At the close of the second day of the second Youth Men’s Test match between Sri Lanka and England at Cheltenham, Hamza Shaikh played a genuine captain’s knock to put England well in charge.
England finished on 401 for 5, a healthy lead of 248 after a superb innings of 107 from 210 balls and a transformative partnership of 121 with Rocky Flintoff for the fifth wicket. The Warwickshire batsman showed an excellent work ethic, a stable temperament, and not a small amount of skill.

As England battled to seize the lead at the College Ground, Jaydn Denly scored 91 and Keshana Fonseka scored 76. Flintoff also looked impressive, hitting a measured 82 not out from 148 deliveries with 8 fours and 2 sixes. Though Sri Lanka’s bowlers did a fantastic job all along to apply pressure on a true surface, when the host team resumes their first innings on day three with five wickets remaining, they will have the upper hand.
There are two more days left, which gives England the chance to maintain their lead and give themselves enough of time to bowl Sri Lanka out and win the match and the series.
With plenty of wickets remaining, England’s primary objective upon returning to the field at 73 for 1 was to surpass Sri Lanka’s first-innings total of 153. They were able to accomplish this mostly because of Denly, a Kent left-hander who led Fonseka to an impressive second-wicket partnership of 85 runs in 24.5 overs.
Tisara Ekanayake dropped a simple chance at mid-on from the bowling of Vihas Thewmika in the second over of the day, and Sri Lanka must have regretted missing a great chance to remove the opener before he could have contributed to his overnight total. Denly faced 21 balls without scoring, seemingly suffering from the near miss.
He quickly found his rhythm and made the foreigners pay for their carelessness, sending the resentful Thewmika flying over mid-wicket for six as the second wicket combination reached 50 in 99 balls. In an attempt to create a breakthrough, Sri Lanka used spin at both ends as captain Dinura Kalupahana was unable to strike his line and length once more.
When it arrived, the Young Lions were still 14 runs down. Leg spinner Praveen Maneesha had Denly trapped leg before wicket on the front foot, and he was despatched nine runs short of three figures. With a knock of 120 balls, 15 fours, and a six, his steady stroke play gave the innings a strong basis.
Following that, Shaikh and Fonseka formed a strong 64-member coalition that helped to elevate England in the eyes of the world. Fonseka, a ball of hyperactive energy, reached a confident fifty from eighty-five deliveries and was clearly targeting a hundred when, just after noon, he mysteriously pushed Kalupahana to mid-wicket. In addition to facing 119 balls and hitting 12 fours and a six, he also contributed vital top-order cohesiveness.
A period of inaction followed as both teams fought for dominance, with Shaikh and new batsman Noah Thain setting out to bat long and establish a dominating lead as spinners Maneesha and Thewmika probed for technical errors. First to blink, Thain drove at Thewmika before holing out to Manuja Chanthuka, who was sprinting back from mid-range.
With unwavering focus, Shaikh reached a patient fifty runs from 120 balls. He then broke that record with his sixth four, which he stroked behind square off Maneesha. Flintoff played carefully, providing steadfast support to his captain after Sri Lanka had taken the new ball and leading England to 303 for 4, and a 150-run advantage at tea. Flintoff showed a keen awareness of what was expected of him.
In the last session, Flintoff shown flashes of his incredible potential. The 16-year-old hit six fours and some amazing off drives to reach an impressive half century from 114 balls. Shaikh was playing inside himself, but he still looked good when he reached three figures from 203 deliveries. He reached his century in style, lifting Chanthuka’s languid left arm over long-on for six, then raising his bat to accept the heartfelt cheers of the Festival crowd.
After bowling 2 for 59 from 29 overs, Chanthuka closed the day with a catch to mid-off, and he was out shortly after.
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