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England v Sri Lanka

Marks out of 10: Player ratings for England in the Sri Lanka T20Is

Ben Gardner by Ben Gardner
@Ben_Wisden 3 minute read

England completed a routine 3-0 win against Sri Lanka, with their bowlers restricting Sri Lanka throughout. Ben Gardner marks England’s players out of 10.

Jonny Bairstow: 5.5/10

3 matches, 64 runs @ 32, SR: 110.54, HS: 51

Saw the first game home although the job was already done, and made a 50 in the third T20I but without locating his usual destructiveness.

Eoin Morgan: 2/10

3 matches, 12 runs @ 6, SR: 109.09, HS: 11

August 2020, 14 games ago, was when Eoin Morgan last passed 30 for England in T20Is. His captaincy remains invaluable, but his lack of runs is becoming a worry.

Dawid Malan: 6.5/10

3 matches, 87 runs @ 29.00, SR: 129.85, HS: 76

A series to sum up Dawid Malan’s T20I career. A combined 11 off 19 in the first two games could have hurt England against more capable opposition, but, with doubts circling, he summoned an excellent knock in the third game even as the rest struggled.

Jos Buttler: 7/10

1 match, 68* off 55

Made yet another half-century to seal the first T20I, although the bowlers had done most of the work, before missing the final two games with a calf tear.

Sam Billings: 5.5/10

2 matches, 26 runs @ 13.00, SR: 81.25, HS: 24

Part of an England mini-collapse in the third T20I, but his 29-ball 24 in the second game is better than it sounds, marshalling a tense-ish chase after a top-order slide, negotiating the rain and a challenging bowling attack. Gets an extra point for his superb, almost impossibly flat run-out in the third game.

Mark Wood: 6.5/10

2 matches, 3 wickets @ 17.00, ER: 6.37, BBI: 2-18

Went for a few in the first T20I, but was the pick of the bowlers in the second, and adapted well to a middle-overs role that he could fulfill for England in both white-ball formats.

Moeen Ali: 3/10

1 match, 7 (7), 1-3 (0.5)

Was barely needed with the ball in his one game, called on to bowl the 19th over and taking the 10th wicket after England had relied on pace early on. However, while finishing is a role where failure is common, he might rue his inability to give England a turbo-charged finish, especially as Sam Curran pressed his claims further.

Sam Curran: 9/10

3 matches, 5 wickets @ 9.40, ER: 5.22, BBI: 2-14; 25 runs, SR: 192.30, HS: 16*

In the toughest of roles, finishing with the bat and opening with the ball, Sam Curran was exemplary. He played two typically boisterous cameos, was England’s leading wicket-taker, went under a run a ball, and added a touch of excitement to an otherwise drab free-to-air contest, with a sure-footed run-out capitalising on Euro 2020 fever.

Chris Woakes: 8.5/10

2 matches, 1 wicket @ 23, ER: 3.28, BBI: 1-9

Comically rested for the second T20I, having just played his first England game in nine months, Chris Woakes otherwise didn’t look like a player who last featured in the format five years ago. While he only claimed one wicket, his record-breaking economy rate means that he is now well in the conversation for a T20 World Cup place.

Liam Livingstone: 8/10

3 matches, 43 runs @ 43, SR: 119.44, HS: 29*; 2 wickets @ 13.50, ER: 5.40, BBI: 1-8

Showed enough with the ball to suggest he can be a viable part-time option, and played two good innings, one to kick-start an ailing chase, and the other a 10-ball 14 to carry on momentum from a strong opening stand.

Chris Jordan: 6/10

3 matches, 3 wickets @ 24.33, ER: 6.08, BBI: 1-13

Chris Jordan massaged his economy rate in the third T20I, but conceded the most runs by an England bowler in each of the first two. There will still be hovering doubts.

Adil Rashid: 9/10

3 matches, 4 wickets @ 12.50, ER: 5.55, BBI: 2-17

Impeccable once more. It took until the 17th over of the third T20I for Rashid to finally concede a boundary, with two wickets in each of the first two games doing plenty to restrict Sri Lanka.

David Willey: 7.5/10

2 matches, 4 wickets @ 14.66, ER: 5.50, BBI: 3-27

Started Sri Lanka’s slide in the third T20I, and was economical, though unpenetrative, in the second game. A successful, if low-key, reintegration to the fold.

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