Sri Lanka won a one-sided match by six wickets, and the series with it, but only after controversially dismissing Jos Buttler.
10.09pm BST
Well that was rubbish. Sri Lanka never needed to get out of first gear with the bat, but they might still have tried, once Jayawardene and Thirimanne had more or less assured them of victory. Still, they have every right to prioritise victory over my entertainment, and that was a very assured and finely paced reply.
Cook ends the match by having a little dig at Mathews, and this Buttler business does seem to have added a little spice to the Test series. Though he really needs to get over it, I suppose it's good to see a little bit of spark from him. Perhaps one day he'll display some in his field positions.
10.02pm BST
49.2 overs: Sri Lanka 222-4 (Thirimanne 60, Mathews 42). Target 220
Bopara bowls, and Mathews sends his first two deliveries to the boundary to win the game for Sri Lanka
9.59pm BST
48th over: Sri Lanka 214-4 (Thirimanne 60, Mathews 34). Target 220
Cometh the hour, cometh Chris Jordan, cometh five singles and a four, pretty much all of them to or indeed past third man. Sri Lanka need six runs and have two overs to score them.
9.55pm BST
47th over: Sri Lanka 205-4 (Thirimanne 58, Mathews 27). Target 220
Anderson bowls, Thirimanne scoops the first ball over midwicket, and it trundles away for four. That's the end of the run-scoring, and a few moments later the same batsman offers a fairly simple caught-and-bowled chance, but Anderson's one-handed catch isn't held. It was a little bit like the one Flintoff caught recently, except easier. That's the end of Anderson, whose 10 overs have gone for 33 runs.
9.48pm BST
46th over: Sri Lanka 201-4 (Thirimanne 54, Mathews 27). Target 220
Gurney bowls, and after a couple of singles Mathews takes a step back and heaves the ball over long off for four, and then slaps the fifth delivery through the covers for another. Sri Lanka now require 4.75 runs an over.
9.43pm BST
45th over: Sri Lanka 191-4 (Thirimanne 53, Mathews 18). Target 220
Jordan bowls, and Gurney gets a second chance to take a catch at third man and he totally misjudges it, doesn't even touch the ball, and it bounces away for four. Add four singles and a two and you've got yourself a 10-run over, Sri Lanka reaching double figures for the second time since over six (England never got 10 or more runs from a single over in their innings). Sri Lanka now require 5.8 runs an over.
9.38pm BST
44th over: Sri Lanka 181-4 (Thirimanne 51, Mathews 10). Target 220
Gurney bowls, and Thirimanne completes his half-century (89 balls one six, one four, a whole load o'singles) with another single off the first delivery. "You don't need a degree in Sports Psychology to know that Buttler's petulant sledging of Matthews is tantamount to admitting his guilt," writes Marcus Moore. There was never any doubt about his guilt he was standing a mile outside his crease. This wasn't about black or white, but a particular cricketing shade of gray, the space in which "the spirit of the game" resides. Sri Lanka need 6.5 runs an over, on average, etc and so forth.
9.33pm BST
43rd over: Sri Lanka 178-4 (Thirimanne 49, Mathews 9). Target 220
Really, this run chase could scarcely have been less dramatic. There was a moment, at 62-3 back in over 11, when some excitement was possible, but Thirimanne and Jayawardene skilfully and very, very slowly squashed it. Sri Lanka need precisely six runs, on average, from each of the remaining seven overs.
9.28pm BST
42nd over: Sri Lanka 174-4 (Thirimanne 46, Mathews 8). Target 220
Jordan is unable to bowl a wide in this over, because Tredwell is bowling it. He is, though, able to misfield. The effect is pretty much the same.
9.25pm BST
41st over: Sri Lanka 170-4 (Thirimanne 45, Mathews 5). Target 220
Jordan continues, as indeed do the boos, raining down from the stands upon Mathews. His first ball is again not a wide. But the fourth is. Really, these extras won't do. Five actual proper runs are also scored, in ones and a two.
9.18pm BST
40th over: Sri Lanka 164-4 (Thirimanne 43, Mathews 2). Target 220
Angelo Mathews is getting some stick from English players and fans about the Jos Buttler run-out fandango. There'll be no aggressive up-backing from him, I'd wager. Tredwell returns, and a couple of singles are taken. Ten overs remain, and Sri Lanka require 5.6 runs off each of them (on average).
9.15pm BST
39th over: Sri Lanka 162-4 (Thirimanne 42, Mathews 1). Target 220
Jordan's back, and his first ball isn't a wide. So that's a thing. Never mind, the fifth ball is. But along the way, there's also a wicket a few more of those and this might get interesting.
9.11pm BST
Jayawardene very deliberately guides the ball straight up into the air, and Anderson catches it. Jordan punches the air with some violence. Could there be a late twist here?
9.07pm BST
38th over: Sri Lanka 156-3 (Jayawardene 50, Thirimanne 41). Target 220
There's extra excitement in the drinks break as I check my pigeon-hole and find a promisingly large package, and bonus disappointment during over 38 as I open it to find four books about cycling. They may be very good books about cycling. I'm looking on the bright side. Jayawardene reaches his half-century, having faced 87 balls.
9.03pm BST
37th over: Sri Lanka 153-3 (Jayawardene 48, Thirimanne 40). Target 220
In the time it takes me to get a drink of my own from the Guardian's in-house cafe, not only do the players take their refreshments but they also get five-sevenths (there's a wide) of the way through over 37. Anderson bowls it, and Thirimanne, I deduce cunningly from nothing but the number of runs he's scored, gets a boundary at some point.
8.56pm BST
36th over: Sri Lanka 147-3 (Jayawardene 47, Thirimanne 36). Target 220
England need those wickets fast, with rain still falling and Sri Lanka narrowly ahead on the old Duckworth/Lewis. And they nearly get one, as the ball hits the edge of Jayawardene's bat and bounces not too far away from the stumps. The players will now take some drinks.
8.51pm BST
35th over: Sri Lanka 144-3 (Jayawardene 46, Thirimanne 34). Target 220
Anderson returns, with England desperately needing a wicket. And then another wicket. And really, another one after that. There are no wickets, but just one run.
8.48pm BST
34th over: Sri Lanka 143-3 (Jayawardene 45, Thirimanne 34). Target 220
It is now raining. A gentle trickle of runs four off the over, all singles and also from the heavens. They're playing on, for now.
8.44pm BST
33rd over: Sri Lanka 139-3 (Jayawardene 43, Thirimanne 32). Target 220
Jayawardene pulls the ball through square leg for four, beautifully placed, and then tickles one very fine for another. In between Thirimanne tries to work the ball to fine leg, where it lands about a yard in front of Gurney. Eleven count 'em runs off Bopara's over.
8.40pm BST
32nd over: Sri Lanka 128-3 (Jayawardene 34, Thirimanne 30). Target 220
The crowd will literally go "oooh" at anything. Jayawardene trots forward and the ball hits his pad in a not remotely threatening way. "Oooooh!" says the crowd. Jayawardene paddles the ball to fine leg for a couple. "Ooooh!" says the crowd.
8.37pm BST
31st over: Sri Lanka 124-3 (Jayawardene 31, Thirimanne 29). Target 220
There was some excitement in that over, as Sri Lanka considered running a sharp two. In the end they decided not to.
8.34pm BST
30th over: Sri Lanka 119-3 (Jayawardene 28, Thirimanne 27). Target 220
Root gets his length wrong, and Jayawardene hoiks the ball over midwicket for four. And a smattering of singles, and what you've got there is an eight-run over. On Sky, the commentators are talking quite a lot about clouds. Apparently they're grey, and hovering threateningly.
8.31pm BST
29th over: Sri Lanka 111-3 (Jayawardene 25, Thirimanne 22). Target 220
"Squeezes that out well," says Gower as Thirimanne scores a single off the last ball of Bopara's over. #ExcrementalCommentary.
@Simon_Burnton I have an idea for something to do: Come enjoy #FinnishCricketWeek & #FINvMCC on Friday http://t.co/sz8FSauBnn
8.28pm BST
28th over: Sri Lanka 109-3 (Jayawardene 24, Thirimanne 21). Target 220
Root keeps bowling and Jayawardene, backing up enthusiastically, finds himself halfway down the pitch and needing to get back really quickly or he might get out. He gets back really quickly.
8.25pm BST
27th over: Sri Lanka 107-3 (Jayawardene 23, Thirimanne 20). Target 220
Ravi Bopara bowls! I'm not sure why I've gone all exclamationmarkey on that, but you've got to get excited about something, and this after all is the first we've seen of him this innings so perhaps he'll do. Jayawardene tries to nurdle the ball fine to third man and misses it intirely had the shot been only slightly less hopeless he'd probably have got out. The run rate rises to 4.91 an over. It'll be five soon, at this rate, you mark my words.
@Simon_Burnton There are blokes in the crowd who would be a more threatening proposition than Joe Root. Not a 6th bowler: barely a 9th.
8.21pm BST
26th over: Sri Lanka 106-3 (Jayawardene 22, Thirimanne 20). Target 220
Root bowls. Some stuff happens.
8.18pm BST
25th over: Sri Lanka 99-3 (Jayawardene 18, Thirimanne 17). Target 220
Jordan's over begins yes with a wide. Sri Lanka scored their first 50 runs off 38 balls. There have been 112 deliveries since plus several wides and they're only now on the brink of 100. Here, what do you make of this? I like it, me.
8.13pm BST
24th over: Sri Lanka 94-3 (Jayawardene 15, Thirimanne 16). Target 220
Really, nothing is happening. Sri Lanka could sleepwalk to this target, and apparently intend to do so. And if they're not asleep now, they're doing their damnedest to make sure plenty of other people are. Anyway, over 24. Tredwell bowled it. Jayawardene scored a single.
8.10pm BST
23rd over: Sri Lanka 93-3 (Jayawardene 14, Thirimanne 16). Target 220
Just as when he bowled his first over, Jordan's first delivery is a wide. Unlike when he bowled his first over, his subsequent deliveries don't go for another 13.
8.06pm BST
22nd over: Sri Lanka 90-3 (Jayawardene 13, Thirimanne 15). Target 220
Thirimanne, with a single heave over long on, near-enough doubles his personal total. Tredwell's over goes for seven in all, more than any over since the sixth, bowled by Jordan. Talking of whom
8.02pm BST
21st over: Sri Lanka 83-3 (Jayawardene 13, Thirimanne 8). Target 220
If only England had scored some runs of their own, this would be getting seriously interesting. But Sri Lanka don't need to panic, and indeed they aren't at the start of their innings they needed 4.4 runs an over, and now it's risen to 4.72.
7.59pm BST
20th over: Sri Lanka 81-3 (Jayawardene 12, Thirimanne 7). Target 220
Tredwell returns after a short breather, and rips through another maiden.
