25th over: England 123-3 (Root 42, Brook 24) A half-grubber from Rathnayeke is kept out well by Brook, who then drives classily through extra cover for three. England are in control at the moment.

“I’m not sure I agree with me about Jacks either,” says Felix Wood, “but I’ve put it out there as my opinion now so it looks like I’m stuck with it, and I’ll defend it to my last breath.”

Imagine if we all had to do that, if stating an opinion on cricket was like a gangster taking an oath. I’d have spent the last 15 years pleading that Jimmy Anderson wasn’t up to the job.

Or I’d have gone to see Lawrence Booth, given him a Boost and asked that I be allowed to change my opinion on Anderson. “You took an oath, Smyth…”

24th over: England 117-3 (Root 40, Brook 21) The technical problems are over and so, for the time being, are England’s worries. Root and Brook have restored with minimum risk and even less fuss. Root works a single off Avisha to bring up the fifty partnership in just 58 balls. These two bat beautifully together.

“Funnily enough, I was going to mention the broadcasters,” says Max Willians. “It feels like the 1990s generation are way more represented in the media but I’m not sure that’s the case. It’s just that two of the best pundits in the game today happen to be two of the defining players of the 1990s. (The defining player in Atherton’s case.)

“I’m 32 so I only caught the end of that era – 97 Ashes, 98 vs SA and 99 vs New Zealand. All epic series in their own way. I only got four years of Atherton but he’s a defining figure of my childhood. I think the free to air point is bang on – I’ve probably watched John Crawley bat more often than Jonathan Trott.

“Feels like the 1990s is the nostalgia sweet spot for sport because there’s endless footage which holds up fine today while obviously being of another era. Footage from the 1980s is notably lower quality and a clip from 2004 looks basically the same as clip from 2024. Also true of football – which also had a 1990s golden era.”

23rd over: England 113-3 (Root 39, Brook 18)

22nd over: England 109-3 (Root 36, Brook 17) “I don’t want to have the Ollie Pope chat, you don’t want to have the Ollie Pope chat, but nevertheless I feel we need to have the Ollie Pope chat,” says Felix Wood. “He’s well beyond his quota of innings for being a promising youngster, we have to accept that his average now (35) is what is average is going to be, and someone with that average shouldn’t be batting at number three for England.

“Surely there are other players who could be tried there? And if he’s not good enough at three it’s hard to see a place for him. For what it’s worth I would have picked Jacks as opener for this series – would have got some low scores, but no more than Crawley and could do the same turbo charging of innings if he didn’t get out.”

While I agree with a lot of what you say (not about Will Jacks mind), Pope’s average at No3 is a very good 44. I think he deserves more time, not least because of all the runs he scored against West Indies. Like all the best things in life, it’s nuanced.

21st over: England 108-3 (Root 35, Brook 17) We’re having some technical problems but you’re not missing much, just two runs from that Jayasuriya over.

20th over: England 106-3 (Root 34, Brook 16) When Asitha returns to the attack, Brook drives quite majestically through extra cover for four. He plays some stunning shots.

There’s a hopeful LBW appeal against Root later in the over – he was outside the line.

“We love 90s England now, but god they were frustrating at the time!” says Oliver Haill. “Robin Smith was possibly my favourite, and a case in point just like Athers, Tuffers and Caddick too – moments of greatness and heroicism in amidst many, many more failures and losses.”

The most frustrating thing about them was not how bad they often were, but how good they can be. So many of their victories came from spectacular attacking cricket, peaking for 24 astonishing hours at the Oval in 1994.

I did something on that game in the new Wisden Cricket Monthly if anyone’s interest- hello? Helloooooo?

19th over: England 100-3 (Root 33, Brook 11) The left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who bowled a couple of overs last night because of the light, comes on for the first time today and is milked for six runs. Root has unobtrusively changed the momentum of this game.

