England v Sri Lanka: third men’s cricket Test match, day three - live

40s ago 07.00 EDT 51st over: Sri Lanka 237-7 (Rathnayake 1, Vishwa 0) Woakes spears four byes down the leg side; Smith had no chance. “I wish Mo all the best now he’s called it a day for England,” writes Guy Hornsby. “Someone who always seemed to play the game for the right reasons and put the team before himself, even when he was messed around. A beautiful, if mercurial player who seemed to be lauded for his strokeplay and singled out by many when he failed in ways that felt unfair to me. His book was really interesting, and seeing how he navigated the game and succeeded as a Muslim is something I hope inspires many after him. One of the good guys.” Another thing I always loved about Moeen is his aversion to bee ess. His interviews were always so candid, particularly when he and/or England had played crap. Share Updated at 07.01 EDT

3m ago 06.58 EDT WICKET! Sri Lanka 233-7 (Kamindu c Root b Woakes 64) That’ll do! Chris Woakes starts with a really good delivery that Kamindu, pushing defensively, edges to Root at first slip. The line and length were perfect, angled across the left-hander from over the wicket, and Kamindu had to play. View image in fullscreen Joe Root holds on to the catch at first slip to dismiss Kamindu Mendis. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images Share Updated at 07.01 EDT

6m ago 06.54 EDT 50th over: Sri Lanka 233-6 (Kamindu 64, Rathnayake 1) Kamindu Mendis turns Hull fractionally short of the man at leg slip, then shapes to hook a bouncer before wisely deciding against it. The ball beats everyone and flies away for five wides. This is a menacing start from Hull. The next delivery swings away to take the edge and fly through the vacant gully region at catchable height. Four runs but a moral victory for Hull against a seriously good player. As Stuart Broad points out, Mendis’s weight was back because of the bouncer which was why he edged the drive. Share

11m ago 06.50 EDT Lunch has been pushed back to 1.45pm. Josh Hull is about to resume with the ball. Share

20m ago 06.41 EDT Play will restart at 11.50am No word of a lie. Share

35m ago 06.25 EDT “As to nicknames for Josh, simply calling him Rod doesn’t seem surreal enough,” writes Kim Thonger (again). “I’d be calling him Emu because of his height as well.” Isn’t the unofficial rule of nicknames that there should only be one degree of separation? Share

36m ago 06.24 EDT “I’m sure the question on everyone’s lips is, is Josh Hull related to Rod Hull of Emu fame?” asks Kim Thonger. “And does he also have a grudge against plain speaking Yorkshire folk?” I didn’t realise until recently that Rod Hull died because he wanted to watch Man Utd in the Champions League. I knew he was adjusting his aerial but didn’t know it was so that he could watch Henning Berg v Ronaldo. It almost sounds made up. Poor bloke. Share

41m ago 06.20 EDT 49th over: Sri Lanka 223-6 (Kamindu 59, Rathnayake 1) Gus Atkinson has a tight quad which is why he’s off the field. The fielder is Jordan Cox, the next cab off the battingt rank and a magnificent fielder. The next batter Rathnayake chases a very wide, very full delivery from Woakes and is beaten. Two left-handers at the crease now, though not for long because it has just started raining. Rathnayake is beaten again by the last ball of the over. Share Updated at 06.20 EDT

45m ago 06.16 EDT 48th over: Sri Lanka 221-6 (Kamindu 58, Rathnayake 1) Hull’s figures are 7-0-36-2; there’s plenty to like. “The England team seems to be referring to Josh Hull as ‘Hully’,” writes Stephen Cottrell. “Surely they’re missing some great opportunities here. I don’t expect that Ollie Pope is a huge rugby league fan, but what about ‘Kingston’ or ‘KR’. For my generation, anyone with the surname Hull would automatically be ‘Rod’. Share Updated at 06.18 EDT

46m ago 06.14 EDT WICKET! Sri Lanka 220-6 (Dhananjaya c Bashir b Hull 69) Well bowled Josh Hull! He has bounced out Sri Lanka’s captain Dhananjaya de Silva, who top-edged a hook high towards Bashir at long leg. He took the catch a little awkwardly, falling to his left, but held on as he hit the ground. That’s Hull’s second Test wicket but in a way it’ll feel like the first, because it was a proper dismissal. The line was perfect, far enough outside off stump that Dhananjaya couldn’t control his hook shot. View image in fullscreen Josh Hull takes the early wicket of the Sri Lanka captain. Photograph: John Walton/PA Share Updated at 06.30 EDT