7.56pm BST
19th over: Sri Lanka 81-3 (Jayawardene 12, Thirimanne 7). Target 220
Gurney's second spell continues to be significantly more impressive than his first. This is all lovely, but England do need wickets, and they could have got one when the ball found the edge of Jayawardene's bat. It flies to the right of Buttler, who doesn't move for it, and to the left of Jordan, who doesn't move for it either, and runs away for four.
7.52pm BST
18th over: Sri Lanka 75-3 (Jayawardene 7, Thirimanne 6). Target 220
Sri Lanka don't hit a boundary from the next delivery, or indeed from the five after that. They do take a few singles, not all of them very comfortable.
7.48pm BST
17th over: Sri Lanka 72-3 (Jayawardene 5, Thirimanne 5). Target 220
Sri Lanka remain becalmed, and Gurney's last delivery prompts a loose shot from Jayawardene, looping the ball back in the direction of the bowler, if much too high for him to catch it. But let's not get overexcited Sri Lanka still need an eminently achievable 4.48 runs an over. What's certain, though, is that if Sri Lanka don't hit a boundary off the next delivery bowled, they'll have gone a full 10 overs without one.
7.43pm BST
16th over: Sri Lanka 70-3 (Jayawardene 4, Thirimanne 4). Target 220
Root bowls again, and I go hunting for some interesting stats. Before I've found any Root has finished bowling. Sorry.
7.41pm BST
15th over: Sri Lanka 68-3 (Jayawardene 3, Thirimanne 3). Target 220
Gurney returns, at the other end, as Anderson's replacement, and every ball struck zips straight to a fielder to be fair, Bell had to dive on one occasion and it's a maiden.
7.36pm BST
14th over: Sri Lanka 68-3 (Jayawardene 3, Thirimanne 3). Target 220
Tredwell is dumped for now, with Root doing some twirling. Sri Lanka's collective foot remains notably detached from any form of accelerator.
7.33pm BST
13th over: Sri Lanka 65-3 (Jayawardene 2, Thirimanne 1). Target 220
Anderson's seventh over is concluded, with the concession of two runs. At this stage in their innings, England were on 65-0. "Evening Simon," writes Simon McMahon. Evening to you too sir. "I've always thought that Harry Gurney sounds as though he's from the 1930s, whereas Tredwell just looks as though he was born in the 30s." Don't know about born in the 30s, Tredwell looks like he was born in his 30s. Can you imagine a baby Tredwell?
7.29pm BST
12th over: Sri Lanka 63-3 (Jayawardene 0, Thirimanne 1). Target 220
Tredwell fair rips through his over, keeping the pressure on. No runs are scored, and Sri Lanka, who scored 20 runs more than England in their first six overs, have scored 15 fewer off their next six.
7.27pm BST
11th over: Sri Lanka 63-3 (Jayawardene 0, Thirimanne 1). Target 220
From 55-0 to 62-3, and England are sniffing the vague, distant aroma of possible success.
7.25pm BST
There was no bat involved. Seems a strange review, that being the case, but no matter Pereira's gone!
Hawkeye shows it was a superb call from Michael Gough. Live on Sky Sports 2 now! http://t.co/FvVWffDi0J #EngvSL pic.twitter.com/skx2Rx2T73
7.23pm BST
Has Anderson got Perera lbw here? Or was there some bat involved?
7.19pm BST
10th over: Sri Lanka 59-2 (Perera 16, Jayawardene 0). Target 220
That's the last delivery of an over which had brought nothing more exciting than three singles up to that point.
7.18pm BST
Great delivery, wonderful catch. Tredwell gets the ball to straighten and clip the shoulder of Sangakkara's bat, and Jordan takes it at slip.
7.15pm BST
9th over: Sri Lanka 56-1 (Perera 15, Sangakkara 1). Target 220
That's the end of Anderson's fifth over, a maiden. A total of 14 runs have come off his five overs, and 42 of the others' four.
7.12pm BST
8th over: Sri Lanka 56-1 (Perera 15, Sangakkara 1). Target 220
Just five runs off Tredwell's over, and a wicket, which all seemed pretty unlikely when the first delivery was bashed through the covers by Dilshan.
7.09pm BST
Tredwell comes on, and Dilshan looks to bash him about sharpish. The first ball flies to the boundary, the second to Joe Root at cover. A fine catch, diving to his right. That ball was really travelling.
7.05pm BST
7th over: Sri Lanka 51-0 (Dilshan 24, Perera 15). Target 220
England reached 50 in the 11th over. Sri Lanka reach the milestone off the second ball of over seven.
7.02pm BST
6th over: Sri Lanka 49-0 (Dilshan 23, Perera 14). Target 220
Gurney is unsurprisingly hooked after conceded 14 runs off his latest over, and Jordan concedes 14 runs off his first. He starts with a wide, and there follows a smart caught-and-bowled chance, the ball travelling fast from Perera's bat at calf height but flying through the bowler's hands, and Dilshan spearing successive deliveries through point for four.
6.56pm BST
5th over: Sri Lanka 35-0 (Dilshan 13, Perera 13). Target 220
Anderson's radar slips, and the fingertips of a diving Buttler divert a wide delivery that would otherwise have rolled merrily to the boundary to a fielder at fine leg. Still, Sri Lanka run three and a couple of deliveries later Dilshan misses the ball, which flicks off his thighpad and rolls merrily to the very same spot on the boundary that the previous one may have reached. The second half of the over, though, is splendid, and Dilshan should be pretty chuffed just to reach the end of it.
6.52pm BST
4th over: Sri Lanka 27-0 (Dilshan 13, Perera 12). Target 220
Perera chops the ball through the covers for a rather fine four, and then Dilshan thwacks a couple through square leg for more. That's 14 fourteen runs from the over, and the early wickets England surely needed as they defend an unimpressive total have yet to come.
6.47pm BST
3rd over: Sri Lanka 13-0 (Dilshan 4, Perera 7). Target 220
Perera nurdles the ball to the fine leg boundary for the first four of the innings. There's also a wildly optimistic lbw shout against Perera, quite properly ignored by the umpire.
6.43pm BST
2nd over: Sri Lanka 6-0 (Dilshan 3, Perera 1). Target 220
Gurney's first delivery is wide, with a bit of bonus extra super width for good measure. His second delivery is less wide, but still pretty damn wide in the scheme of things. A few singles round off the scoring. "It's not like England haven't been here before," writes Diego Black of this whole Mankad business. "This is also the most acceptable way of warning (and dancing but I couldn't possibly comment on that)."
6.38pm BST
1st over: Sri Lanka 1-0 (Dilshan 1, Perera 0). Target 220
Anderson bowls, and Dilshan edges the first ball along the ground to third man. So, I'm monitoring photos posted to Instagram from Edgbaston, and the only one that's popped up recently is this. Eh?
6.33pm BST
and the players are on their way on. Gird your loins, people.
6.31pm BST
"I'm going to go all Betjeman on you," warns Marie Meyer. And then she does.
Come, friendly rain, fall on Edgbaston.
Spare us from more England "action".
6.28pm BST
The covers are back off! Whatever next?
Covers coming off now. Play about 5 minutes away #EngvSL pic.twitter.com/Wn2M0hY1ku
6.20pm BST
The covers are back on! It's hardly raining, but obviously that isn't the same as not raining at all.
6.18pm BST
The covers are coming off, and play is due to restart in 12 minutes!
6.14pm BST
It's still raining, still lightly, and nobody's about to play any cricket at Edgbaston. More as I get it
Very light rain falling. We have an extra 30 minutes to take before we lose any overs #EngvSL
5.55pm BST
I don't think we should spend the next few hours rattling on about the Buttler dismissal, but there's perhaps room for a couple more opinions. Me, I don't think Buttler was really seeking to gain much by strolling very slowly out of his crease, and he wasn't very far out of his crease when the stumps were taken off he kept strolling for a bit after that and really only the most egregious offenders should be mankaded. But he was most definitely out of his crease, and he should either have been in it, or trying to get proper advantage from being outside it.
I know Buttler was being dozy, had been warned, and it was in the laws and it was his fault. But Is that really how we want the game played
5.40pm BST
Hello! Simon Burnton here, taking the baton from Dan Lucas and running with it (as far as my desk, where I'm now sitting down with it and don't plan to move for about five hours). It's currently raining in Edgbaston, but not very hard. Still, it might delay the start of Sri Lanka's reply, and England's attempts to revenge-mankad the lot of them.
Covers firmly on in the middle #EngvSL pic.twitter.com/hSmPB74MLq
5.32pm BST
That was rubbish, quite frankly. England started serenely but continued to try and force runs that were never there. The innings didn't so much end with a damp squib as much as it was a damp squib all along.
Simon Burnton will be with you for the chase/rain delay, so please be kind and don't pester him with email talking about "the spirit of cricket" like that's a thing.
5.28pm BST
SPLAT go the stumps.
5.27pm BST
48th over England 219-9 (Gurney 0 Anderson 5) Oh well.
5.24pm BST
Dashing for a single that was never there, the throw comes into the bowler's end.
5.22pm BST
47th over England 218-8 (Jordan 30 Anderson 4) I'd describe this innings as petering out, except it's been petering out since about the fifth over. Jordan slams an excellent shot through extra cover for four when Malinga goes full and wide. Jordan is key to England hopes of getting 230-240 here. No more boundaries for the over, just scrambled singles. Jordan gets a single from the final ball to get back on strike.
When high speed cameras give batsmen in or out by millimeters, the idea that a batsman can leave his crease free of Mankadding is absurd.
5.17pm BST
46th over England 209-8 (Jordan 24 Anderson 2) Jordan swivels and pulls for four through fine leg, with Kulasekara running around and diving over the ball, much to the delight of a still angry crowd. On the final ball, Senanayake pulls out of his delivery stride and Jordan grounds his bat in his crease in a flash. It was the umpire calling dead ball that effected that little sequence though.
The booing and the chants of "cheat" are really quite unedifying. Go away from cricket, all of you. Morons.
5.13pm BST
45th over England 201-8 (Jordan 18 Anderson 0) Well this is all a bit of a mess for England, isn't it? Unsurprisingly, the tailenders can't get Lasith Malinga away. A wicket from the final ball and Anderson comes to the crease looking a bit glum.
5.12pm BST
Full and straight. Far too good for the wafting Tredwell, who can't get bat on it.
5.09pm BST
44th over England 199-7 (Jordan 17 Tredwell 0) Well boos are ringing around Edgbaston now as Senanayake Mankads Buttler. The batsman had been warned before by the bowler but the crowd don't seem a bit bothered by that. Personally I don't think there's any problem with Mankading; why should Buttler be allowed to start a run from halfway down the track? He's lucky he got a warning.
