Sri Lanka v England: first Test, day two – live!

61st over: England 206-3 (Root 99, Lawrence 40) Root sweeps Embuldeniya for… three, thanks to a good diving stop at deep square leg. Embuldeniya goes over the wicket into the rough, conjuring memories of Ashley Giles, who is on the ground in his role as England’s boss. But it’s just a ploy for a couple of balls, and when he goes back round, he beats Lawrence outside off. And that is lunch, with Root poised on the brink. He’s gone from Root 66 to Root 99, and more importantly, he’s been big enough to play second fiddle to a debutant. Dan Lawrence has scored a fearless 40 and made up for the early loss of Jonny Bairstow. The morning belongs to England, who are in charge of this Test.

Sri Lanka have one bowler doing a great job – Lasith Embuldeniya, with all three wickets for 80 – while the other three have managed none for 111. Still, they were doing OK themselves this time yesterday. And England, as their faithful supporters know, always have a collapse in them. See you in half an hour.

60th over: England 203-3 (Root 96, Lawrence 40) Root plays a false shot! An inside edge that just eludes short leg’s right hand – but it wouldn’t have been out anyway, as Perera had overstepped. Lawrence shows his legside skills now, going down the track to play a whip for two. He may be Both Sides Billy.

59th over: England 193-3 (Root 94, Lawrence 37) Root sees those sweeps and thinks he’ll play one too, off Embuldeniya, through midwicket, and he’s into the nineties.

58th over: England 188-3 (Root 89, Lawrence 37) Perera takes over from Hasaranga and Lawrence plays a different kind of sweep – later, finer, not far from the man on the 45 but getting past him to go for four. England’s lead is now 53.

57th over: England 183-3 (Root 88, Lawrence 33) Embuldeniya is back, and after a few dots Lawrence slog-sweeps him for six. That’s the way to bring up a fifty partnership with your captain on your debut. Lawrence has hogged the strike, facing 58 balls out of 88, but this reflects well on Root rather than badly on him.

56th over: England 177-3 (Root 88, Lawrence 27) Lawrence bears out Sangakkara’s point by smacking another four through the covers, going forward to Hasaranga and flat-batting with quick hands. Contrary to his reputation, he has barely hit the ball to leg at all. On this evidence, he’s an Offside Olly.

55th over: England 172-3 (Root 88, Lawrence 22) Another tidy over from Fernando, apart from one ball way down the leg side, which is so bad that it costs only a bye. On commentary, Kumar Sangakkara is talking about Dan Lawrence. ”Very assured and very confident… his judgment is excellent.”

54th over: England 170-3 (Root 87, Lawrence 22) Lawrence edges Hasaranga, prodding at a leg-break, but gets away with it because there’s no gully. Unfazed, he sees Hasaranga drop short and cuts for four to ease the pressure. Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, now this guy: England have enough fearless young batsmen to form a queue, in true English fashion.

53rd over: England 161-3 (Root 83, Lawrence 17) Just when his spinners have taken back control, Chandimal switches to swing and seam. It’s a surprising move but Asitha Fernando comes bustling in and keeps the pressure on. He gets close to the stumps, and if he’s allowed to stay there by the umpire, he’ll generate some rough for Hasaranga’s leg-break.

Here’s Brian Withington. “Hovering around zero degrees here in Dorridge, so casting envious eyes at Galle. Sad to see not-so-YJB dismissed early but a treat to welcome YDL, son of Chingford, to the crease. The young man has got something, including the ideal batting partner for a debut innings. And being reared on the raging Bunsen that is Chelmsfordabad can’t hurt when batting in Galle …”

52nd over: England 160-3 (Root 82, Lawrence 17) Now Hasaranga bowls a maiden too, as he finds his groove and ties Lawrence down. Two good contests.

“Morning Tim!” Morning, Ben Heywood. “It’s a positively balmy -5C here in Virpazar, Montenegro, and as it’s dry for the first time in weeks I’m pulling no.1 son out of his last day of virtual school and we’re bunking off to go snowboarding.” Proper parenting. “We’re also taking a plastic bat and a bright orange practice ball to celebrate the fact that Montenegro are – after two victories against Estonia late last year – now ranking above Christmas Island in the ICC rankings! I’m hoping to add to my solitary cap, so do put any weird nations in touch who’d like to come and lose to the Montenegro Bokaneers when travel opens up again. And let’s have a century from Root, please.” Just one international talking about another.

