Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow produced an unbroken partnership of 88 to rescue England from a batting collapse on a rain-disrupted first day of the first Test meeting with Sri Lanka.
Play was brought to an early close due to poor conditions at Headingley, with 37 overs being lost to the weather after play was abandoned.
Three wickets in eight balls from Test debutant Dasun Shanaka saw the hosts reduced to 83-5, but Hales (71*) and Bairstow (54*) helped drag England back into contention prior to play being halted.
Alastair Cook was caught behind in a flat opening hour for just 16, falling short of the 36 runs required to pass 10,000 Test runs.
Sri Lanka pushed on from that dismissal, taking Nick Compton (0), Joe Root (0) and James Vince (9) as England struggled for any momentum.
Ben Stokes went for 12 soon after to make matters even worse, but Hales and Bairstow stepped up to give the home side hope heading into day two on Friday by leaving England on 171-5.