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For two days, some occasionally high-quality cricket had been hard to enjoy because of the drab conditions. A sunny Friday with a bigger crowd felt like the arrival of a spectacle.
With that in mind, the prospect of Sri Lanka folding was disappointing, especially given the one-sided nature of England’s series against West Indies last month. For some time, a three-day finish seemed the most likely outcome.
Mathews, though, has form in these situations. In 2014 the 37-year-old former captain rescued Sri Lanka from a seemingly helpless position at Headingley and engineered one of the most famous victories in their history.
He found a confident partner in Kamindu. The pitch, often uneven, went to sleep. Stand-in England captain Ollie Pope was forced into his hardest thinking of the match. The ball change, 41 overs into the Sri Lanka innings, was the turning point, though England almost missed their chance.
While Woakes accounted for Mathews, he had already been badly missed by Joe Root at slip and Gus Atkinson was slow to move towards Kamindu’s slash to point.
England will remember what happened on this ground during last year’s Ashes Test, when most of the last two days were lost to rain and the match was drawn. Rain is again forecast for the weekend, but they will hope their position is strong enough and the weather kind enough for victory to be achieved.
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