England's Alastair Cook five runs shy of 10,000 Test runs after Chester-le-Street dismissal

The skipper needed 20 runs to be the first English batsman to join the exclusive club and looked set to achieve it at Chester-le-Street today.

Cook was moving towards the target after winning the toss for today’s Second Test and deciding to bat against Sri Lanka at the Emirates Riverside.

On 15, the left-hander was dismissed by what must be described as an unremarkable ball by Lakmal.

It was wide and Cook could have left it but he played at it and was caught in the slips by Karunaratne to leave England 39-1.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan said: “It’s a wonderful low catch, but you’ve got to leave that.

“Cook will be disappointed that he jabbed at that delivery.

“There was a little bit of bounce from Lakmal, he just got it to hold up in the surface.”