SOMERSET spinner Jack Leach produced a peach of a delivery to ensure England ended day one of the second Test in Sri Lanka on a high.

Leach was introduced into the attack during the sixth over of the home side's response to 285, and promptly picked up a wicket with his 10th delivery with one which pitched on middle stump and hit the top of off - not dissimilar to the ball which bowled Dinesh Chandimal in the first Test.

Leach's intervention ensured Sri Lanka ended the day on 26-1 in Kandy, trailing by 259 runs.

Cricket statistician Andy Zaltzman, on the BBC's Cricket Social, revealed: "Jack Leach hit the stumps in the eighth over of the innings - this is the earliest an England spinner has bowled someone out in the first innings of a Test match since at least 2001 when records began."

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, meanwhile, said: "Wow! What a delivery!"

Ex-Somerset wicketkeeper Jos Buttler had earlier starred with the bat, scoring 63Β - more than 50 of which came from sweeps, slog sweeps and reverse sweeps - to help the tourists recover from 89-4.

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Buttler's departure left England 171-7, but another fine lower-order knock from Sam Curran (64) helped the visitors up to a more than competitive total.

Nine of the 10 England wickets fell to spin, and that combined with Leach's dismissal late in the day will offer the Somerset man plenty of reasons to be hopeful of playing a key role in the Test match as England look to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.