Innings Sri Lanka 263 (Dhananjaya 69, Kamindu 64, Stone 3-35, Hull 3-53) trail England 325 by 62 runs
Three wickets apiece to Josh Hull and Olly Stone preserved a 62-run first-innings lead for England early on the third day of the third Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval.
Sri Lanka had resumed on 211 for 5 with a deficit of 114, and despite three of their players passing fifty, no one went on to a big score that might have pushed them ahead of England.
Debutant Hull made amends for dropping Dhananjaya de Silva during a gloomy second evening when he had the Sri Lanka captain caught with his 11th ball of the day, an attempted pull sailing off the top edge to deep-backward square leg.
Dhananjaya had added just five runs to his overnight score and his dismissal preceded a 20-minute stoppage, as a short, sharp rain shower swept through south London.
It also sparked a procession of five wickets for 43 runs in 13. 3 overs, with Hull, Stone and Chris Woakes sharing four of the five wickets to fall on Sunday. Gus Atkinson, though, was off the field after suffering from a tight quad, while Shoaib Bashir claimed the last wicket.
Woakes struck in the second over after the rain break, his first ball drawing an edge and Joe Root holding on at slip to end Kamindu Mendis’ innings on 64, having added ten to his overnight score.
Stone put down a yet-to-score Lahiru Kumara at mid-on to deny Hull a fourth wicket in almost a carbon copy of Hull’s mistake off Bashir when Dhananjaya was on 23 the previous day. But Stone then peppered Milan Rathnayake with a couple of short deliveries before his length ball drew a waft outside off stump and Jamie Smith gathered behind the stumps.
Bashir had Asitha Fernando out reverse sweeping to Smith to close the innings, with Kumara unbeaten on 5.
Stone, playing just his second Test in three years, took 3 for 35, and Hull got 3 for 53.