51st over: England 160-3 (Root 82, Lawrence 17) Lawrence spots a rare bad ball from Embuldeniya, rocks back and cuts for four. That was commanding, but then he cuts again, less certainly, and gets away with it as the ball drops short of the man at backward point. This is a good contest.

50th over: England 155-3 (Root 82, Lawrence 12) Perera goes off after a disappointing spell and gives way to Wanindu Hasaranga, the exciting young leggie with the fast arm action. He bowled too short last night, but he’s on the spot now with his googly, surprising Lawrence and rapping him on the splice.

49th over: England 153-3 (Root 81, Lawrence 11) There is a maiden! And an even better over from Embuldeniya, who beat Lawrence with one that turned and bounced and dislodged a bit of the surface. The pitch is coming to the party.

48th over: England 153-3 (Root 81, Lawrence 11) Four singles off Perera, Lawrence is into double figures, and Sri Lanka haven’t managed a maiden for 28 overs, which isn’t like them.

Meanwhile, in Brisbane, Marnus Labuschagne has got his hundred, but India have got him out. “Working from home in Kuala Lumpur,” Joel Eley wrote a few minutes ago, “and have a batting masterclass onscreen from Labu at the Gabba. Hope Root can push on and I will just imagine his sumptuous cover drives as you report on the OBO. Bit worried about the Aussie batting line-up for the next Ashes – Warner?, Pucovski, Labu, Smith and Green.” Yes, the Aussies are looking reassuringly shaky, although they’re still narrow favourites to win this Test and the series.

47th over: England 149-3 (Root 79, Lawrence 9) Lawrence has been looking to play every delivery, but now he watches one from Embuldeniya very carefully, sees that it’s not the arm ball, and lets it pass close by his off stump. This feels so good, he does it again next ball. Is it too early to say that he’s got the temperament?

46th over: England 148-3 (Root 78, Lawrence 9) A single to Lawrence, a single to Root, two to Lawrence: the guy has nine from eight balls. He won’t always find it this easy.

45th over: England 144-3 (Root 77, Lawrence 6) Root’s a dancer too, not going down the track but back, on his toes, to glide Embuldeniya square for two. And I’ve just realised that that first fine careless boundary from Lawrence took England into the lead.

44th over: England 142-3 (Root 75, Lawrence 6) After taking a single off his first ball, what is Lawrence going to do with his second? Stroke it through the covers for four, which it fully deserves, as it’s a full toss. By the time he gets to his fourth ball, he’s dancing down the track to take a single to long-on. Root does his best to keep up with a two and a single of his own.

43rd over: England 134-3 (Root 72, Lawrence 1) Dan Lawrence has had quite a wait to face his first ball in international cricket, but when it comes he plays it confidently off the back foot and takes a quick single into the covers. Legside Larry? Not so far. Root gets two more from a pull, but that’s a fine start by Lasith Embuldeniya, who is on course for a ten-for. The ball to Bairstow gripped and turned and suggested that today will be a lot more testing than yesterday.

No reprieve this time! Bairstow props forward, gets a nick to gully, and the only doubt is whether the ball carried. It did, and Sri Lanka have broken the big partnership already. The ball is turning more than yesterday.

42nd over: England 131-2 (Root 70, Bairstow 47) There’s nothing like an alarm to wake you up. Root bounces back with a punchy off-drive for four.

Oooh. No edge, and it was hitting the stumps, but Root was struck just outside the line of off. Sri Lanka keep their review, and Root smiles that boyish smile of his.

Root sweeps and misses, or edges, a full ball. He could be in trouble here if he hasn’t got a nick.

It looks as if the first over will be bowled by Dilruwan Perera, who wasn’t at his wily best yesterday.

“Hovering around zero here in Piedmont,” says Finbar Anslow. “Still under a foot of snow that fell on Christmas Day. Re the SCG crowd abuse, I was wondering whether there’s any literature on crowd sledging? My memory goes back to a delightful moment at Hove when the future prime minister of Pakistan was offered ‘a glass of scrump’ (declined with a smile). I hope that’s the kind of comment he remembers.” Ha. Whether there’s literature, I’m not sure. There’s certainly plenty of folklore, enough to make a good book. You could call it Declined with a Smile.

“Another gorgeous day here in Georgetown (Penang),” says Spencer Robinson. “Last week I revived my long-lost cricket career with my first net in 30 years at the fabulous Penang Sports Club. Despite plenty of aches and bruises, I’ve survived to tell the tale and have been looking forward to a masterclass today from Messrs Root and Bairstow in the art of playing spin bowling. Please stop the rain in Galle!” I’m on it. The covers are off, and the sky is showing some flecks of blue amid the grey.

