Joe Root hits 33rd test century for England with 143 to punish Sri Lanka in second test at Lord's

LONDON (AP) — Joe Root joined Alastair Cook on a record 33 test centuries for England by hitting 143 to anchor his team's recovery to 358-7 on Day 1 of the second test against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Thursday.

An injudicious scoop shot that brought an end to his latest exquisite innings at the home of cricket just before stumps was Root's only misjudgment on a day he became the active player with most test centuries, pulling clear of fellow superstars Steve Smith of Australia and Kane Williamson of New Zealand.

After 12 dot balls when on 99, Root opened the face of his bat and guided the ball for four between the slips and gully to bring up his record-tying sixth test hundred at Lord's and get his name on the honors board in the pavilion once again. He raised his right hand, removed his helmet, kissed the England badge on it and saluted the crowd before pointing to the sky.

In the all-time list of test centurions, only nine players have more than Cook — the former England opener and captain — and now Root, who helped England get out of a spot of bother in his 145th test match.

At one point, Sri Lanka — which won the toss and opted to bowl under a blue sky — had England at 130-4 and then 192-5 with only a long tail to dismiss.

However, Gus Atkinson's 74 not out — for his maiden test fifty — shifted the momentum back the way of England, which won the first test in Manchester last week mainly thanks to Root's decisive 62 not out in the English chase for victory.

Five days later and again it was Root playing a starring role, the highlight being an elegant cover drive after he was into three figures that wowed the crowd at Lord's. He had started off on the right foot, clipping his first ball through square leg for four, and before long he went past fifty for the 97th time in tests. Only Sachin Tendulkar (119), Jacques Kallis (103), Ricky Ponting (103) and Rahul Dravid (99) have done so more times.

“I’m in a very good place at the minute,” Root said. “I feel like I’m really enjoying everything. I've got a good balance of things. The game is fickle if you start looking too far ahead and plan too far ahead. You’ve just got to try to live in the now.”

It's a testament to the 33-year-old Root's drive and elite mentality that he walked off the field unhappy when his innings was over, shaking his head after attempting a ramp shot that caught the end of his bat and skied to point.

It didn't stop him getting a standing ovation.

Aside from his last shot, Root this summer has slightly reined in the bold and occasionally reckless approach he and his England teammates have adopted in this so-called “Bazball” era under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

Root looks all the better for it.

“The way the rest of the guys play, you can get caught up in it,” he said. "You want to get involved in it — it's so much fun watching these guys go about their business and be so aggressive and be so successful at it. You want to be a part of that.

“But the conditions have dictated us playing a certain way the last little while. Part of test batting is being able to manage that for long periods of time. I feel like throughout this year until now, I’ve been able to do that quite nicely.”

Earlier, Sri Lanka had prospered in glorious conditions, taking three wickets before lunch when England was its own worst enemy at times.

While probing bowling by recalled pacer Lahiru Kumara accounted for Dan Lawrence nicking behind for 9, stand-in captain Ollie Pope (1) and Ben Duckett (40) will feel an element of regret after choosing the wrong shot and getting themselves out.

Pope (1) got cramped up after opting to pull Asitha Fernando and misjudged his shot that looped up into the hands of Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva running to square leg.

That made it 42-2, and it was 82-3 when Duckett (40) top-edged a reverse sweep off the fourth ball of spinner Prabath Jayasuriya’s first over and was caught near the boundary by Kumara.

Harry Brook (33) and Jamie Smith (21) were the batters to depart in the middle session before Root started to dominate and the Sri Lankan seam attack began to tire.

Matthew Potts (20 not out) was in the middle with Atkinson at stumps and their partnership was up to 50.

“We need to get him into golf because that swing is pure,” Root said of Atkinson. “Those guys at the end have put us in a good position going into Day 2.”

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England's Gus Atkinson bats during day one of the second Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

England's Joe Root bats during day one of the second Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

England's Joe Root bats during day one of the second Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

England's Joe Root celebrates a century during day one of the second Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Milan Rathnayake celebrates the wicket of England's Jamie Smith during day one of the second Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando bowls during day one of the second Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

England's Ben Duckett bats during day one of the men's Test match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

England's Ben Duckett bats, during day one of the men's Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Lahiru Kumara celebrates taking the wicket of England's Dan Lawrence, during day one of the men's Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Lahiru Kumara celebrates taking the wicket of England's Dan Lawrence, during day one of the men's Test cricket match between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

England players warm up playing football during a nets session at Lord's, in London, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, ahead of their test cricket match against Sri Lanka on Thursday. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis, left, attends a nets session at Lord's, London, Wednesday Aug. 28, 2024. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

England players warm up playing football during a nets session at Lord's, in London, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, ahead of their test cricket match against Sri Lanka on Thursday. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Earlier in this turbulent week for the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel joked that enough people had seen him cry.

