kamindu proved that run-scoring could be straightforward on a placid surface, but Sri Lanka were left wanting by England’s ability to find just enough movement.

Even as Kamindu counter-punched, stand-in England captain Ollie Pope’s biggest decision was whether or not to bat again. The last time England enforced the follow-on, against New Zealand in Wellington last year, they suffered a historic and thrilling one-run defeat.

Pope’s choice gave another chance to makeshift opener Lawrence and his inside edge off Lahiru Kumara was correctly detected on review. That brought the skipper to the crease for his opportunity to prove he can combine leadership with runs at number three.