De Silva and Mendis lead Sri Lanka fightback at the Oval

LONDON (AP) — Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis led a Sri Lanka fightback against England on day two of the third and final test at the Oval on Saturday.

Sri Lanka was 93-5 in reply to England's 325 when De Silva and Mendis combined for 118 to the end of a day shortened by bad light.

De Silva, 64 not out, and Mendis, 54 not out, repaired Sri Lanka to 211-5, trailing England by 114 runs.

Bad light meant England could utilise only spin after tea, and there was only one concrete chance to part the Sri Lankan duo and debutant Josh Hull shelled it. Shoaib Bashir drew a mis-hit from De Silva and the ball sailed straight to the newcomer, who made a mess of a regulation chance as it squirmed to the floor.

Hull looked aghast as his error was replayed on the big screen, and he would have felt every one of the 59 runs that came before play was called off for the day.

England went wicketless in the evening gloom, with 17 overs of spin split between Bashir, Dan Lawrence and Joe Root, and will relish the chance to unleash Hull and his fellow seamers under brighter skies on Sunday.

England batted carelessly in a chaotic morning session to turn their overnight position of 221-3 into an underwhelming 325 all out. England managed just 104 more runs as Milan Rathnayake, Vishwa Fernando and De Silva each picked up two wickets.

Hull has fast-tracked from division two of the County Championship after just 10 first-class appearances, and been promoted due to his imposing two-meter frame and left-arm angle, and found himself in the thick of the action on day two.

Coming in at No. 10 he was part of England’s batting collapse in the morning session, as the last six wickets were lost for just 35 runs. But Hull's real challenge came when stand-in skipper Ollie Pope, who had earlier added 51 runs to his overnight century for 154, threw him the ball for the first time.

Midway through his third over, Hull had a moment he will never forget as Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka was brilliantly caught at short cover by a diving Chris Woakes.

After a solitary over from Woakes before lunch, the real work began after the interval as Sri Lanka’s openers put on 34 in a steady start. It took only one lapse to undo their work, a poor call inviting Stone to throw down the stumps and send Dimuth Karunaratne on his way for 9.

Woakes was bizarrely instructed to bowl off-spin for the next four balls, the umpires deciding that the light was too dim to bowl pace before reversing their decision at the end of the over.

Woakes, whose tweakers left a lot to be desired, was happy to get back to his long run and soon had Kusal Mendis fending to slip on 14.

Stone made further inroads, finding Angelo Mathews’ edge outside off stump then pinning Dinesh Chandimal on the back leg but the biggest cheer was reserved for Hull.

His breakthrough wicket needed a healthy assist from Woakes, who swooped to catch the lively Nissanka after a 51-ball 64, but bowled some neat deliveries in his first five overs as an international.

England has already won the series after four-day wins at Old Trafford and Lord's.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

England's Olly Stone celebrates taking the wicket of Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal during day two of the Third Rothesay Men's Test match between England and Sri Lanka in London, England, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis bats during day two of the Third Rothesay Men's Test match between England and Sri Lanka in London, England, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Dhananjaya de Silva bats during day two of the Third Rothesay Men's Test match between England and Sri Lanka in London, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Vishwa Fernando celebrates taking the wicket of England's Jamie Smith during day two of the Third Rothesay Men's Test match at The Kia Oval, London, Saturday Sept. 7, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Sri Lanka's Vishwa Fernando celebrates taking the wicket of England's Jamie Smith during day two of the Third Rothesay Men's Test match between England and Sri Lanka in London, England, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

England's Ollie Pope batting during day two of the Third Rothesay Men's Test match between England and Sri Lanka in London, England, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

England's Ollie Pope batting during day two of the Third Rothesay Men's Test match between England and Sri Lanka in London, England, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical storm conditions were expected along a stretch of the southeastern U.S. coast with a system bringing gusty winds, heavy rain and potential flooding, forecasters said Monday.

The storm system was expected to reach the South Carolina coast Monday afternoon and then move inland across the Carolinas from Monday night through Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Strong winds were approaching the coast Monday morning and were expected to spread onshore.

The system didn't have an official name yet, and forecasters weren't sure if Potential Tropical Cyclone No. 8 would ever organize enough to be named Helene.

But no matter its classification, the storm prompted school closings, including Coastal Carolina University, and flooded the streets south of Wilmington, North Carolina, with more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain while nearby Wrightsville Beach had a wind gust of 65 mph (105 kph).

A tropical storm warning was in effect from the South Santee River north of Charleston, South Carolina, northward to Ocracoke Inlet, near the southernmost extreme of North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Late Monday morning, the low-pressure system was centered about 95 miles (150 kilometers) east of Charleston and about 70 miles (115 kilometers) south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) and was moving to the north-northwest at 5 mph (7 kph), forecasters said.

The system still had a chance of becoming a tropical or subtropical storm, but forecasters said those chances are decreasing because it was becoming less organized.

That means the strongest winds in the storm are in outer rain bands instead of near the center, said Carl Morgan, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's office in Wilmington.

“There are still strong winds out there. They just not concentrating near a center,” Morgan said.

Areas along the coast are already experiencing higher water levels thanks to King Tides this week while the moon is the closest to Earth in its orbit. Charleston was not predicting major flooding, but officials warned residents to be ready in case heavy rain came at high tide.

In an updated hurricane outlook last month the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was still predicting a highly active Atlantic hurricane season thanks to near-record sea surface temperatures and the possibility of La Nina. Emergency management officials have urged people to stay prepared.

Maximum winds were expected to decrease as the low approached the coast, but tropical storm-force winds were still expected within the warning areas. The system will likely dissipate over the Carolinas by late Wednesday, forecasters said.

The storm was expected to dump 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain in northeast South Carolina into southeast North Carolina and up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) in isolated spots, with smaller amounts expected across the remainder of North Carolina through Tuesday, according to forecasters.

Over much of Virginia, 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 centimeters) of rainfall, with locally higher amounts, were expected from Monday night through Wednesday. The hurricane center predicted the rainfall could lead to isolated and scattered flash and urban flooding, as well as minor river flooding.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Gordon weakened to a depression as it swirls through open ocean waters. Gordon could either dissolve in upcoming days or strengthen back into a tropical storm, forecasters said.

This image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows tropical storm conditions along a stretch of the U.S. Southeast seacoast, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (NOAA via AP)