Sri Lanka takes control in third Test against sloppy England

The hosts collapsed at breakneck speed, reaching 156 in just 34 overs as a combination of ruthless batting and a vastly improved performance from the touring attack changed the course of the game.

After three clear wins against the West Indies and two comfortable victories against Sri Lanka, England had hoped for their first consistent win in all Test matches since 2004, but a sobering day left them behind.

Jamie Smith was the lone resister, hitting the boundary with 67 from 50 balls to leave 219 to play. However, Sri Lanka raced away and replied with 94 for 1.

The English attack, with inexperienced debutant Josh Hull, young spinner Shoaib Bashir and Gus Atkinson, who is suffering from a thigh injury, now needs nine more wickets quickly and only has to defend 125.

If they do manage to get out of a tight corner, Smith will take a large share of the credit. Arriving at the batting crease with the score at 66 for 4 and the pressure easing on the scoreboard, and in the midst of a sequence that saw five wickets fall for 26 runs, he hit ten fours and a six to save his team from an even more complete surrender.

England had previously built up a lead of 62 in the first innings by sweeping Sri Lanka's last five wickets to finish on 263.

Hull dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva in his second over of the day and caught Dinesh Chandimal on the track with an inswinger, taking encouraging figures of three for 53, with Olly Stone adding good value for his three wickets.

England had the opportunity to knock their opponents out of the game, but repeated some of the sloppy batting that earned them harsh words from former captains Michael Vaughan and Sir Alastair Cook on the second day.

Vaughan worried that England were “playing the game” and Cook thought the English were “complacent”. Those words resonated as they lost two of their top three teams in the space of half an hour before lunch.

Ben Duckett hit a lazy drive to the mid-on line and Ollie Pope followed his century in the first innings with a loose stroke of the bat.

They were still ahead by 97 points at halftime, but the vulnerability of their position was soon exposed. Dan Lawrence scored 35 points, but he lacked the necessary cash to turn an inconsistent start into a decisive contribution.

At one point he stepped back and left all three stumps exposed as he attempted to clear the leg side and narrowly survived.

He hit a beautifully sweet six but was too eager to show authority, slashing furiously at Lahiru Kumara and cutting behind. The seamer, who took four for 21, seemed insulted by the striking nature of the shot and offered a dismissal while Lawrence smacked him with his bat in disgust.

Joe Root's presence should have calmed England down and things seemed to be back to normal when he overtook Kumar Sangakkara as the sixth highest run-scorer in Test history with a first-class cover drive.

Only Cook stands between him and a place in the top five, but that will have to wait until next month's tour of Pakistan after Vishwa Fernando surprised him with an inside-swept yorker.

The ball slammed into his left foot with full force, and a hopeful DRS call offered no rescue. Like Root, Harry Brook was a moment too late to catch a ball that came through the air and slammed into the front pad. Like Root, he seared a review along the way.

The tension was palpable as England's plight saw them slip to 82 for seven, Woakes caught behind for a miss and Atkinson out LBW for one. Smith was their last real hope and he rose to the challenge with a daring knock.

After seeing a leading edge ball narrowly elude the man at mid-off, he switched into T20 mode and smashed 52 runs off just 17 deliveries. Another 30 minutes of his best could have turned the tables completely, but he smashed the last ball before tea straight to midwicket, leaving Sri Lanka visibly relieved.

England extended their lead to over 200, but the momentum was in the visitors' dressing room and Nissanka ensured the lead stayed there, winning the new ball with a series of increasingly confident drives.

Woakes took his own chance to remove Dimuth Karunaratne, but it was a moment of joy for an English attack that was rushed back into action too quickly. Atkinson's tweak saw him struggle through his outing and new man Kusal Mendis hit three fours in an over as Woakes tired.

Hull and Stone fared little better, while Nissanka easily reached his half-century in 42 balls, and when bad light set in at 6.45pm, England were glad to be leaving.