FOR half of his first day living out the International Cricket Captain video game he will no doubt have played in his youth, Ollie Pope was forced to do little more than hit 'simulate innings', sit back and watch the magic unfold.
Things got a little trickier into the afternoon sessions, when half-centuries from Dhananjaya de Silva and Milan Rathnayake led a Sri Lankan fightback and gloomy conditions left England's stand-in skipper restricted to bowling spin from both ends.
Still, having lost the toss, turfing out the opposition for 236 and reaching the close no wickets down and 22 on the board marked a decent first day in the post.
For that flying start, England's 82nd and freshest Test captain owed much to Chris Woakes, whose double-wicket maiden removed opener Nishan Madushka and regular English scourge Angelo Mathews to leave the tourists in tatters at six for three with the series half-an-hour old.
Later, he added the scalp of Kamindu Mendis to take his tally since finally replacing the retiring James Anderson as attack leader this summer to 13 wickets in five innings at an average of just 17.46.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis