Sri Lanka Under-19s 153 and 246 for 7 (M Perera 61) trail England Under-19s 477 (Shaikh 107, Flintoff 106, Denly 91, Fonseka 76) by 78 runs
Rocky Flintoff staged a record-breaking performance as England continued to call the shots on day three of the second Youth Men’s Test against Sri Lanka at Cheltenham.
Watched by his father, former England all-rounder Andrew, the 16-year-old became the youngest player to score a hundred for England Under-19s, raising an impressive 106 to help the Young Lions post 477 and establish a first-innings lead of 324.
Flintoff junior, who signed his first professional contract with Lancashire only last month, faced 181 balls, struck nine fours and two sixes, and added 78 for the sixth wicket in partnership with Jack Carney, ensuring England went way past Sri Lanka’s first-innings 153.
Although the tourists made a better fist of batting in their second innings, they still face an uphill battle to save the game after reaching the close on 246 for 7, still 78 runs in arrears. Mahith Perera made 61 and Dinuru Kalupahana 40 in adding 88 for the fifth wicket, but Harry Moore and Farhan Ahmed both took 2 for 41 as the home side reasserted their superiority.
If England’s intention at the start of the day was to raise the rate of scoring and increase the pressure on Sri Lanka, then they met those twin requirements in a morning session which yielded a further 76 runs in 22 overs.
Looking to push the score along, Carney fell prey to misjudgment, pushing a ball from Vihas Thewmika into the off side and setting off for a single, only to be run out by the lightning-quick reactions of Thisara Ekanayake. England’s wicketkeeper had contributed 29 runs in a valuable stand of 78 in 24 overs for the sixth wicket with Flintoff, helping to see off the threat of the new ball.
Flintoff went to his hundred from 178 deliveries when pushing a ball from Chanthuka to mid-off and completing a hurried single, raising his bat in mid-leap, punching the air in celebration and bringing an appreciative Festival audience to their feet.
Although he showed glimpses of his prodigious talent, Flintoff’s innings was characterised by watchfulness as he put the interests of his team first. His languid style might give the impression of a laidback approach, but his stoical innings was forged upon determination and concentration.
Attempting to accelerate, Flintoff holed out to long-on off the bowling of Praveen Maneesha for 106, at which point England’s lead was already in excess of 300.
Moore raised a useful 24 off 42 balls, including a four and two sixes, before being caught in the deep off the bowling of Praveen Maneesha, while Thewmika accounted for tailenders Ahmed and Charlie Barnard in quick succession to wrap up the innings. Sri Lanka’s bowlers stuck to their task in challenging circumstances, spinners Thewmika and Maneesha returning figures of 3 for 82 and 3 for 112 respectively to limit the damage.
Finding conditions less to their liking in the second innings, England’s bowlers were made to graft hard on a surface that had flattened out considerably since the first day. But they still managed to make important in-roads with pace spearhead Moore playing a key role.
Building up a head of steam from the College Lawn end, the 17-year-old Derbyshire prospect had Pulindu Perera held at first slip with the score on 48 and then used his 6ft5in to good effect, plucking a superb catch from out of the sky at mid-off to dismiss Sharujan Shanmuganathan off the bowling of Noah Thain.
Fellow quick Naavya Sharma then struck an important blow shortly before tea, having first-innings hero Gayana Weerasinghe caught at slip as Sri Lanka slipped to 104 for 3. England turned to spin in the final session and Ekanayake nicked a delivery from Charlie Barnard to slip and departed for a 127-ball 39 with the score on 128.
Just when it was most needed, Perera and Kalupahana summoned defiance, the fifth-wicket pair adding 88 to put a temporary dampener on English ambition. Playing fluently under pressure, Perera raised an eye-catching 50 from 57 balls with nine fours and a six, but Kalupahana was 10 runs short of the same landmark when spinner Farhan Ahmed located an edge and Thain took a fine catch at slip to send back the Sri Lanka captain.
Moore induced Perera to pull straight to mid-wicket in the next over and, when Diniru Abeywickramasinghe was caught behind off the bowling of Ahmed shortly before the close, the tourists were 236 for 7 and deep in trouble.
