actually managed to do it.
The Burnley Bumpkin actually managed to rock up to a cricket ground where everything was in his favour and not blow it. A somewhat green and undercooked Sri Lanka side helped.
What’s he been going to Headingley for something like 13 years and he’s finally actually managed to do something on a ground that’s meant to be perfect for “the world’s greatest bowler” (© English media).
Hell Anderson and Broad even admitted after nine years of playing there together and it not working that they finally decided t switch ends. Something you’d think might have dawned sooner for not even the brightest of players.
So with the pitch that has always been perfect for Anderson to go with the weather being nicely conducive there was a Sri Lanka side that is unrecognisable from the sides we’ve seen over the last couple of decades. In place of the top quality players that have caused England problems over the years there’s now a bunch of kids who’ve no real experience of a swinging ball on a blustery Yorkshire day.
So Jimmy managed a five wicket haul in the first innings.
That actually isn’t the real shocker here, it’s the fact he followed it up with the same in the second. This was only the third time he’d managed a 10 wicket match. As it stands it’s only the third time he’s managed two 5 wicket hauls in a series. So don’t hold you breath for much else this summer.
But even with all that from the Bumpkin they gave Jonny Bairstow the man of the match award. Damn right too.
140 runs when only two other players managed to pass 50, one from each side. Mendis was dropped a number of times, was it four and Hales wasn’t exactly the most fluid before he threw away a ton, after Bairstow passed him – bit of bruised ego batting? Hell of the 33 batsmen only five passed 20.
Oh and Bairstow is from Yorkshire if you didn’t know…
He also had nine catches in the match, should really have had his ten for.