52m ago 06.09 EDT 47th over: Sri Lanka 214-5 (Dhananjaya 64, Kamindu 57) Gus Atkinson is off the field, which is probably a factor in Josh Hull opening the bowling. Chris Woakes opens at the other end, taking a few deliveries to find his line before swinging a good delivery back into Kamindu’s midriff. A maiden. “Mo retiring is bad day for cricket - what a delight he was – but a good day for Wilfred Rhodes,” says Pete Salmon. “Mo never did bat at 10 or 11, so Our Wilf keeps his record.” For now: Ben Stokes has batted everywhere except No2. Share Updated at 06.09 EDT

55m ago 06.05 EDT 46th over: Sri Lanka 214-5 (Dhananjaya 64, Kamindu 57) England open the bowling with Josh Hull, which depending on your perspective is either a) a clever way of boosting his confidence or b) two stiff fingers in the direction of Mother Cricket. He starts well, getting some nice some outswing to the left-hander Kamindu, who thick edges a good delivery wide of the cordon for a single. “Astonishing that Moeen Ali played 298 times for England: 68 Tests, 138 ODIs and 92 T20s,” says Andrew Goudie. “Ultimate team player.” It was a unique career, wasn’t it? Yes, yes, I know all careers are unique, strictly speaking. But I can’t think of any that resemble Moeen’s. Share Updated at 06.06 EDT

1h ago 05.59 EDT Play is about to begin. For how long, we know not, so let’s enjoy it while it lasts. Share

1h ago 05.46 EDT Barney Ronay on Josh Hull You could – and some will – call Hull’s selection the most damning statement of thanks-but-no-thanks ever directed at county cricket. Picking him is literally saying, there is nothing to be gained from succeeding in this. We will instead pick a 20-year-old with 16 wickets at 62 because we like how he looks. How are you meant to feel about this if you’re a 27-year-old with hard-earned county numbers, winning games every week, running through the pain, dreaming of a bigger stage? Josh Hull rises to the challenge to give England first payout on investment | Barney Ronay Read more Share

1h ago 05.36 EDT There were more issues with the light yesterday, including a weird few minutes in which Chris Woakes was obliged to bowl four balls of offspin. Here’s what Olly Stone made of it all. Olly Stone voices frustration that bad light sidelined England seamers Read more Share

1h ago 05.35 EDT “Imran Khan played 48 of his 88 Tests at No7 and averaged 35,” writes Gary Naylor. “He’d be in the conversation. Shaun Pollock played half his 108 Tests from number 8 and averaged 31 there!” Imran is in almost every conversation about great cricketers, isn’t he? I do think he played his best cricket at No6, though he was still a giant. Share

1h ago 05.32 EDT “Hi Rob,” writes Marcus Abdullahi. “Batters to average over 40 batting at 7 (min 20 Tests) from highest average to lowest: de Kock, Gilchrist, Greg Matthews, Litton Das, Chris Cairns, Wasim Raja, Alan Knott, Matt Prior and IT Botham.” That’s a good list. Litton Das has played some extraordinary innings in that position. Share

2h ago 05.29 EDT And now it’s over to Andrew Miller for the weather Under siege all morning, then all bets are off for the afternoon. What larks #EngvSL pic.twitter.com/lHf9lWGW45 — Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) September 8, 2024 I think we’ll start on time, but there’s a yellow weather warning from 2pm, so there’s that. Share Updated at 05.33 EDT

2h ago 05.28 EDT International cricket lost a bit of charm overnight when Moeen Ali announced his retirement from all forms. His England career is hard to summarise, isn’t it? He could exhilarate and frustrate in equal measure; he was England’s most elegant left-hander since David Gower; he was too unselfish for his own good; and he was – for richer and poorer – a beacon of humanity. Moeen has an endearing honesty and self-awareness, as shown by his own assessment of his career. I hope people remember me as a free spirit. I played some nice shots and some bad shots, but hopefully people enjoyed watching me. He wasn’t a great player, but he leaves cricket in a better place than he found it. And the extent of his influence on British-Asian cricketers may not become apparent for another 10 or 15 years. England all-rounder Moeen Ali retires from international cricket Read more Share

2h ago 05.00 EDT Ali Martin’s day two report The lower order clearly had licence to thrash and Sri Lanka, re-energised after that tricky first day, were getting the old ball to swing. But among the array of swipes that accelerated things was a curious innings from Harry Brook. So often appearing already set when he arrives at the crease, Brook was instead jumpy here, surviving one howling drop in the deep by Asitha Fernando on 12 before crashing a wide ball to short cover. England self-sabotage in rush for runs as Sri Lanka cling on in third Test Read more Share

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