Rumours from Galle suggest that the rain has relented and play will resume at 11.10am local time, which is 5.40 in the UK – ten minutes’ time.

“A very good afternoon to you from Singapore,” says Matthew Ayre. “It’s been a miserable start to the year with freakishly high rainfall (even for monsoon season) that started on the 31st and has run nearly incessantly since. Then, a sensational start from England’s bowlers and today – the sun’s out! Glory be, and may it please please continue.” Good to know there’s light at the end of somebody’s tunnel.

“Disappointing no play yet.” Paul Hand is speaking for us all. “Here in Almaty, Kazakhstan (GMT+6) at minus 10, I was rather looking forward to a full day of cricket to follow. Stay safe everyone at this uncertain and difficult time.” Amen to that.

Almaty! Very classy. If anyone else is thinking of sending an email, do say where you are. And give us a flavour of the weather, especially if it’s even worse than it is in Galle.

It’s still raining in Galle, but there’s another Test going on right now – the big showdown in Brisbane between Australia and India, tied on 1-1 with just this game to go. The Indians have so many injuries that they’ve picked a bowling attack with four Test caps between them. And they still managed to get rid of David Warner for hardly any – he’s not just Stuart Broad’s bunny now – and Steve Smith for 36. At tea, Australia are 154 for three, with Marnus Labuschagne, the mini-Smith, looking ominous on 73. Join Emma Kemp for the Guardian OBO here.

Joe Root had the day of his dreams yesterday, and Abhijato Sensarma has been thinking about him overnight. “The numbers of the (relatively) young English skipper suggest he’s no longer the prolific batsman everyone assumed he would be at the start of his career.” True, though I would argue with “young” – he’s just turned 30. “But the returns from his captaincy decisions have been growing for a long time even now.” Go on… “Backing Buttler, rotating his seamers, yesterday’s innovative captaincy – he’s slowly on the rise of this gig’s learning curve. There remain a few off-putting moments, like his handling of Archer, but I feel the time shall soon come when he compensates for his diminishing numbers with excellent tactical fortitude. Ah, the India tour is either going to be majestic or an absolute disaster, isn’t it?” Ha.

Because he’s so boyish, Root tends to be treated as if he has just taken over. In fact he’s England’s fifth longest-serving captain, on 45 Tests, level with Nasser Hussain. He has got better as a tactician, from a low base. But he has got worse as a batsman, as England captains usually do, and I’m still not convinced that those missing runs are a price worth paying for middling leadership. He has it in him to be England’s best batsman for 50 years: I wish he would just get on and do that. But if he has a few more days like yesterday, and has them in India and Australia, and handles Archer as well as Eoin Morgan does, I’ll be delighted to be proved wrong.

If you’re in Britain and up early, you’re not alone. “Good morning Tim.” Good morning, George Browne. “For years I have been cursed to miss the start of play on overseas tours, but I am pleased to say that this is now a thing of the past. One year and ten days ago I became father to beautiful twins, Otis and Cassie (doesn’t Otis Browne sound like a Windies fast bowler?). These two now ensure that I am awake at ungodly hours to witness these key early overs. Hurrah for fatherhood… I think. Keep up the good work.” You too! But as this is The Guardian, can I just suggest that Cassie Browne also sounds like a Windies fast bowler?

It’s raining. Not the forecast thunder, but a steady drizzle, just to make England feel at home.

Morning everyone. The pandemic has done funny things to us all. Some have grown their hair, others have applied to join the Stasi, and others still have become vulnerable to modest off-breaks purveyed by bouncy young Englishmen. After winning the toss on a turning pitch beneath Galle’s famous fort, the Sri Lankans collapsed like a sandcastle and handed Dom Bess a sensational five for 30, which even he admitted that he didn’t deserve. Stuart Broad’s three for 20 was, by common consent, a much better performance.

England wobbled too, but only briefly, before Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow showed how it’s done with an unbroken partnership of 110. For Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain, the task is simple: get rid of them both early on, and stop England’s lead reaching three figures. For Root, it’s even simpler: find 34 more runs to score a Test hundred for the first time in the 2020s. And then add some more, to pile up a lead of 200 and have a fair chance of an innings victory. It would not be unlike England to stage a collapse of their own. They can’t just carry on serenely from the whitewash of 2018, can they?

The weather forecast is mixed – steamy with a chance of thunder after tea. Play starts at 10am local time, 4.30am in the UK.