Cook and Compton fall against tight Sri Lanka bowling

Lunch England 83 for 2 (Hales 45*, Root 12*) v Sri LankaLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Alastair Cook’s wait for 10,000 Test runs will go on a little longer after he was dismissed five short of the milestone on the first morning at Chester-le-Street while Nick Compton’s lean run was continued by a spectacular piece of fielding as England reached lunch at 83 for 2.

Cook, who opted to bat first, had reached 15 when he edged Suranga Lakmal – recalled in place of the injured Dushmantha Chameera – to second slip, and it was Lakmal in the action again when he did brilliantly at long leg to hold Compton’s top edged hook. Compton had spoken before the match about playing for his Test future, and a 34-ball stay which included a close call for lbw against Rangana Herath and a dicey single will not have furthered his cause.

Alex Hales was the most convincing of England’s batsmen during the opening session as he reached lunch unbeaten on 45 alongside Joe Root who had made a jaunty start as is so often his style.

There will have been a strong temptation for Cook to stick Sri Lanka in on a cool, grey Durham morning after they managed just 91 and 119 in similar conditions last week at Headingley. However, he said it was …

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