5.05pm BST
Mankad!
5.04pm BST
43rd over England 197-6 (Jordan 15 Buttler 21) Malinga is going with the short stuff now. Buttler muscles a single out to midwicket but then Jordan gets a top edge. It drops short of the man at fine leg and then spins mercilessly away from him, forcing a readjustment of running line. "That spun more than Ajantha Mendis has been getting it to," chuckles Michael Holding. Six from the over, a run rate that would get them close to 240.
4.59pm BST
42nd over England 191-6 (Jordan 11 Buttler 19) Senanayake pulls out of his delivery stride on the third ball. There's no urgency from either side here and you have to say the onus is really on England to provide that. The big problem is that they only have four wickets left. Go for it now and they risk having the tailenders in for the last five overs, leave it too long and they'll run out of time. I think we can all agree that two an over isn't enough here. And that there is no need for the Edgbaston PA to be playing Toploader's version of 'Dancing in the Moonlight'. Ever.
4.54pm BST
41st over England 189-6 (Jordan 10 Buttler 18) Buttler is out here if the throw hits as they go for a quick single. The ball does not hit. Instead the ball continues to find fielders. England will do well to make 240 from here. Oh and then a rare boundary, just the ninth of the innings, as Jordan hooks through mid wicket for four.
"What Oliver Smiddy fails miserably to note is whether Alex Hales is the sort of boy mothers would take to and who does the washing up when tea is over. That's what brand Team Waitrose is after," notes Ian Copestake.
4.50pm BST
40th over England 182-6 (Jordan 4 Buttler 17)
Kevin Pietersen parachutes into Edgbaston and kicks Paul Downton in your face while yelling Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes at him. He then wrenches a cricket bat from the holster on his back and strides out into the middle. "Watch and learn, son" he says to Jos Buttler before reigning hell fire down on Ajantha Mendis. He spots Giles Clarke in the stands and knocks his pint glass out of his hand with a perfectly placed six. 36 from the over and Sri Lanka are crying.
England work four singles.
4.47pm BST
39th over England 178-6 (Jordan 2 Buttler 15) A dreadful leg-side wide from Mathews is just about parried by Sangakkara, keeping them to two runs (plus the wide) rather than four. Those, plus another wide are all that England can get from the over.
4.42pm BST
Oliver Smiddy hits the nail on the head: "Alex Hales is currently 142 not out off 112 balls, with 18 fours and 4 sixes. Hes gone loco. The fact we have to endure a top four of Cook, Bell, Root and Ballance while one of our finest and most aggressive limited overs batsmen struggles to get a game in the 4-day format beggars belief. Imagine a Team Waitrose top 4 of Bell, Hales, Pietersen and Buttler. That would genuinely give the likes of Australia pause for thought."
4.41pm BST
38th over England 174-6 (Jordan 2 Buttler 15) This is like a parody of ODI cricket. Mendis has now overstepped to give Buttler a free hit, which is slaps down to long off for a single. Actually it looks like the ball that got Bopara was a bit slower, but that's no excuse for Ravi's useless swipe.
4.39pm BST
Mendis bowls a rank long hop that lands about halfway down the pitch. Ravi takes a big ugly, uncontrolled swing at it, with his legs askew. The ball nutmegs him and takes the stumps. That was hilariously awful all-round.
4.36pm BST
37th over England 169-5 (Bopara 17 Buttler 13) This really is a woeful pitch, offering nothing to anyone. The bowlers aren't earning their wickets, they're getting them when England's batsmen get frustrated and play a rubbish shot. The batsmen can't play shots, they're just left slugging at a ball that's dying in the pitch. A downpour would be more entertaining to watch. Two from the 37th over. Seriously.
4.32pm BST
36th over England 167-5 (Bopara 15 Buttler 13) Ravi swivels around and plays the scoop shot and Sangakkara misjudges it completely, the ball running away for a couple of runs. Other than that there are just three singles from the over. This isn't good cricket, folks.
4.29pm BST
35th over England 162-5 (Bopara 11 Buttler 12) Malinga now. With the powerplay gone, I reckon these two have to hang around and try to score around 5/over for the next five overs, then look to hit out after the 40-over mark.
4.23pm BST
34th over England 158-5 (Bopara 9 Buttler 10) Mendis is back on. England may now regret taking the powerplay earlier and not making the most of it as Buttler hits one nicely through square leg for three, Jayawardene stopping the boundary well. That will be drinks. I'll take a tea, if anyone's offering.
Meanwhile Gary Naylor has a neat stat here:
England top four: at Lord's 4 boundaries off 151 deliveries; at Edgbaston 7 boundaries off 153 deliveries. 20th century batting @DanLucas86
4.19pm BST
33rd over England 152-5 (Bopara 7 Buttler 6) Malinga is back on and very nearly has Buttler, slicing it hard and in the air just to the left of the diving Dilshan at backward point. Buttler's method of keeping out Malinga's yorkers is quite absurd. He's clearing his front leg as if preparing to slog before chopping an angled bat down on the ball to block it out. It's excellent bowling that's not allowing Buttler to hit a thing. The final ball is a fraction outside off stump though and Buttler, having backed away, crunches it through extra cover for four. There wasn't really much difference in line and length there but Buttler played it magnificently well.
4.13pm BST
32nd over England 145-5 (Bopara 6 Buttler 1) It's Senanayake to continue. Sri Lanka's slow bowlers have really done a number on England here. 260 would be a qualified success for England now.
4.12pm BST
31st over England 143-5 (Bopara 5 Buttler 0) So Ravi survives again. That was a rubbish review, it was always going miles over the stumps. Bopara's running here is ridiculous, first up he only just makes his ground going for a risky second, then on the next ball he's spared only by a poor throw wide of the stumps. Oh and now he's called Morgan through for a run that was never on and Morgan's stumps are thrown down. It's reviewed but he's safely home. Oh but then Morgan throws all those lives away with a poor shot that's easily pouched.
It's also been pointed out that I'm a very tired/stupid man, and that Root's dismissal was fine because he'd touched it.
4.10pm BST
Oh dear. Morgan tries to play a ridiculous front-foot paddle pull from a crouching position outside off stump and UNBELIEVABLY that turns out to be an unholy mess of a shot. The top edge is taken in the deep and England are in the malodorous stuff.
4.05pm BST
Shout for LBW against Bopara. This is too high. Given not out originally... and it's not out. That's Sri Lanka's review gone as the stumping was referred by the umpire.
4.05pm BST
30th over England 139-4 (Bopara 1 Morgan 17) Senanayake, with five overs for 18 runs behind him today, comes back and strikes early to get rid of England's set batsman. Ravi Bopara comes in and is very lucky to get away with the stumping; it looked to me as though the boot was on the line.
"Can you clear [the Root wicket] up for me please?" asks Kerry Davies. "I always believed that a WK taking in front of the stumps was a no-ball? Did it happen like this? Was Root behind his stumps? Is it allowed if a batsman hits it?"
4.01pm BST
Ooh that's close. I couldn't see anything behind the line but the third umpire clearly could.
4.00pm BST
Ravi could have been stumped first ball here
3.59pm BST
"Alastair Cook tries the scoop shot" is not a sentence I ever expected to write. Although if I did, I know I'd expect to write "But gets a top edge that loops sadly into the gloves of the 'keeper" immediately afterwards.
3.57pm BST
29th over England 135-3 (Cook 56 Morgan 14) It's getting very dark in Birmingham now. Just the single from the over.
3.55pm BST
28th over England 134-3 (Cook 56 Morgan 13) Morgan brings out the big guns and drags a slog sweep from outside off stump and over mid-wicket for the first six of the match. Eight runs come from the first two balls but thereafter England have to settle for just a leg-by.
"Hi Dan," writes Mike Jakeman as if on cue. "I read a stat the other day which said that Morgan had played more England games in the past year or so than anyone else. That's quite something, given that he has been anywhere near the Test team in that time. But should he? I fear he hasn't made enough Championship runs so far this season, but as I discuss here, I reckon there is an Eoin-sized hole in the middle order, post-KP." Oh I agree, certainly. England need to look for new ideas and that means players with IPL and Big Bash experience I reckon.
3.51pm BST
27th over England 125-3 (Cook 56 Morgan 5) Morgan is looking to give Dilshan the charge here. He's in a bit of trouble on ball three as he checks his shot and loops it up in the air, the ball dropping into no-man's land. Dilshan has a shot for LBW next ball but Morgan had just got outside the line of off-stump. I reckon that may have been turning back away from the stumps anyway. Hawkeye reckons just clipping. The fashion for four-run overs has become a fashion for three-run overs.
3.48pm BST
26th over England 122-3 (Cook 55 Morgan 3) Three singles. Elsewhere, Alex Hales has scored his first Championship century since 2012 for Notts.
3.46pm BST
25th over England 119-3 (Cook 54 Morgan 1) Bad news folks: there looks to be a great big patch of rain headed Birmingham-way. Mathews continues and, no matter what the bowling, England's batsmen still struggling. Cook's battling well, but you question the ability of the rest of the lineup to stick with him and build a score. I miss Jonathan Trott.
3.42pm BST
24th over England 117-3 (Cook 53 Morgan 0) So Mathews has had enough of himself and gets the off-spinner Priyanjan back into the attack. There's a big appeal here for both LBW and a catch, as the ball loops up off what appears to be Root's pad as he reverse swept, before Sangakkara took the catch right on top of the batsman's helmet. We'll have a review and oh it's out! It turns out it was his glove, rather than his pad, off of which the ball looped up and although the original appeal was for LBW, he's been caught behind. So Morgan, who could use a score just for his own confidence, is the new man.
3.39pm BST
Gloved up in the air and caught right on top of his head.
3.36pm BST
23rd over England 114-2 (Cook 53 Root 8) Huzzah! A boundary! It comes as Malinga loses his length and arrows a full toss towards the leg side, with Root flicking it down to fine leg for four. Malinga's targeting Root's pads and bowling full, presumably looking to prey on Root's weakness at playing off the front foot.
3.31pm BST
22nd over England 106-2 (Cook 50 Root 3) Captain Mathews the Sri Lankan cricketer rather than the minor character in the TV show Dexter brings himself into the attack, becoming the seventh bowler used today. There's no swing or seam movement, no pace and the seam position doesn't seem to be making much difference at all given the above and the even bounce. Cook works one into the leg side and brings up his 50.
Disappointingly crusty track at edgbaston favouring slow bowlers. Sri Lanka have four and Malinga already bowling cutters.
