England's stand-in captain, Ollie Pope, expressed surprise at the sparse attendance at Lord’s on Sunday, where his team secured a commanding series victory over Sri Lanka. While the first three days of the match saw near-capacity crowds at the iconic ground, only around 9,000 spectators were present on the fourth day as England sealed a 190-run win, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Traditionally, large crowds at Lord’s, known as the Home of Cricket, are a given for Test matches. However, ticket prices may have been a factor this time, with the cheapest adult tickets on Sunday morning starting at £95 (approximately R2,200), although under-16s were admitted for £15 (around R350). The early conclusion of England's match against the West Indies at Lord’s in July, which ended within three days, may have also impacted advance ticket sales for the fourth day.
Pope certainly noticed the lack of spectators. "It was kind of weird," he said. "A few of us were walking in each day thinking, ‘Jeez, it seems quiet today.’ I’m not sure if people expected the game to be over by day four or not."
On the field, fast bowler Gus Atkinson continued his love affair with Lord’s by claiming a five-wicket haul on Sunday, following his maiden first-class century in England’s first innings. The 26-year-old also took 12 wickets on his Test debut against the West Indies at Lord’s in July.
"He’s been brilliant in his Test career so far," Pope said of his Surrey teammate Atkinson. "I’m confident he’ll keep improving and become an even better Test bowler."
Joe Root’s twin centuries in this match set a new England record of 34 Test hundreds. Meanwhile, Pope, who has yet to reach a score of 20 in his four innings since assuming captaincy in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes, reflected on his performance. "I’m not going to blame my average shots on being captain this week," Pope said, looking ahead to the third Test at his home ground, The Oval, starting Friday.
Sri Lanka’s captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, acknowledged his mistake in choosing to field first after winning the toss. Sri Lanka managed only 196 in response to England’s first-innings 427.
"We need to do better in the first innings – a minimum of 320 is essential," de Silva said. Despite having England at 216-6 in their first innings, Sri Lanka let the game slip as Root and Atkinson regained control for the hosts.
"Once the ball softened, Joe Root smartly started rotating the strike and capitalising on loose deliveries," de Silva added. "We lost our grip on the game after that."