Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow led an England fightback after the hosts slipped to 83-5 on day one of the first Investec Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley.
Hales (71no) and Bairstow (54no) added 88 for the sixth wicket to take England safely through to tea on Thursday on 171-5, after Dasun Shanaka (3-30) - on Test debut - took three wickets in the morning session, and James Vince and Ben Stokes fell soon after lunch.
No further play was possible in the evening session, with rain ending proceedings early.
Earlier in the day, Alastair Cook fell for 16, leaving him still 20 runs short of becoming the first Englishman to 10,000 Test runs.
The England captain chased a wide ball, edging Shanaka's seventh delivery in Test cricket through to Dinesh Chindimal behind the stumps.
It was the first of three wickets to fall for two runs, as Shanaka added the strikes of Nick Compton - in the same over - and Joe Root for ducks.
England had worked hard on their way through to 49-0 deep into the first session, having being put in to bat by Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews after winning the toss.
But Shanaka came on third change and the Sri Lanka seamer turned the game in a two-over spell, with Cook and Root drawn into driving at full-wide deliveries and Compton nicking to first slip third ball when prodding forward.
Hales battled through to 38 not out at lunch, while Vince - on Test debut for England - looked to counter after the interval, driving Shaminda Eranga (1-34) for two boundaries in the second over.
But in Eranga's next over, Vince looking to repeat the shot, sent another edge through to the slips to depart for nine.
Ben Stokes (12) looked to show similar aggression, smashing Eranga for three straight fours later in the same over, but his cameo lasted only eight balls before chipping Nuwan Pradeep (1-26) to Mathews at mid-on.
England obviously still felt the best form of defence was to attack, and Hales brought up his second Test fifty with a streaky back-foot drive behind point for four, while Bairstow benefited from some short balls as Sri Lanka's attack strayed from a fuller length sensing a weakness.
The plan backfired and Bairstow raced through to a 60-ball half century, although he was given out lbw to Mathews when on 40, but successfully reviewed the decision with the ball sliding down leg.
The Yorkshireman made the most of the reprieve, skipping down the pitch to launch Rangana Herath for a straight six soon after, and then reaching his fifty in Mathews' next over.
By tea, the momentum was with England, and though no play was possible in the evening session, Hales and Bairstow resume their unbroken 88-run stand on Friday morning.
Watch live coverage from day two of the first Test between England and Sri Lanka at Headingley, live on Sky Sports 2 from 10.30am on Friday. You can also catch highlights from day one at 8pm on Sky Sports 3, with The Verdict following immediately after at 9pm.