England Ends Day One Strongly

England 22 for 0 (Duckett 13, Lawrence 9) trail Sri Lanka 236 (de Silva 74, Rathnayake 72, Woakes 3-32) by 214 runs.

Dhananjaya de Silva's determined 74 from 84 balls, coupled with Milan Rathnayake's composed 72 from 135 balls—the highest score by a debutant at No. 9 in Test history—could not fully compensate for Sri Lanka's top-order collapse, allowing England to take control by stumps on the first day of the Test at Emirates Old Trafford.

Sri Lanka was eventually bowled out for 236, with Vishwa Fernando being the last to fall after a gritty 13 from 61 balls, reminiscent of his tail-end resilience in the famous partnership with Kusal Perera at Durban in 2019. The day concluded with England relying exclusively on spin for the final hour, challenging Ollie Pope's tactical decision-making as he stood in for Ben Stokes as captain.

Despite the subpar total on a hard, dry surface that Pope anticipated would remain true for at least the first half of the match, Sri Lanka's score was far better than what seemed likely after the first half-hour. At one point, Sri Lanka had slumped to 6 for 3 within seven overs, with all three wickets falling in just ten deliveries to Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes. Atkinson struck first, dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne with a well-directed bouncer after the batter had managed only a single scoring shot from his first 17 balls. Nishan Madushka followed soon after, edging a juicy outswinger from Woakes to Joe Root at first slip. The over's final delivery saw Angelo Mathews misjudge an inswinger from Woakes, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 6 for 3.

Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal attempted a brief counterattack, hitting five boundaries in 12 balls, four of which came off Matthew Potts. However, after reaching 37 for 3 by the first drinks break, they faced another challenge as Mark Wood tore into the attack. Wood struck with his seventh delivery, a brutal lifter that struck Kusal's thumb and was caught by Harry Brook at second slip, leaving Kusal in visible pain.

De Silva then entered and tried to stabilize the innings alongside Chandimal. However, just before lunch, Chandimal fell victim to an unplayable delivery from Shoaib Bashir, leaving Sri Lanka at a precarious 69 for 5.

De Silva, however, continued to grow in confidence, showcasing his footwork and balance with eight well-placed boundaries. Although Kamindu Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya were dismissed cheaply, Rathnayake remained steadfast. Despite showing nerves when receiving his Test cap from Kumar Sangakkara, Rathnayake displayed remarkable composure, contributing four boundaries in an eighth-wicket stand of 63.

When de Silva was dismissed just before tea, Rathnayake took charge, reaching his half-century with a powerful swing over long-on. He then set a new personal best with a sweetly-timed shot over long-off. England attempted to reintroduce Wood into the attack to break Rathnayake's partnership with Vishwa, but the umpires halted his return due to poor light. Eventually, Bashir ended Rathnayake's resistance, enticing him into an ambitious shot that was caught by Woakes at mid-off.

With half an hour left in the day, Sri Lanka opted for spin to start England's reply, marking only the second time since 1970 that two spinners have shared the new ball in a men's Test in England. Dan Lawrence, opening the batting in place of Zak Crawley, and Ben Duckett made a strong start, racing to 22 for 0 in just four overs.

Before play began, both teams paid tribute to the late Graham Thorpe, who passed away on August 4 at the age of 55. England wore black armbands in memory of the former England great, who averaged 44.66 in a 100-Test career and later mentored several current players, including Pope, Root, and Stokes.