News about Kumar Sangakkara

NASSER HUSSAIN: The end of this Test summer series is a time for calm reflection. In cricket, it's important not to get too up when you're doing well. Equally, not too down when you're not. England have been playing West Indies and Sri Lanka at home with the Dukes ball - two sides they should, and did, beat. The pleasing aspect of those five wins in a row was they seemed like they'd had a good look at themselves and version 2.0 of Bazball was coming together.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT THE KIA OVAL : While children around the country have been returning to school, England have played this Test as if the holidays were round the corner. Victory is not yet out of reach, with Sri Lanka - nine wickets intact - needing another 125 on Monday to avoid a 3-0 whitewash. But faced with the chance to complete a first perfect summer in 20 years, Ollie Pope's team have been complacent and careless in equal measure. Only Jamie Smith, who has enjoyed a superb first season at Test level, escaped censure as England - armed with a lead of 62 - were dismissed in their second innings for 156, their lowest total at home for two years.

NASSER HUSSAIN: If Sri Lanka lose this Test, they will look at the first hour on Friday and ask themselves if they were completely switched on and ready, because it was such a contrast to the fight they showed across the first two days. Test cricket is like an arm wrestle - you can't drop your concentration at any stage - and I thought they were sloppy and lethargic in the morning. They were almost not ready for the start of play. It was a mess. They planned for Asitha Fernando to bowl from the Brian Statham End but were told he'd bowled the last over on day two from the James Anderson End so he couldn't.

NASSER HUSSAIN: I don't know anyone who loves playing fast bowling. It's just a case of getting better at reacting to it and ultimately trying to get through it. Mark Wood broke Kevin Sinclair's arm in the West Indies series with a 92mph bumper and he went one better with a 93mph bouncer to get rid of Kusal Mendis on Wednesday. Our Sky cameras worked out that it took just 0.46 seconds from leaving Wood's hand to reaching the bat. That's ridiculously quick but you have to believe in your reactions.

DAVID LLOYD AT OLD TRAFFORD: England began the first Test against Sri Lanka in strong fashion at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The visitors were dismissed for 236 following an impressive all-round bowling display from England, who are being captained for the first time by Ollie Pope in the absence of Ben Stokes due to injury. Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir picked up three wickets each, while Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood took two and one respectively, although Matthew Potts struggled on his return to the side.

EXCLUSIVE BY HENRY CLARK: Shillingstone is your typical sleepy village in north Dorset, a quiet haven situated on the River Stour on the periphery of the Blandford Forest. But this summer, the local cricket team have caused quite a stir after enticing a familiar face out of retirement. He's not your average village cricketer, it's fair to say. Not someone who has spent their life making time for playing cricket around a day job as a delivery driver, welder or hot-tub salesman, like his new team-mates. Instead, across a 15-year career, Kumar Sangakkara cemented his place as one of the greats of the game.

The 46-year-old, who is regarded as one of the best batters of the 21st century, made an unexpected appearance as he scored 68 runs for the Dorset-based side before being bowled. He was dismissed by spinner John Burns, batting at five as he took the majority of the bowlers to the sword before being dismissed by the amateur. The Sky pundit, who scored 12,400 Test runs in his career for Sri Lanka, also bowled in the game, turning his arm over with some spin of his own, taking one wicket for 32 runs.

When he oversaw a warm-up session against England against New Zealand, Freddie Flintoff was all smiles. Flintoff appeared in public for the first time last week after a near-fatal car crash while filming the BBC's Top Gear show in December 2022. During Jos Buttler's one-day match against New Zealand, the 45-year-old consultant was pictured on the field at The Oval as England players went through their warm-up routine on Wednesday.

TRAFFORD BOOTH - AT OLD TRAFFORD — Pat Cummins lost his wicket to the first ball of this second Ashes Test on the second morning, and it was all downhill from there. Both cricketers have bad days. Cummins doesn't have many, and even his bad ones are usually half-decent. This, however, was something else: a stench inside a shocker wrapped in a sickener. He mustn't have seen anything like it. Many things are true about Australian teams, but total disintegration is not one of them. Cummins presided in Manchester on Thursday over his country's most shambolic session in an Ashes Test since being bowled out for 60 on the first morning at Trent Bridge eight years ago.

NASSER HUSSAIN: If you're looking for a unique way to die on a ground like Headingley, here's what you need is your slip cordon and your catching behind the wicket because historically wickets fall in that area. Consider the 2009 Ashes, when there was all the rumors about whether Matt Prior would play, and nine England dismissals occurred in that way on the first day. The general rule in Leeds is to pitch the ball up. Yes, it's a little bit of risk and reward because the attacking fields you selected indicate that there are some holes in the field for opponents to exploit.

On Thursday, Steve Smith will face the 14th Australian to play 100 Test matches for his country. Smith, 34, has been a mainstay in the national team for ten years, establishing himself as one of the world's finest batters and Australia's go-to-man for runs at No. 4. During Smith's Test career, there have been many cheers - as well as some tears. Mail Sport takes a look at some of the superstar's time in Baggy Green here.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT LORD'S: England failed to exhibit the lethal characteristics that characterizes a full-throated Bazball attack under ideal bowling conditions, despite a string of fumblings in the field that allowed for consistent Australian gains. On Thursday morning, the home team will face a mountain to scale in the hopes of levelling the competition. Lawrence Booth of Mail Sport gives the key findings from the second Test's opening day.

Mel Jones, Kumar Sangakkara, and Dinesh Karthik will all be included in Sky's regulars, as well as Ian Ward, Mike Atherton, Mark Butcher, and Sportsmail's very own Nasser Hussain, who will all provide insight into the film. Sir Andrew Strauss will offer commentary on the Lord's Test, which will be hosted by the Ruth Strauss Foundation on a fundraising day. Pietersen (centre left) of England will be reunited with old rival Ponting (centre right), with the pair locking horns over the years in some of the most memorable Ashes series, but this time they'll be on the same team. Taylor (right) will play alongside fellow captain Ponting in Sky's commentary box after retiring from international cricket last July and has been named as one of the top names in the 10-man team for the June and July series.

In a road traffic collision in South Africa, the respected official, who was in charge of more than 100 Test matches between 1992 and 2010, was involved. 'Rudi sustained fatal injuries after an accident between Cape Town and Gqeberha,' according to a family spokesperson for Fox Sports, who requested anonymity.'