Sri Lanka return to Lord’s 40 years after taming Botham and England

In 1984, Sri Lanka arrived in England unknown and unrated, newbies who had lost seven of their first 11 Tests. Their only trip outside Asia had brought heavy defeats by New Zealand so when they arrived at Lord’s, little was expected.

But it had been a tough summer for England. Pummelled 5-0 by West Indies, they were undeniably weary. Some considered a one-off match against lowly Sri Lanka as a chance to gloss an ugly summer, others felt the whole thing was an inconvenience.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, were excited. “We all had this dream about Lord’s,” the opener Sidath Wettimuny said. In seven warm-up games, their batters had found form and their captain, Duleep Mendis, strolled out for the toss under blue skies, seeing a pitch devoid of pace or grass. Some thought the groundsman had been ordered to prolong the shellacking. Remarkably, when the coin came down David Gower’s way, he opted to bowl.

As Wettimuny took guard, Tamil protesters invaded the playing area. Paradoxically, the delay worked in his favour. “I thought: ‘Even if I get out they’ll have to excuse me,’” he later said. “All the adrenaline just fizzled out.”

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He found his groove from the very start. England tossed the ball up wide. Time and again, Wettimuny banished them to the boundary with imperious square drives.

Wickets fell at the other end, but he continued to play crisp, stylish shots. By tea, he had reached 100 and suffering from cramps he received an impromptu massage from the umpire, Dickie Bird. Still, he was determined to tough it out and in the teenaged Arjuna Ranatunga found a willing partner. Sri Lanka went to the close at 226 for three. It had been their best day of Test cricket yet.

View image in fullscreen Pro-Tamil demonstrators invade the pitch and hold a sit-down protest. Photograph: Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto/Getty Images

The next morning, Ranatunga fell for 84, bringing Mendis to the middle. If Wettimuny was all elegance, the captain was elemental, a force of nature, unwilling to be tied down. The stumps seemed to stretch up to his waist, but he had presence at the crease and bludgeoned the ball like he wanted to break it.

England’s bowlers thought they could bounce him out. Uncowed, Duleep hooked them with relish. Three of Ian Botham’s short balls disappeared into the stands and when he was withdrawn the growing Sri Lankan crowd chanted: “We want Botham.”

Mendis went to three figures just before close and the hosts looked utterly exasperated. Wettimuny fell for 190 on day three – the 642 minutes he batted remains a Test record at Lord’s. Sri Lanka declared on 491 for seven, carrying hopes of winning the game.

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View image in fullscreen Sri Lanka’s Duleep Mendis thwacks the ball away during his innings of 111 at Lord’s. Photograph: Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto/Getty Images

But England shut up shop. For long stretches, the scoreboard stood still. Despite blue skies and a bank holiday Monday, their dour batting kept crowds away. Nonetheless, Sri Lanka had chances. On the third evening, Aravinda de Silva put down Chris Broad and the following day Allan Lamb nicked towards Wettimuny at slip, but the wicketkeeper dived across him. Had Lamb fallen then, England would have been six down well short of the follow-on. Instead, he made a century, carrying his team to safety.

England, no doubt, felt the final day pointless but it would not be without pain. Amal Silva notched a languid century and when Mendis returned to the scene he provided more explosive theatre. The quicks were slammed to all parts, before off-spinner Pat Pocock repeatedly disappeared into the stands. Mendis moved from 50 to 94 in 31 balls and with Botham bowling off-breaks a rare slice of history beckoned. Only George Headley had struck twin hundreds at Lord’s and Mendis wanted to do it in style. He tried to fetch a ball from outside off and slap it into the leg side. Instead, it looped straight up in the air. No one who enjoys cricket could want Mendis to temper the way he batted, but a modicum of restraint would have carried him through to a famous century.

But perhaps records don’t matter. Four decades on, what endures is the memory of spellbinding batting.

Sri Lanka’s first Test at Lord’s showed they could play. More important, the team unearthed new founts of self‑belief: a maiden Test victory was just around the corner.

Now Sri Lanka have arrived in England with another point to prove. If they can channel the spirit of Mendis and Wettimuny, they will win more than a few admirers and brighten up all our summers in the process.

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