England will make an early check on an injury to Mark Wood’s right thigh as they push for victory against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.
Sri Lanka closed day three on 204 for six in their second innings, a lead of 82 runs after England were bowled out for 358. But Wood, who has been in scintillating form all summer, walked off midway through his 11th over with his injury concern.
Wood hobbled off by himself, without support, suggesting that the injury might not be too serious. But he has had concerns in the area before, and England will monitor the fitness of their star fast bowler carefully before deciding whether he can play a full part on day four.
Aged 34, Wood has found some of the best form of his career this summer. He has been clocked as fast as 97.1mph. In the three Tests that he has played this season, he has taken 11 wickets at an average of just 22.5, providing a threat to batsmen as well as their wickets.
Earlier on day three, a vicious short ball from Wood led to Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal retiring hurt after a blow to the thumb. But Chandimal was able to return to bat later in the innings and is currently 20 not out.
England retain a dominant position in the Test after wicketkeeper batsman Jamie Smith scored his maiden Test century.
Smith said that he was “riding the wave” after continuing his stunning start to Test cricket. He has now struck 318 runs at an average of 63.6 this summer.
“It felt really good to come away at that milestone,” Smith said after hitting 111. “Your phone, it blows up with people that have either watched it or have played a part in your journey messaging their congratulations.
“I felt very relaxed. I felt like I’ve been playing well the last year or so, the last couple of weeks, especially that I felt comfortable to go out there and just play. I don’t want to show too much, never show too much emotion, it’s all inward and it’s mainly the job to do for the team. Once you reach the moment, it’s back onto what does the team need.”
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The century came in Smith’s first Test batting at number six, moving up a position after the injury to Ben Stokes. Smith normally bats as a specialist number four for Surrey in the County Championship, and said that this experience had made his promotion easier.
“I’ve experienced a lot in my career so far anyway, batting position-wise and for the sake of one position, in this game especially, it’s not something I’m too fazed about,” the 24-year-old said. “I’m always up for the challenge, whatever that is.
“Everyone knows, when you play cricket, that there’s going to be ups and downs. I think that’s what it is and you’re riding the wave a little bit at the moment. It’s great to contribute and to show people what you can do when you’re at your best.”
Smith was involved in an unusual incident in the evening session. When England reviewed an lbw appeal by Shoaib Bashir, the third umpire judged that Smith’s gloves were in line with the bails as the ball was being bowled, meaning that the delivery was a no-ball. The lbw decision was shown to be umpire’s call, meaning that the decision would not have been overturned even had the delivery not been a no-ball.
“I’ll know the law moving forward,” Smith joked. “I thought it was always if your gloves broke the line that it would be a no-ball, so I was pretty thankful that the review was umpire’s call so we didn’t lose it and it also wasn’t out.”
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