Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s interim head coach, said that his team’s success in frustrating Harry Brook had been integral to their fightback on the second day at the Kia Oval, as they reached the close on 211 for 5 in their first innings, trailing by just 114 after bowling England out for 325 in the morning session.
England had seemed to be in a familiarly dominant position overnight, having raced to 221 for 3 in barely half a day’s play on day one, but they then lost their last seven wickets for 104 more runs in 24.1 overs on day two, with all ten wickets ultimately falling to attacking shots.
Brook, 8 not out overnight, was particularly culpable for setting the tone for a careless batting performance. He was given out to his third ball of the day, after aiming a wild drive at Lahiru Kumara, and though he successfully overturned that caught-behind verdict, he was then badly dropped by Asitha Fernando at deep point on 12, after giving the charge to Milan Rathnayake.
And, with Sri Lanka finding movement in the overcast conditions, he then telegraphed his frustration by mockingly taking guard two feet outside off stump, to highlight the restrictive line that Asitha in particular was bowling.
His torrid stay eventually ended on 19 from 39 balls, when he flashed another drive to Kamindu Mendis at short cover, to trigger a collapse of 7 for 64 in which only Ollie Pope, eighth out for 154, emerged with any credit among England’s batters.
“He was frustrated, yes, because we bowled well, with the right line and length,” Jayasuriya said at the close. “We go through each and every batsmen, like they go through our batsmen. We know their very strong areas, and where we can keep them tight and frustrated.
“They love to play their shots. So we just thought of bowling a more tight line and length just outside your off stump. When you keep doing that in these conditions, when the ball is moving, it’s not very easy.”
England’s unfocused performance attracted the ire of Michael Vaughan on the BBC, who warned the team at large that sterner challenges lie in store for the team, particularly when they take on India and Australia in five-Test series next year. He singled out Brook for particular criticism, given the extraordinary strides he’s already made in his career, particularly in his breakthrough winter of 2023-24, when he racked up 809 runs in nine innings, at a strike-rate of 98.77.
“England are ultra-aggressive,” Vaughan said. “They go towards the danger. If the ball is swinging away they are not thinking about leaving it. That is their method.
“Just be careful, Harry Brook. That is all I will say to him. He is a brilliant player. He is as good as I have seen. I am going towards Kevin Pietersen-style. He is an incredible player. But don’t take the mick out of the game. Be very, very careful.
“There are cricketing gods up there and in a year’s time there are tougher challenges. When you don’t treat things as you should, you might be getting the rub of the green now, but against the very best teams when it really matters, you will need a bit of luck, a toss to go the right way, the DRS to work for you.
“I would ask England, were you on it all day like you would be against India and Australia? If they look themselves in the mirror and say they were, I would say they are lying. They weren’t on it today.
“England delight me a lot in the way they play. But this game has a way of biting you. When you are so far ahead of the opposition, don’t take the mick. Don’t think you can do things no other player has done in the history of the game – dance down the wicket and whack an away-swinger over mid-off.”
Jayasuriya himself was one of the great attacking batters in Test history – as shown on this ground in 1998, when his brilliant 213 from 278 balls set Sri Lanka on their way to their most famous Test victory. And at the close, he added his own advice after watching Brook’s struggles to manage his tempo.
“Sometimes you go to the top gear, and sometimes you have to put the gear back, and you slow it down a bit,” he said. “You can’t go in top gear all the time when you play this type of cricket.
“You play your natural game, but you need to take the less risk as much as possible, when the field is back on the off side, or the leg side. You need to fight it hard. So this is a part of the game. You need to work hard, and mentally you need to be strong.”
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