3.27pm BST
21st over England 102-2 (Cook 48 Root 2) Angelo Mathews is bored, by the looks of things, and switches to pace in the form of Lasith Malinga. And it works! That was as nothing a shot as nothing shots get from Ballance, he'd lost his grip on the bat entirely and another new batsman has to start his innings. I've no idea what nonsense WASP has spat out, but I'd guess 260 or so will be par here. Cook gets a single to bring the 100 up at a shade under 5/over. Another four runs from this over. It feels as though there have been so many of those I'm actually surprised at the run rate.
3.22pm BST
I've no idea what this shot is. It's a wide ball and the bat just dangled out towards it, wriggling in the batsman's hands, and it loops back up in the air, gently back to the bowler.
3.20pm BST
20th over England 98-1 (Cook 46 Ballance 10) Nick Knight's analysis of why the wicket-taking delivery to Bell got stuck in the pitch is that it was a lot slower after pitching than most other deliveries, i.e. it got stuck in the pitch. Even Gower is making fun of him for that one. Ballance is starting to hit them well but the field is packed on the off-side. Meanwhile Cook has doubled his run tally for the series.
3.17pm BST
19th over England 92-1 (Cook 44 Ballance 6) We're back and, with England struggling for fluency against the spinners, it's spinner number four to bowl, Priyanjan. The good news for the teams trying to beat the rain/bad news for Simon Burnton OBOing the second innings is that we're relatively racing through the overs here. Also they're all going for four singles.
3.11pm BST
18th over England 88-1 (Cook 42 Ballance 4) You get the feeling you could nip out for a smoke in the time it takes from Dilshan releasing the ball and it reaching the batsman. Despite the dearth of boundaries, England are still scoring at around five an over and, given the unfortunate nature of Bell's wicket, they're not really taking risks either. That's drinks.
3.08pm BST
Quite.
Curious tactics to say the least, taking power play from 11th over. 5 overs: 20/1. One four
3.07pm BST
17th over England 84-1 (Cook 39 Ballance 3) Mendis continues, England work four singles and the world keeps turning. In fairness to England, the pitch is so slow and sticky that it's impossible to get it off the square.
3.05pm BST
16th over England 79-1 (Cook 36 Ballance 1) Dilshan is on now and beats Cook with a slow one that had the captain cutting at it far too early. The wicket in that previous over was a precious one for Sri Lanka as England's batsmen are going to find it difficult to bat fluently from the get-go here. Darker clouds moving in now.
3.01pm BST
15th over England 76-1 (Cook 34 Ballance 0) Four runs as Cook plucks a straight one (gasp!) from Mendis from outside off stump and through mid-wicket. Bell looks to do something a bit similar a couple of balls later and again gets a thick inside edge, the ball flying just wide of mid-wicket. Then he looks to slog-sweep, falls off balance and miscues it, the ball dropping short of mid-wicket. Suddenly Bell is looking less than relaxed and indeed gets out to the final ball of the over.
Andrew MacInally sends a weather report: "On uk.weather.com the chance of precipation has dropped in 1 hour from 60% to 20%. Looks like the gods are with us today. By the way chance of snowfall is 0%!"
3.00pm BST
Oh dear. The ball stops in the pitch, as dead as a Westerosi wedding guest, and Bell can only push it straight back to Mendis.
2.56pm BST
14th over England 66-0 (Cook 29 Bell 33) Senanayake is right on the money here and Sri Lanka plugged Cook's favourite scoring region of third man. He drops and runs a single from the final ball and is relieved to see the throw fly well over the stumps.
2.53pm BST
13th over England 65-0 (Cook 28 Bell 33) Appeal for a run out as England run a bye from a wide and Sangakkara throws the stumps down. It's not close though and we don't bother referring it. Or rather the umpires don't. Another misfield then allows Cook another single. This really is as comfortable as you like for the batsmen. There's another appeal for a stumping as Cap'n Cook has an airy waft at a ball outside his off-stump, but there's no real panic there still.
2.50pm BST
12th over England 58-0 (Cook 27 Bell 29) Big Sam Alladryce Senanayake continues. Three singles I've forgotten already. This may not be in the least bit exciting batting, but it's a very good start for England.
2.47pm BST
11th over England 55-0 (Cook 25 Bell 28) Mendis is coming on to bowl and England take the batting powerplay. After the flurry of boundaries that came in that last one. Atherton makes the point that of Mendis's six variations, very few seem to actually turn and England might fancy their chances of racking up a few boundaries against him. He starts with a filthy leg-side wide and follows that with a filthy full toss that Cook tucks through mid-wicket for four. Then a filthy short one on leg stump that Cook helps around the corner for a couple. Remember when Mendis was threatening? Feels like a long time ago, doesn't it?
Meanwhile, our very own Emma John on the major issues facing cricket:
Oh god @DanLucas86, Senanayake really needs to stop chewing that gum with his mouth open
2.42pm BST
10th over England 46-0 (Cook 18 Bell 27) Cook is looking to push and cut everything into the off-side, playing with the spin. A two and a pair of singles. I won't lie to you, I don't blame the crowd for being small.
On the best ODI innings for England, here's Matt Emerson: "Pietersens second and third one day centuries would stand up to Buttlers in my view. Both were on his first tour in South Africa in front of extremely hostile crowds to be expected given his change of allegiance. In the first, he came in at 117-3 after 26 overs. England were chasing 312 and he scored 100 not out in 69 balls to get us to 304. In the second, England were 68-6 after 25 overs; Pietersen got 116 off 100 balls to get us to 240. South Africa got the runs with an over to spare but God knows what target we would have set without him."
