Gus Atkinson stars at Lord’s again as England wins Test series against Sri Lanka

England’s Gus Atkinson celebrates after taking the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya de Silva Action during the second Test on September 1, 2024
| Photo Credit: Action Images via Reuters

England clinched the series against Sri Lanka by winning the second test on Sunday on the back of a five-wicket haul by Gus Atkinson that put him on the honours board at Lord’s once again.

England dismissed Sri Lanka for 292 in its second innings to seal a 190-run win just after tea on Day 4 at the home of cricket and move 2-0 ahead in the three-match series. It backed up a 3-0 victory for England over the West Indies in July.

Atkinson is England’s new star and the fast bowler took 5-62 to follow his brilliant knock of 118 as a No. 8 in the first innings that set his team up for the win. Atkinson will get his name on the honours board in the England dressing room at Lord’s for both of those exploits — having already done so during the West Indies series for a 10-wicket haul at the storied ground in northwest London.

“I have had a good few games here, I don’t know what it is,” Atkinson said. “I enjoy bowling down the slope but the batting, I’m not sure!”

England won the first test in Manchester last week. The third and final match of the series starts at The Oval on Friday.

Chris Woakes and Olly Stone each chipped in with a couple of wickets as England broke Sri Lanka’s impressive resistance that featured half-centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne (55), Dinesh Chandimal (58) and Dhananjaya de Silva (50). The tourists started the day on 53-2, chasing a world-record 483 for victory.

England, which had centuries from Joe Root in both innings, is now just one victory away from completing a clean sweep of home test series in a summer for the first time since 2004.

The one disappointment on a warm, sunny day was the sparse crowd. While tickets for under-16s were 15 pounds ($19.70), the cheapest available for adults turning up on Sunday morning to watch England claim a first win in six attempts over Sri Lanka at this ground — after five draws — were priced at 95 pounds ($125).

Atkinson made light of the low turnout just a couple of days after registering his maiden first-class century. Having shone against the Windies here in July, he is one of only six players who have taken five wickets in an innings, 10 in a match and made a century at the home of cricket.

“I think the hundred took it out of me more than I thought as I was mentally fried,” Atkinson said, referring to his bowling in the first innings. “But today I felt like I had more energy so I bowled a lot better and could back that up in the second innings.”