England vs Sri Lanka 2024

 Opener reaches fifty off just 48 balls after Sri Lanka send England in to bat

Ben Duckett’s half-century helped put England in a strong position at lunch on the opening day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at The Kia Oval. After a delayed start due to heavy morning rain, the hosts reached 76 for 1 by the end of a shortened opening session, which was cut short by 40 minutes due to bad light. Dan Lawrence was the only wicket to fall, contributing a labored 5 runs from 21 balls. Meanwhile, Duckett remained unbeaten on 51 from 48 balls, with Ollie Pope not out on 14.

Duckett had a couple of risky moments early on, narrowly avoiding being caught out twice in the first three overs with flashes at deliveries from Asitha Fernando. Lawrence also had a near miss when a drive off Vishwa Fernando narrowly missed the edge. Duckett found some luck when he inside-edged an Asitha delivery to the fine leg boundary, but a more assured clip off his toes through square leg off Vishwa helped him settle.

Lawrence struggled to get going, finally getting off the mark after 10 balls when he turned a delivery from first-change bowler Lahiru Kumara to square leg for two, prompting ironic cheers from the crowd. As the morning progressed, Duckett picked up the pace, driving Milan Rathnayake for two consecutive fours over extra cover.

The contrast between the two batsmen was stark, with Lawrence falling for 5 after mistiming a pull shot off Kumara, sending a top edge to Pathum Nissanka at gully. Pope quickly found his rhythm, cutting a short, wide ball from Rathnayake for four and dispatching a Kumara short ball for six over deep backward square.

Duckett continued to accumulate runs, striking two off-side boundaries in three deliveries from Rathnayake to reach 48. He brought up his fifty with a drive through the covers for three runs off Vishwa Fernando, just before bad light halted play. As drizzle began to fall, the players left the field, and lunch was taken early at 12:40 pm as the skies darkened considerably.