“I’m in agreeable disagreement with James Brough, as Sky’s money has in effect created the careers of Root, Cook, Bell et al,” writes Gareth Wilson. “Without that money, no central contracts and likely a lot more unfulfilled careers. And in agreement that today’s kids DO get to see the likes of Smith, Cox, Jacks, Capsey, Sciver-Brunt, as the Hundred is, at least partially, on free to air tv.”

I can’t host another TV rights chat. Nothing personal, I just can’t do it.

18th over: England 94-3 (Root 30, Brook 8) Brook has been starved of the strike in the last few overs. No matter: he gets his first boundary from the fifth ball of his innings by pushing Rathnayeke beautifully down the ground. There’s even a hint of sun at Old Trafford now.

Rathnayeke hasn’t bowled quite as well as the two Fernandos. Root punches him straight for successive boundaries to make it 14 from the over.

“Any love for the England Test teams of the 1970s?” sniffs Jon McKinley. “Just about my only memory of the summers from 1972 onwards is spending hours in front of the TV with Richie Benaud and John Arlott commentating on Boycott and Edrich, Randall and Roope, Greig and Knott, Geoff Arnold and Chris Old. To name quite a few. OK, the West Indies used to rip them up on a regular basis but they were a big part of my young life every summer.”

Loads of love. I didn’t mention them because, although I was a precocious little bugger, even I couldn’t appreciate Alan Knott’s artistry at the age of 3.

17th over: England 80-3 (Root 21, Brook 3) Vishwa angles a full delivery across Root, who times it down the ground for a couple. It feels batting is starting to get a bit easier. Or maybe it’s just that Joe Root is batting.

16th over: England 75-3 (Root 18, Brook 1) Rathnayeke is fractionally too straight to Root, who clips him wristily past mid-on for four. I mean really, that is so good. If you or I played that shot we’d dine out on it for 40 year; for Root it’s just another boundary. He’s looked in extremely good touch this summer.

“All this nostalgia for the 90s, which when you get to my age feels like last Thursday week, isn’t half making me feel old,” writes Martin Wright. “The late 60s/early 70s was when I fell in love with the game: clutching my Playfair Cricket Annual, and watching the likes of Underwood, Knott and my personal hero, Basil D’Oliveira, work miracles on a grainy black-and-white TV…”

15th over: England 69-3 (Root 13, Brook 1) Root is the key wicket, this being a cricket match. He and Brook batted beautifully in not dissimilar conditions on the third day of the second Test against West Indies.

Drinks

England are in a game here, and don’t forget they have Chris Woakes coming in at No7 this week.

WICKET! England 67-3 (Lawrence c Chandimal b V Fernando 30)

In other news, Rocky Flintoff made a pretty good 32 in his first County Championship innings.

14th over: England 66-2 (Lawrence 30, Root 11) Root back cuts Rathnayeke skilfully for two. It feels like England have been under the pump this morning, yet they’ve still scored 44 off nine overs.

“I think age has a lot to do with the affection for the 1990s team,” says James Brough. “Gower, Gooch, Botham etc were adults when the 13-year-old me started watching – they were people to look up to.

“If you’re the same age as me – early 50’s – then Atherton, Thorpe et al were the players we identified with. We saw them make their debuts, we worried whether they’d make it as Test players. We followed them from debut to retirement. They were our team.”

13th over: England 62-2 (Lawrence 29, Root 8) For reasons best known to himself, Asitha bowls successive short balls that are pulled handsomely for four by Lawrence. The first was fair enough as a surprise, the second made no sense at all.

12th over: England 53-2 (Lawrence 20, Root 8) The debutant Milan Rathnayeke, a right-arm seamer, replaces Vishwa Fernando. He’s on the money straight away, full of length and making the batsmen play at pretty much every delivery. This is a good test for England.

11th over: England 51-2 (Lawrence 19, Root 7) Root’s first boundary is a timeless classic, the open-faced steer between second slip and gully. A flick for two from Lawrence brings up the England fifty.

10th over: England 44-2 (Lawrence 17, Root 2) Two singles from an accurate over by Vishwa. Lawrence has done okay so far. He’s definitely not the second coming of Sir Geoffrey but nor has he looked a trespasser at the top of the order.

9th over: England 42-2 (Lawrence 16, Root 1) Nasser Hussain compares that ball from Asitha to one of Vernon Philander’s stump-botherers, which is spot on. It was nigh-on perfect.

“Max Williams wonders why the 90’s England team is so beloved,” says James Brough. “Surely a big part of that is that Test cricket was still on free to air TV? Atherton, Stewart, Thorpe, Hick, Gough, Caddick – they’re the last generation of players who you could follow simply by switching on BBC1 or Channel 4. I got into cricket because one day in 1985 during the summer holidays, I was bored. I turned on the TV and found David Gower in the process of making 215 against Australia and was captivated.

“For the last 19 years, that’s not been possible. Unless their parents pay for Sky Sports, no children have turned on and been captivated by Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali or Kevin Pietersen. Not a single game of Alastair Cook or Stuart Broad’s careers have been shown free to air. Only a few matches of Jimmy Anderson. And I think it’s a crying shame.”

That’s a fair point, although it feels like the 1990s team was more beloved than the 1980s. Maybe that’s just because of my age. And I love them all anyway.

WICKET! England 40-2 (Pope b A Fernando 6)

8th over: England 39-1 (Lawrence 14, Pope 6) A piece of filth from Vishwa Fernando is cut easily for four by Pope. Vishwa gets it right next ball with a nice inswinger that Pope thick-edges for a single. Pope can struggle against left-arm swing bowlers.

7th over: England 32-1 (Lawrence 12, Pope 1) Sri Lanka have a chance here because the ball is doing a bit. Ollie Pope gets off the mark by working his first delivery off the pads for a single, then Lawrence inside-edges another.

Sri Lanka almost ran out of time with that Duckett review; there was one second remaining when Dhananjaya sent it upstairs.

“After weeks of dry weather and occasional scattered showers, it is of course sod’s law that it will rain for almost five days of a Test match at Old Trafford,” says Ruth. “As a local, it happens almost every time and it won’t stop being funny.”

It stopped bloody being funny last summer!

I’ve over it, it’s okay. DON’T TOUCH ME.

WICKET! England 30-1 (Duckett LBW b A Fernando 18)

Duckett flicked across a full delivery from Asitha Fernando that hit him in front of middle and leg. We’ll soon find out where it pitched. I reckon it might be umpire’s call.

Sri Lanka review for LBW against Duckett!

This is really close. If it pitched in line it’s surely out.

Lawrence is not out!

Lawrence shovelled across a good nipbacker that hit him above the knee roll, and he’s a tall man. There was a bit of surprise when Paul Reiffel gave it out… because it would have bounced over the top, as the technology has just confirmed.

Review! Lawrence given out LBW to A Fernando

Height will save him I reckon.

6th over: England 29-0 (Duckett 18, Lawrence 10) The other Fernando, the left-arm seamer Vishwa, starts at the other end. He had a good spell at Yorkshire earlier in the season, which included match figures of 9 for 88 against Derbyshire.

Duckett push a single to deep point, whose deployment is annoying Stuart Broad in the commentary box. “How can you let a really good ball like that go for a run?”

So far, so comfortable for England.

5th over: England 27-0 (Duckett 17, Lawrence 9) Duckett drives Asitha’s Fernando’s first ball of day two through the covers for a couple. Sri Lanka have sweepers on both sides for both openers. There’s a strangled shout for LBW when Lawrence misses an attempted flick off the pads; it was missing leg.

“The revised session times add up to 5 hours and 55 minutes of play, but eight overs are lost from the full day of 90. Is this a tacit admission that teams aren’t keeping up with over-rates?”

That includes the extra half-hour, which I added on because they will inevitably need it. Officially the evening session finishes at 7pm.