Gus Atkinson scored a superb maiden century as England posted 427 all out on day two of the second test at Lord's on Friday before Sri Lanka lost both openers to reach lunch on 32-2.
Atkinson, whose previous highest score in first-class cricket was 91 for Surrey, began with back-to-back boundaries, clipping Lahiru Kumara's first delivery to fine leg then driving the next through cover.
The 26-year-old was given out lbw from the third ball of an eventful opening over, but was reprieved on review as the ball was travelling down the leg side. Atkinson moved to 99 with another classy cover drive for four and, unlike Joe Root on day one , needed just three balls to reach three figures with a straight drive to the fence.
England had resumed on 358-7 with Atkinson and Matthew Potts's swashbuckling partnership on Thursday evening having reached exactly 50. Sri Lanka's bowling was poor and they leaked 35 runs off the first five overs before the introduction of Asitha Fernando, who had Potts (21) caught behind by keeper Nishan Madushka.
Atkinson continued to score freely but fell trying to hit Fernando into the stands, brilliantly caught by Milan Rathnayake on the midwicket boundary for 118 off 115 balls. Olly Stone (15) was the last man out off Fernando (5-102) as England added 69 to their overnight total. Madushka (7) ought to have been caught behind off Chris Woakes but an edge flew between keeper and slip, before he chopped a wide delivery on to his stumps.
Stone, playing in his first test since 2021, then removed Dimuth Karunaratne (7) in identical fashion on the stroke of lunch to leave Sri Lanka in trouble, 395 behind. England won the first test at Old Trafford last week by five wickets. Sri Lanka must win at Lord's to have a chance of winning the three-match series.
Earlier, on Thursday evening, England's leading batsman Joe Root paid an emotional tribute to the late Graham Thorpe after scoring a milestone 33rd Test hundred at Lord's, saying much of his success was down to the impact of his former coach.
His innings meant Root equalled Alastair Cook's record for the most Test hundreds by an England batsman, after he came in with the side faltering at 42-2 on the first day of the second Test.
Root immediately pointed to the sky after reaching three figures in a gesture in memory of former England batsman and assistant coach Thorpe, who died aged 55 earlier this month after taking his own life.
A deeply moved Root, whose composed 143 helped England reach 358-7 at stumps, told reporters: "I've been very lucky to work with a lot of people, whether it be senior players, coaches and mentors.
"He (Thorpe) was one of those people who offered me so much and it was nice to be able to think of him in that moment. Someone I'm sorely going miss and who I owe a lot to. He put a lot into my game and my career."
Thorpe, who won exactly 100 Test caps, was widely regarded as the best England batsman of his generation.
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