LONDON — England’s seamers were running through Sri Lanka’s brittle batting lineup at Lord’s on Friday to continue the home team’s dominance of the second test after Gus Atkinson completed a spectacular maiden century early on Day 2.
Sri Lanka was 124-7 at tea and battling to avoid the follow-on in reply to England’s 427 all out.
Chris Woakes, Olly Stone and Matt Potts all took two wickets each and Atkinson also got in on the act with a wicket on a day he got onto the honours board for the second time at the home of cricket because of his knock of 118.
Sri Lanka already was facing a series loss after being beaten by five wickets in Manchester in the first test last week.
No batter has got into the 30s, with Kamindu Mendis - with an unbeaten 26 - the top scorer. Prabath Jayasuriya (0 not out) was in the middle with him at the end of the session.
Resuming after lunch on 32-2 after Nishan Madushka (7) and Dimuth Karunaratne (7) both played the ball onto their own stumps, Stone - in his first test for three years - claimed a second wicket as Pathum Nissanka flicked to Potts at leg slip.
PHOTOS: Seamers drive home England's dominance of Sri Lanka in second test after Atkinson's century
Sri Lanka then plunged from 83-3 to 87-6, with Potts taking two wickets in four balls to remove Angelo Mathews (22) and then captain Dhananjaya de Silva (0) off his third ball faced.
Shortly after, Dinesh Chandimal clipped Atkinson to Dan Lawrence for 23 to become the latest Sri Lankan to pick out a fielder.
The England seamers’ persistent length was hurting Sri Lanka and Milan Rathnayake was the next to go when he edged Woakes to diving wicketkeeper Jamie Smith for 19.
Earlier, Atkinson became the second century-maker for England in this test, after Joe Root (143) on Day 1, when he hit a powerful straight drive for four to reach three figures off 103 balls. He was eventually out to a stunning, flying catch from Rathnayake near the boundary, by which time he had smashed 14 fours and four sixes in what at times felt like a knock by a top-order batter.
The 26-year-old Atkinson, in his first summer playing test cricket, also got on the honours board in England’s dressing room at Lord’s by taking 10 wickets in the first test against the West Indies last month, having taken a five-fer in both innings that match.
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