2.38pm BST
9th over England 42-0 (Cook 15 Bell 26) Good yorker from Kulasekara almost catches Bell out but he just about manages to jam his bat down and inside edge it onto his pads. Another escape a couple of balls later as Bell slips a slower ball straight to Jayawardene at mid on, but he drops the simplest of catches above his head. That's very poor he'd timed his jump right but just palmed it to the grass. Bell responds with a glorious cut through backward point as the bowler goes too short and wide. The very next ball is even better, slammed with perfect timing through mid-off for four more. Poor Kulasekara.
2.33pm BST
8th over England 34-0 (Cook 15 Bell 18) The spinner Senanayake continues these sides' quest to expand The Boring Middle Overs to The Boring All The Overs. Cook pushes the final ball into the covers for the only two runs of the over.
2.31pm BST
7th over England 32-0 (Cook 13 Bell 18) Cook, with no room at all to work with, tucks himself up and does very well to guide a late cut down to third man for a single. For a moment there he actually looked like a one day batsman, which he isn't. Bell then survives a scare as he lofts the ball on the drive, back over the bowler's head and only just clears the man at long on. Again it plugs in the outfield and it's another two.
2.27pm BST
6th over England 29-0 (Cook 12 Bell 16) Senanayake is going to have a bowl during the powerplay, which is risky
against England top-order power hitters
. Cook gets his first boundary with a late cut that beats the fielder at backward point. He repeats the shot a couple of balls later and, though it's cut off by the fielder before the boundary, he goes toppling over the advertising hoardings. Hilarious.
"Is the S.Patel mentioned in John Starbuck's e-mail any relation to the Notts batsman/gastronomist Samit Patel," asks Gareth Fitzgerald, "whose spin bowling is not, never has been and never will be good enough?"
2.23pm BST
5th over England 22-0 (Cook 5 Bell 16) Bell misses out on a short, wide one and bottom edges it down into Sangakkara's pads with the 'keeper standing up to the stumps; Kulasekara is only bowling around 74-78mph here. There's a bad misfield at extra cover that gives Bell a single and so Cook, for the first time in ages, has the strike. He gets runs from his very first ball, placing it nicely through the mid-on region but it's pulled back well by the fielder. From the final ball nothing seems to happen except Kumar Sangakkara is, alone, screaming an appeal. Ah it's for a stumping. It's not even close and not even referred.
@DanLucas86 Greatest ODI innings? Tish. Robin Smith: 167* Brutal, beautiful, brilliant - and again a losing cause. http://t.co/hL1umgdqS1
2.18pm BST
4th over England 18-0 (Cook 2 Bell 15) Malinga continues and is harshly wided for a bouncer that flew inches over Bell's head. Ian Bell is 5'10" and England have been getting away with worse than that through the series. First four of the innings follows as Bell pushes a wider delivery through the covers and times it away for four. Lovely stuff. Another bouncer from Malinga has Bell stretching but he turns it easily around the corner for a single to fine leg; this is far too slow a pitch to be sending down bumpers.
Meanwhile John Starbuck, whose name appears in all caps in my inbox, has suggestions for the Test side: "I'd drop Root and Ballance and get Hales and a bowling all-rounder (Stokes?) instead. If both Jordan and Broad played alongside Anderson we could hire, if not Treadwell, a guy whose spin bowling was good enough: S. Patel springs to mind."
2.12pm BST
3rd over England 10-0 (Cook 2 Bell 8) Bell keeps the strike and drives the first ball even with a couple of slips in place. No run for it though. Two runs from the next ball though, pushed out to cover off the back foot. He clips the next ball over the top towards cow corner, where it plugs in the outfield. That's an uncharacteristically aggressive shot this early and he hasn't got it anywhere near the middle of the bat. Two more. It absolutely poured it down in Birmingham overnight, I believe, so don't expect to see too many shots timed to the fence today.
2.08pm BST
2nd over England 5-0 (Cook 2 Bell 3) Malinga it will be from the other end, bowling to Ian Bell. There looks to be a little bit of movement away from the right-hander, off the pitch for Malinga. A surprise that, actually, not only because of Malinga's action but also because it's such a flat-looking pitch. Anyhow, Bell gets his first runs with a lovely push down the ground for two runs. One more single and that's yer lot for the over.
"Surely Andrew Strauss' knock against India in the last World Cup deserves a nod," says Giles Page, not unreasonably, on the subject of England's best ODI innings. "He went stroke for stroke with tendulkar... Bloody marvellous innings from someone people forget as an odi player." That's a great shout actually, it was a marvellous innings from an underrated ODI batsman.
2.03pm BST
1st over England 2-0 (Cook 2 Bell 0) Right, England have elected to bat for the first time this series. It's quite cloudy now, which is good news for the opening bowler Kulasekara, and there's a chance that Duckworth Lewis will come into play later. There appears to be a bit of movement there for Kulasekara and Cook offers no shot to the first two deliveries as the ball moves away from his bat. He looks to drive, with the bat dangerously away from the body, to the third ball and a good stop at short extra cover prevents the run. Cook finally gets off the mark by tucking a good length ball off his pads for a couple. Just before the final ball the camera cuts to a shot of Ravi Bopara getting a pedicure. No need for that.
1.58pm BST
Here come the teams. We'll be starting in a couple of minutes.
1.51pm BST
Weather update: as expected, it's clouding over.
1.48pm BST
On Jos:
@DanLucas86 "arguably the greatest ODI innings ever by an Eng batsman" I think Morgan & KP might have a say in that. He didn't see it thru!
<p class="block-time