Niroshan Dickwella had an impressive day in front of the stumps in the first innings of the second Sri Lanka-England Test at Galle, and despite not effecting a dismissal as of lunch on day two, he has proved useful behind them too.

England batsman Jonny Bairstow had looked set on assisting his captain Joe Root on another rescue act, having come to the crease at 4-1, soon 5-2, and helping to ensure England reached stumps on the second day without further loss. However, just as in the first Test, Bairstow was dismissed soon after the resumption, given out caught bat-pad after a Sri Lanka review.

Dickwella, who had made his Test best score of 92 the day before to equal Chetan Chauhan’s world record for the most fifties without a hundred, had embarked on a campaign of topical sledging in the lead-up to the dismissal. He referenced the ongoing debate of England’s novel rotation policy, which will see all their all-format players miss some action this winter.

Bairstow is set to miss the first two Tests of England’s next series against India, and Dickwella wondered if there might be more to the story.

 

Even when the batsman switched ends, Dickwella kept up his chat.

Bairstow was dismissed not long after, and viewers and pundits alike were quick to question whether Dickwella’s sledging had had an impact.

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Jonny BairstowNiroshan DickwellaSeries EditorialSri Lanka v England