Stood at the Lord’s crease unbeaten on 99, Gus Atkinson faced down Lahiru Kumara.
He’d carved him through the covers from the ball before, holding the pose and drawing the loudest round of applause of the morning so far from the crowd. This ball was darted in at his pads, and despite connecting with the full face of the bat, it only gently rolled along the floor to mid-on.
Turning to face again, Atkinson flirted with a ball sent down outside his off-stump, drawing gasps from the crowd. A fraction tighter, a fraction wider with the bat from Atkinson, and what they’d been waiting for all morning would have been taken away. When he faced up again, he found what he’d been searching for. It was full from Kumara, in prime drive territory. As Atkinson ran through and watched it safely past the mid-off fielder, he raised his arms in triumph.
While it was a moment Atkinson would have watched others experience countless times, until then it was one he was completely unfamiliar with. He had never previously scored a century in professional cricket and maxed out at 21* over the course of his young Test career. But, as he acknowledged the applause of the crowd and his teammates on the balcony, they were in appreciation of more than just a century.
The dream moment for Gus Atkinson 🤩💯 #ENGvSLpic.twitter.com/M0bRPuuGRY
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 30, 2024
Atkinson is coming to the close of an all-timer of a debut Test season. He’s now on all three honours boards at Lord’s, something only six players have previously done, in just his second Test at the venue. The 12 wickets he took in his debut Test less than eight weeks ago, was followed by another 10 wickets across the series against the West Indies, taking his tally to 22. The only fast bowler with more wickets than that in a three-match series on debut is Alec Bedser against India in 1946. He’s now within sight of the most wickets ever across a first home summer for an England player, currently on 27 and chasing Fred Trueman’s 29 in 1952.
Having spent the winter carrying the drinks around India and most of June as a spare part in the Caribbean, the returns have been worth the wait, for England as much as Atkinson. Looking to a future beyond James Anderson at the beginning of the summer, the emphasis was on pace, and what bowlers could offer in Australia. Atkinson has shown, at least for now, that he’s exactly what they wanted in that regard.
But beyond what he could provide with the ball in Australia, he’s shown the potential to play an even more valuable role for England going forward than first anticipated.
One of England’s weaknesses away from home over the last few years has been their lack of a consistent all rounder at No.8. While Chris Woakes has played that role often since 2020, his struggles away from home with the ball render him dramatically less effective than the attack-leading force he’s been across the last two home summers. With Stuart Broad now retired, England have muddled through with their young spinners more recently, as well as Ollie Robinson and Ben Foakes, who have both been discarded for now.
Having a solid bat at No.8 – someone in there on bowling merit but who can also score important runs – is fundamental. England automatically look a better team at home when Woakes is present, softening the drop-off of the tail and opening the bowling. Taking out Atkinson, Woakes has by far the best average of any England player batting at No.8 or below over the last three years, at 27.72 above Tom Hartley’s 18.50 (min three inns). While England have previously fudged their way through by fielding two or three players capable at No.9 as a substitute, the breathing room having Woakes coming at eight gives them is substantial.
Woakes isn’t alone in that. The benefit that players like R Ashwin and Axar Patel give India in the same regard is invaluable, the same with Pat Cummins to Australia. England were handed a taste of both of those in their series preceding this summer. Cummins scored double the runs of both England’s highest scorers at eight or below in last year’s Ashes, his unbeaten 44 at Edgbaston as key to the series win as his four wickets at Lord’s. England need someone capable of similar in that position, regardless of where they play.
Atkinson could be that player. His century at Lord’s was well composed, and he’ll have the confidence of a hatful of wickets behind him. The caveat is the tougher challenge England’s upcoming assignments will offer compared to what Atkinson’s faced this summer. While England whitewashed Pakistan last time out, it shouldn’t be forgotten how hard that is to do and how few have managed it. That’s followed by New Zealand, where England haven’t won a Test series since 2008, and if he makes through all that, five Tests at home to India await before heading out to the Ashes.
Equally, there will undoubtedly be rough patches to follow - Robinson is a cautionary tale. After a similar breakthrough summer to Atkinson in 2021, he was the one lauded as the one to take over from Anderson as a bowler for all conditions, who was capable with the bat to boot. He’s now on the outside of England’s plans.
For now though, Atkinson has shown a glimpse of what his future could hold. And it’s more than England could have dreamed of at the beginning of the summer.
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