Second Test - day two (close)

Sri Lanka 336 lead England 290 & 0-0 by 46 runs

JACK Leach opened the batting in England's second innings as the tourists finished day two of the second Test 46 runs adrift of hosts Sri Lanka in Candy.

Leach came in as night-watchman with one over left to negotiate, which he safely did, playing out a maiden to see England through to the close.

The Somerset left-armer had earlier returned his latest set of tidy figures with the ball, finishing with 3-70 from 29 overs.

Having taken his first wicket of the innings with a beauty late on the first day, Leach struck late in the morning session on day two as Ben Stokes took a superb catch at slip to remove Kusal Mendis.

Leach later pinned Dilruwan Perera lbw as the 27-year-old combined effectively with spin partners Adil Rashid (3-75) and Moeen Ali (2-85).

The Somerset man was comfortably the most economical of England's three-pronged spin attack, again providing evidence of his control while also retaining the ability to take wickets at key times.

He will now have the chance to show what he can do with the bat in the morning as England look to build a strong lead.

Leach told Sky Sports: "Rooty gave me a late call to say I was going to open.

"As we were walking back Burnsy [Rory Burns] said to me 'I've been waiting a long time to open the batting for England and you've done it too quickly.

"It's a nice thing to be able to say and I'll be bragging to Tres [Marcus Trescothick] that we've both done it.

"I was happy to do it. I like a good challenge."

Unsurprisingly, news of Leach opening the batting went down very well among Somerset supporters on social media...