BUMBLE ON THE TEST: CHRIS WOAKES' IMPROVISATION PROVIDED SOME TOP ENTERTAINMENT AMID BAD LIGHT FIASCO - AND WHY FREDDIE FLINTOFF'S LIONS JOB IS A FANTASTIC APPOINTMENT

England were pegged back by Sri Lanka on day two of the final Test of summer
Woakes was forced to bowl off-spin on the day because of apparent bad light
Flintoff, meanwhile, will lead the England Lions side following coaching stint

England's final Test match of the summer continued on Ssturday, as they look to complete another clean sweep of victories over their 2024 opponents.

After Ollie Pope's scintillating century on day one, the Surrey man's side collapsed on day two, posting a total of 325 all out before taking to the field with the ball.

It was initally good going for the hosts, who restricted their opponents to 93/5, but an unbeaten partnership of 118 between Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis brought Sri Lanka back into the game.

England now face a difficult task of making sure they stay in the match themselves once again, with the tie well-balanced going into day three.

Here, Mail Sport's DAVID 'BUMBLE' LLOYD takes you through some of the stories you may have missed from day two at Lord's.

Bad light fiasco

This is the entertainment business, with people paying top dollar, so it was farcical to see Chris Woakes forced to bowl slow at 2pm because of bad light.

The light wasn't dangerous. We get many days like this in England but these days the big issue is the fear of litigation. If we carry on like this, we're killing the game.

Whatever the weather

On the subject of bad light, you can see the influence of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits. Best to leave the field when… 'You get a shiver in the dark, it's raining in the park but meantime – south of the river you stop and you hold everything.'

I'm convinced Sultans of Swing was written about bad light at the Oval!

Fan of Freddie

It's terrific to see England give Andrew Flintoff the Lions job. Make no mistake, Freddie is a top bloke. It is an excellent move to put him in charge of the emerging talent and he will have a very close link to Brendon McCullum.

The pair are two peas in a pod, with similar outlooks and values.

The future is bright for Pope

For Ollie Pope, that was a very timely knock and a reminder of his ability. He has looked frenetic all series but at his home ground, he played beautifully and at a great tempo.

If anything, this ton should show Pope that if he focuses on intent, he won't look anywhere near as shaky as he usually does at the start of his innings.

Boat is broken

The boat saga is not good. The weather up north is lovely but my boat is grounded because the solenoid in the battery has blown — and it can't be repaired until Monday.

In the meantime, a mate from up the river has just come back from his holidays in Newark. To be honest, I thought he said New York!

The bigger picture

Yes, England collapsed, but I didn't mind it too much because they wanted to move the game on.

Though 325 in the first innings against Sri Lanka is a decent score, it isn't against the likes of Australia and India. Be cautious because these totals won't be enough Down Under. You have to go big and take control.

2024-09-07T21:47:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd