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Joe Root notches record 34th Test hundred as England close in
For the second time in three days at Lord’s, it was all about Joe Root. England’s batting bellwether continued a bumper Test match by producing twin tons for the first time in his storied career, his 34th century in the format setting new records for his country – and setting his team on their way towards what would be a series-sealing win.
England began the day in a position of comfort, 256 runs ahead with nine wickets standing, and Root allowed an expectant crowd to drink in the experience of a Lord’s Saturday. If there was data on champagne corks popped, Root would probably set have another benchmark. As it was, his innings of 103 was garlanded by several entries in the record books: his seventh Test hundred the most by an individual at Lord’s, as he surpassed Graham Gooch as the leading run-scorer on the ground. Cook’s overall England run-scoring records is now less than 100 runs away.
This effort, coming from 111 balls, was also his fastest in the format. He reached the mark, in the company of the No. 10, Olly Stone, by swatting Lahiru Kumara’s bouncer in front of deep point, amid a rising crescendo of “Roooooooot!” rolling around the ground. The next-highest score by one of his team-mates was Harry Brook’s 37 off 36 balls.
With Sri Lanka asked to chase a target of 483, Root was at it again in the field – his two catches at first slip to remove Nishan Madushka and Pathum Nissanka making him the fourth man to take 200 in Tests. Rahul Dravid, the record-holder with 210, is very much in his sights.
That Sri Lanka finished the day only two down was in part due to an early finish brought about by bad light. A world-record target looked a long way off for a team short on batting confidence, though Dimuth Karunaratne survived being given out lbw to his third ball – a poor decision from Paul Reiffel overturned – to negotiate 90 minutes in the gloom after tea. He walked off in the company of “lightwatcher” Prabath Jayasuriya after England had been instructed to bowl their spinners for a second time, with Ollie Pope preferring to preserve the condition of the ball for Sunday.
Madushka was the first wicket to fall, edging Gus Atkinson to slip to continue a difficult first tour of England – having been replaced behind the stumps by Dinesh Chandimal on the third morning, he also dropped two catches in the field (although one still resulted in the dismissal of Ben Duckett, as Angelo Mathews snaffled the rebound). Nissanka survived on 2 when the faintest of under-edges to leg slip off Shoaib Bashir went undetected, only to be dismissed by a snorter in Olly Stone’s first over as the light briefly improved enough to allow a return to pace.
Joe Root passes by as Joel Wilson puts the light meter to work, England vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Lord’s, 3rd day, August 31, 2024
Bad light forced an early finish on day 3[Cricinfo]
England left the field at just after 5pm, content that there is plenty of time left for them to take the eight wickets required for a 2-0 lead in the series. Kamindu Mendis had held out the hope on the second evening that Sri Lanka could find a way back into the game if they could get England out for “under 150-175” – they gamely chipped out five wickets by that stage but couldn’t prevent a Root march carrying the hosts to 251 and a seemingly impregnable position.
Root’s reliability had allowed England to negotiate the morning session with few alarms, and the game continued to revolve around him after the interval. A nudge down the ground off Jayasuriya took him to fifty from 65 balls, and he began to push the tempo with three fours – two hauled through wide long-on, one delicately reverse-swept – in four balls.
Sri Lanka kept at it, Jayasuriya removing Jamie Smith lbw despite a review from the batter, before Chris Woakes flat-batted Milan Rathnayake to cover. Atkinson’s dismissal, meanwhile, came in complete contrast to the elegant simplicity that characterised his maiden hundred in the first innings: caught behind the keeper at long-stop when top-edging a reverse-pull at Asitha Fernando. Potts then gloved the same bowler behind but Stone hung in to get Root to his milestone.
Stone was caught at fine leg in the same over, and although England’s approach had seemed to have a declaration in mind, they batted on. Root eventually gave Kumara a third wicket, top-edging a tired heave to deep-backward square leg, with tea taken early at the close of the innings.
England’s batting effort was uneven, Root aside, reflective of their strong grip on the game. Three wickets went down during the morning session, including that of Pope, England’s stand-in captain, who made his highest score while deputising for Ben Stokes but again fell in perplexing fashion, slashing an Asitha bouncer straight to deep backward point for 17, shortly after Sri Lanka had put four men back for the ploy.
The hosts resumed on 25 for 1, after Dan Lawrence’s dismissal on the second evening, and Ben Duckett was the first to depart, thanks to accidental piece of choreography between slip and gully. Rathnayake pitched the ball up from round the wicket, tempting the drive – and while Madushka could not hold on diving to his right, he managed to scoop the chance back towards Mathews for a regulation catch.
At the other end, Pope was looking to quell some of the noise around his batting. He moved into double-figures for the first time in the series with a clip off his legs, then survived a review for lbw against Rathnayake, with ball-tracking showing the ball would have cleared the stumps. But he did not last much longer, as Asitha targeted him from round the wicket.
The first of Root’s four boundaries was a thick outside edge between slip and gully, but he was otherwise serene in progressing towards a third consecutive 50-plus score. Jayasuriya was picked off on the sweep and twice down the ground, though Root was initially happy to tick along at a strike rate in the 70s, allowing Brook and then Smith to play the aggressor.
Brook’s intent during a half-century stand seemed to suggest that England were already thinking about the declaration. Brook was badly dropped on 9, Madushka making a mess of a skied slog-sweep at midwicket, then launched Jayasuriya’s next delivery into the Tavern Stand to rub in the pain. Sri Lanka’s spinner bore the brunt of the attack, but he had the satisfaction of removing Brook when another attempt to haul him leg side was safely held by Madushka in front of the rope.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 196 and 53 for 2 in 20 overs (Dimuth Karunaratne 23; Olly Stone 1-1, Gus Atkinson 1-15)need a further 430 runs to beat England 427 and 251 (Joe Root 103; Asitha Fernando 3-52, Lahiru Kumara 3-53)
[Cricinfo]
Japan’s ruling party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is projected to have won Sunday’s snap election by a landslide.
An exit poll by public broadcaster NHK suggests the coalition led by Takaichi’s Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) is set to win two-thirds of seats in Japan’s House of Representatives. The LDP alone is forecast to have a majority of seats.
The country’s first female prime minister had sought a clear public mandate by calling the election just four months after becoming party leader.
Her apparent success is in marked contrast to her two predecessors, under whom the party lost its parliamentary majority due to corruption scandals and rising costs.
Takaichi previously pledged to step down if her party failed to secure a majority, and some called the snap election a big gamble.
The LDP lost its majority in both houses of parliament in 2024, and its decades-old coalition with the Komeito party collapsed.
But Takaichi’s personal popularity appears to have helped the party, with approval ratings for her government mostly hovering above 70%.
The LDP and its current coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, could secure as many as 366 of the 465 seats in the House of Representatives, according to NHK projections as votes continue to be counted.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already hailed a “big victory” for Takaichi, saying “when Japan is strong, the US is strong in Asia”.
Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi also congratulated Takaichi for the “landmark” result, saying he was confident India and Japan’s friendship could be taken to “greater heights”.
People across Japan braved snow to vote in the country’s first mid-winter poll in 36 years.
Japan’s transport ministry said 37 train lines and 58 ferry routes were closed and 54 flights cancelled as of Sunday morning. There was rare snowfall in Tokyo as people headed out to vote.
“People want their lives to be better and more comfortable because we are so accustomed to not having inflation [costs rising]… so people are very worried. I think we need a long-term solution rather than short-term fixes,” Ritsuko Ninomiya, a voter in Tokyo, told the BBC.
Takaichi’s enthusiasm, populist spending promises and nationalist rhetoric appear to have energised voters.
Her social media presence has also cultivated new followers, particularly among young voters. She regularly shares clips of her daily life and political activities, and a video of her playing the drums with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is one of many clips to have gone viral.
Takaichi and the LDP faced a more unified opposition than before. LDP’s former coalition partner Komeito has joined forces with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan to form the largest opposition bloc in the lower house.
Takaichi has pushed to toughen the immigration system, review rules around foreign ownership of Japanese land, and tackle any non-payments of tax and health insurance by foreign nationals.
But in a country where only 3% of the population are foreign nationals, critics have accused her of creating anxiety and division.
Relations with China – Japan’s largest trading partner – have been strained as well, after Takaichi suggested last November that Japan could intervene militarily if China invaded Taiwan.
With a two-thirds majority, Takaichi would be a strong position to considering her long-held aim of changing Japan’s pacifist constitution.
Takaichi has courted Donald Trump, who has publicly endorsed her – an unusual move by a US president – and they both seem to agree that Japan should spend more on defence.
That relationship too was on voters’ minds as they headed to the polls on Sunday.
“I am concerned with what President Trump is doing as well as the national defence issues. I am not sure where the money is coming from to cover that. So balancing budget spending between defence and people’s life is a major concern for me,” Yuko Sakai says.
(BBC)
Prime Minister Anutin Charnavirakul has claimed victory in Thailand’s general election, with preliminary vote counts putting his ruling conservatives well ahead of their rivals.
Anutin said his success belonged to “all Thais, no matter whether you voted for us or not”, after his party’s expected result defied opinion polls that had placed the reformist People’s Party ahead.
With 90% of the votes counted, Anutin’s Bhumjaithai party projected to win 194 seats in Bangkok’s 500-seat parliament, with the People’s Party in second place on 116.
People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut appeared to concede the election, saying he was ready to serve in opposition if Anutin could form a government.
The election was called after several coalition governments collapsed, giving the country three prime ministers in as many years.
While no party is projected to gain an overall majority, paving the way for coalition talks, Anutin is now almost certain to stay in office.
Elections in Thailand are often unpredictable, and so it proved this time.
This shock result is a huge disappointment for the People’s Party, which had expected to improve on its winning performance of three years ago.
But a widely expected “orange wave” of support for its young, idealistic candidates did not materialise.
The party, which won the election in 2023 but was blocked from taking power, found itself pushed into second place by Anutin’s pragmatic conservatives.
The reformists will remain in opposition for now. The feared crisis that could have occurred had they won, and once again been barred from office, has been averted.
Opinion polls have frequently been wrong in Thailand, but there will be a lot of post-election analysis of how Anutin turned his once small, provincial Bhumjaithai – “Thai Pride”- party into a such formidable electoral machine.
Playing on patriotic sentiment after the two short border wars with Cambodia last year, Anutin’s party became the standard-bearer for conservatives, promising to defend the status of traditional Thai institutions like the monarchy and military.
He campaigned on hard-line nationalist sentiments and populist giveaways – but his victory was also down to his ability to win local power-brokers to his side, in an electoral system where 80% of seats were decided on a first-past-the-post basis.
The People’s Party did well in the proportional votes, where it appears to have got more votes than any other party. But it was unable to overcome its lack of networks at a local level.
The third main contender was the Shinawatra family and its Pheu Thai – “For Thais” – party, which is projected to win 86 seats.
In the past it dominated elections, with well-marketed populist policies. It had promised to create nine new millionaires – in Thai baht – every day through a national prize draw. Both Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai have offered subsidies and cash handouts to voters.
Pheu Thai was expected to lose significant support in this election after its last coalition administration was accused of mishandling the conflict with Cambodia, and its patriarch, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, was sent to jail.
Thailand’s once dynamic economy has ground to a halt as political instability and the lack of structural changes worry foreign investors. Voters, meanwhile, had voiced concerns about rising costs.
“I want the economy to improve and I don’t want big factories to relocate to our neighbouring countries,” civil servant Phananya Bunthong told the BBC, a reference to Thailand falling behind Vietnam.
The People’s Party promised big changes, from curbing the power of the biggest businesses and military, to streamlining the extensive bureaucracy and modernising the education system.
But in Thailand, even a straight election victory may not have been enough, as powerful, unelected forces have repeatedly intervened to block parties challenging the status quo.
Two previous incarnations of the People’s Party were dissolved by the court, and their leaders banned from politics. When the young reformers won last time, the military-appointed senate barred them from forming a government and the constitutional court dissolved the party.
They are not the only ones to have been subjected to intervention by the constitutional court, and other unelected conservative institutions. Five Pheu Thai prime ministers have been dismissed by the court since 2008, and two earlier incarnations of the party have been dissolved.
But if the People’s Party had exceeded the 151 seats it won in 2023, it may have proven difficult to bar it from forming a government. This is despite the great unease about its radical agenda in conservative and royalist circles.
The projected result means the People’s Party’s opponents will not be in this position, for now.
Besides the election, Thais have voted in a referendum on whether to reform the 2017 constitution, which was drafted under military rule in 2017.
Critics of the charter believe it gives too much power to unelected forces like the senate, “handcuffing” the country’s democracy.
With over 90% of votes counted, preliminary tallies suggested around 65% had voted in favour.
“I want change. I don’t want things to be the same,” 28-year-old Kittitat Daengkongkho told the BBC.
That, in effect, was the choice Thai voters were presented with in this election: sweeping change, or more of the same.
(BBC)
Sri Lanka 163 for 6 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 24, Kamil Mishara
Catches win matches. Ireland dropped seven, of varying difficulty, and that proved to be a major factor in their 20-run loss to Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Sent in, Sri Lanka started briskly but the Ireland spinners George Dockrell and Gareth Delany, handcuffed them in the middle overs. After 16 overs, they were on 104 for 4. That they could add another 59 to finish on a competitive 163 for 6 was down to Ireland’s sloppy fielding.
Kamindu Mendis was dropped on 14; he went on to smash 44 off 19 balls. Kusal Mendis was first put down on 34; he finished on 56 not out off 43. The pair added 67 off 30 balls for the fifth wicket to inject the much-needed momentum.
Ireland made a solid start to their chase, reaching 52 for 1 in seven overs. But Wanidu Hasaranga, who had hurt his hamstring after sending down just two balls, derailed them. Bowling with hardly any follow-through, he picked up 3 for 25 from his four overs. Maheesh Theekshana also took three, hastening the end as Ireland were bowled out for 143 in 19.5 overs.
Earlier, Kamil Mishara barely looked assured during his brief stay. In the third over, he hit one uppishly back towards Barry McCarthy but the bowler had little time to react. In the same over, he was dropped by Ross Adair at short midwicket. But Mishara failed to make it count. In the following over, he was caught at mid-off off a slower delivery from Mark Adair. Kusal started briskly, hitting three fours in his first eight balls to take Sri Lanka to 50 for 1 by the end of the powerplay.
After the powerplay, Ireland deployed spin from both ends. That put the brakes on the scoring rate. Pathum Nissanka went for the cut against Dockrell and was caught at extra cover. Pavan Rathnayake tried to upper-cut the spinner, only for the ball to hit the middle stump. That left Sri Lanka on 68 for 3 in the 11th over.
Such was the stranglehold of the Ireland spinners that Sri Lanka couldn’t hit a boundary for 56 balls after the powerplay. All told, Ireland bowled 13 overs of spin, the most by them in a T20I.
Kamindu ended the boundary drought in the 16th over when he reverse-swept Delany for four over backward point. After that, Ireland made one fielding mistake after another to cede the advantage. In the 17th over, bowled by Matthew Humphreys, Kusal was reprieved twice and Kamindu once. The Kamindu chance at long-off went for six. To rub it in, he hit the next two balls for four, making it a 21-run over.
There was another drop in the following over, with Ross Adair putting down Kusal off Mark Adair at deep square leg. The wheels completely came off in the 19th. McCarthy started with a beamer down the leg side, which Kamindu put away for four. When the free hit arrived after two wides, Kamindu pulled it for a six. McCarthy did send back Kamindu and Dasun Shanaka off successive balls but ended up conceding 19 from the over. Lasting 11 balls, it was the joint longest over in the T20 World Cup history. Kusal, who largely played second fiddle to Kamindu, brought up his half-century in the final over.
Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts after 2.00 p.m.
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