The Dolphins coach was referring to a news conference in which he choked back tears while reflecting on a controversial traffic stop involving Tyreek Hill hours before Miami's season opener. Five days later, McDaniel sat down for another news conference not 24 hours after a Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills, and he again couldn't hide his emotions.

His quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, is in the concussion protocol, dealing with his third diagnosed concussion in three years after colliding head-first with defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.

McDaniel ran onto the field to check on Tagovailoa, who sat up after a few minutes and was helped to his feet by trainers. As McDaniel walked with Tagovailoa to the sideline, he gave his quarterback a kiss on the side of the head.

“I told him he’s the starting quarterback of his family,” McDaniel said Friday morning, speaking slowly and somberly as he recounted the moment, “and to go in the locker room, take a deep breath and I’ll see you soon.”

The game Thursday was in part about rallying past another emotional event that Miami players and coaches described as both triggering and troubling.

All-Pro receiver Hill has been at the center of a national debate on the use of force by police after body camera footage showed the traffic stop escalated quickly after a verbal dispute between Hill and Miami-Dade police officers.

Hill put up the window of his car despite an officer's instruction to keep it open. After a back and forth about the window, the video shows an officer pull Hill out of his car by his arm and head and then force him face-first onto the ground near Hard Rock Stadium. Officers handcuffed Hill and one put a knee in the middle of his back.

The altercation, and what was seen on the six officers’ bodycam videos, has again brought to the forefront conversations surrounding the experience of Black people with police.

“What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done,” Hill said hours after the incident. “I was just making sure that I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that: just listen, put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen. You’ve got to be careful.”

Police Department Director Stephanie Daniels put Officer Danny Torres on administrative duty, and an internal affairs investigation is underway. The department released the identity of Torres, a 27-year veteran of the department, on Tuesday.

Hill has since said he could have handled some parts of the initial interaction better, but he and some teammates also said they would be able to separate the incident from their football duties.

“I think that’s the beauty of the sport,” said offensive lineman Terron Armstead. "You get a chance to escape real-world issues for that time slot. I think there’s no better place in the world that Tyreek could’ve been following that but a locker room and a football game. That’s the beauty of that sport, that you get that time to escape and enter a world that is kind of a fantasy for us.”

Hill caught an 80-yard touchdown pass that helped Miami come from behind to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars that day, but Hill and the Dolphins weren't able to replicate that magic on Thursday.

Hill was limited to three catches and 24 yards, and Miami's offense was stifled in a 31-10 loss to their division rivals.

Losing to the Bills again was hard enough. Buffalo has won 12 of the last 13 meetings between them. That disappointment was overshadowed by fear, uncertainty and concern for Tagovailoa.

“Stuff like this, losses are tough,” McDaniel said. "Ones that you’ve really built yourself up to try to get done ... that’s really tough and then you have your heart completely involved with it — I look at Tua as a family member of mine. When family is going through something, you know how it is. You’re trying to think about a ton of different stuff that people are counting on me to think about. Not easy.”

Players from both teams immediately waved for trainers when Tagovailoa went down after scrambling for a first down.

Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air. He appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was a movement consistent with something referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a brain injury.

He was immediately diagnosed with a concussion — his third since joining the Dolphins as the fifth-overall pick in 2020.

McDaniel said Friday there are more unknowns surrounding the situation than certainty at this point. He said the Dolphins will bring in another quarterback eventually, but he did not want to rush to judgment on any timelines, or on Tagovailoa's future in the NFL.

“For me, I absolutely positively will not do anything to make anything worse or hurt any one of our players, ” McDaniel said, “specifically guys that are in concussion protocol. Ironically, I think there’s a lot of people that have vested interest in the Miami Dolphins. There’s a lot of fans and there’s a lot of people that want to support, but quite literally, questioning timelines, that gives forth anxiety.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) and Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) collide during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Tagovailoa suffered a concussion on the play. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) lies on the field after suffering a concussion during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel talks to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) as he leaves the game after suffering a concussion during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel talks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)