Lunch England 76 for 1 (Duckett 51*, Pope 14*) vs Sri Lanka
Sent in to bat on time after heavy rain in the area earlier in the morning, the hosts reached 76 for 1 at the end of an opening session cut short by 40 minutes due to bad light with Dan Lawrence the wicket to fall after a laboured innings which yielded just 5 runs off 21 balls. Duckett remained unbeaten on 51 off 48 balls and Ollie Pope was 14 not out.
Duckett’s perilous twin flashes at Asitha Fernando deliveries outside off stump within the first three overs came to nought for either side, likewise Lawrence’s attempted drive off Vishwa, who pitched one on middle and off and beat the outside edge.
Duckett managed to lay a fortuitous inside edge onto an Asitha delivery in the channel through to the fine leg boundary but a clip off his toes through square leg off Vishwa was much more assured as he settled into his work and Lawrence remained yet to score after facing 10 balls in five overs.
Lawrence finally made it off the mark when he turned first-change bowler Lahiru Kumara to square leg and ran two to ironic cheers from a crowd that saw the Oval stands about three-quarters full by the time half an hour had passed and the spectre of rain had lifted.
Duckett raised the tempo when he advanced down the pitch to despatch Milan Rathnayake for consecutive fours over extra cover to move to a run-a-ball 36.
The contrast continued with Lawrence, who dropped his head and spun on his heel in the direction of the changeroom even before his mess of a pull shot off Kumara, which sailed into the air off a top edge had dropped into the hands of Pathum Nissanka at gully.
Pope back-cut a short, wide delivery from Rathnayake for four to get going almost immediately and punished a Kumara short ball for six over deep backward square.
Duckett followed with two off-side fours in three Rathnayake deliveries to move to 48 and he brought up his fifty by crashing Vishwa through the covers and running three. That was shortly before play was halted for bad light and with the lightest drizzle hanging in the air – conditions not appearing much different to the start of play. While the players were off the field, however, the skies darkened appreciably and lunch was taken early at 12.40pm.
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo
