England lost their final Test match of the summer at The Oval to end hopes of a first unbeaten Test summer since 2013.
Having won the first two matches of the series against Sri Lanka convincingly, and been in a dominant position after two days in South London, Sri Lanka's seamers ran through England's batters in 34 overs to give them the upper hand. With the series, and England's Test summer, now over, here are the takeaway from their 2-1 series win.
Old issues peek through despite Bazball refinement
Despite the continued left-field selections and streaks of belligerence on and off field, England had shown signs of refining their approach over the summer. Faced with a depleted batting lineup in Ben Stokes' absence, the way they approached the fourth-innings chase in Manchester reflected that. Two years ago, they perhaps would have gone out explicitly to chase down the 205-run target in less than 30 overs. Instead, in tricky batting conditions and as wickets fell with Chris Woakes set to come in at No.7, a normally free-flowing middle order ground out the runs. But, they paid the price for their reversion at The Oval.
Sri Lanka's seamers had been poor on day one, wayward and turning quickly to a short-ball attack with no real venom, despite opting to bowl in the greyest conditions of the series. They improved on the second morning, but there was plenty of English profilgacy, throwing away seven wickets in a session. Sri Lanka's seamers were better again in the second innings, but it shouldn't have been enough to bowl England out in 34 overs. Despite only leading by 62 and with plenty of time remaining, the freneticism with which firstly the openers and then Harry Brook played with were not indicative of what won them the match at Old Trafford.
Up-and-coming stars shine over Sri Lanka's stalwarts
Ahead of the series, Sri Lanka lost their tour match to the Lions and an England win was considered a formality. While the first two Test largely followed the script, Sri Lanka fought their way into consideration in all three games. This was more thanks to their up-and-coming players than their established heads. After his twin hundreds earlier in the year in Bangladesh, Kamindu Mendis finished the series with another ton and two half-centuries. He averages 78.87 after six Tests, a similar start to Brook's initial Test run-spree. Equally, while normally fighting for relevance on spin-heavy subcontinental pitches, Sri Lanka's seamers showed glimpses of potency. Asitha Fernando bowled two searing in-swingers to break through Brook and Root at The Oval, while Lahiru Kumara finished the series with a better average than all of England's seamers apart from Woakes. In a series billed as a foregone conclusion, several of Sri Lanka's number seized on the opportunity to challenge that narrative.
Atkinson's golden summer eases England's fast-bowler injury depletion
After James Anderson's retirement earlier in the summer, Mark Wood's latest injury absence and questions over whether Woakes will make an overseas comeback, Gus Atkinson's record-breaking season has somewhat cushioned England's scarcity of experienced pacers. Atkinson has taken more wickets than any England bowler in history across their debut home season (33 from six Tests). As part of England's plan to build an all-format bowling attack, his success has kept that project on track. Wood will play no part in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan and whether England will be tempted to try Woakes once again in overseas conditions, this time as the attack leader, remains to be seen. Josh Hull is a project for the future rather than a present full package, and Olly Stone was passable without fireworks on his return to Test cricket. Atkinson's spectacular first burst gives a bright spark for what England need in the present. That he ended the series with a tight quad, leading to him being rested for the Australia ODIs, emphasises the care with which he must be handled.
Big runs left on the table
Only Joe Root has scored more runs for England than Ben Duckett since he came in at the top for the 2022 winter. The same is true for players with the most half-centuries in that time, Root making 10 to Duckett's nine. However, in terms of centuries, three of England's batters have more than Duckett and five have scored at least one this summer - Duckett finished the Sri Lanka series with none. Equally, in the absence of Zak Crawley and Dan Lawrence clearly struggling in an unfamiliar position, there were runs on offer for Duckett that he didn't take.
The difference between scoring those big runs and not can be seen in the different way in which Duckett used the scoop shot at The Oval compared to Root's use of it at Lord's. Root didn't play his reverse ramp until he'd already reached a century and batted England largely out of danger. Duckett had no issue employing it early at The Oval, despite having had no problem with flaying Sri Lanka's seamers in front of the wicket a couple of overs earlier. Duckett always sets the tone, but those opportunities for big runs were squandered.
Non-cricket overshadows on-field action
Each of the three Tests had its own issues which threatened to overshadow the action on the field. The Old Trafford Test didn't capitalise on what could have been bumper numbers for a bank holiday Monday crowd, scheduling the first three days of the game for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday instead. Fourth-day ticket pricing at Lord's meant England sealed a series win in front of a ground less than half full. And, at The Oval, questionable suspension of play for bad light meant a full house only saw half a day of action. There are mitigation for all of these. The packed schedule means cramming a Test series into September requires compromise, the West Indies' match at Lord's earlier in the summer finished inside seven sessions and there was rain around at The Oval. But, none was a good look for the format we're constantly told is in crisis.
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