About Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka are not in freefall. From a low base they improved with every Test in alien conditions. They fought hard at Lord’s with the series already lost. A pragmatic pace attack led by Nuwan Pradeep kept plugging away. Young batsmen learnt rapidly; Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis and the not so young Dimuth Karunaratne (28) were still relishing the challenge of facing Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. Meanwhile the veteran Rangana Herath was mildly inspirational – at least to the legions of middle-aged cricketers out there. Their defeat does not suggest terminal decline but a lull while they try to rebuild after the retirements of their recent great players.
An opening pair?
Cook and Hales does not yet have the ring of Hobbs and Sutcliffe or even Vaughan and Trescothick. But there is progress here. Cook relaxed after notching his 10,000th run and impudently hit the 11th six of his Test career. Hales advanced without pace. Who would have guessed that Cook would have a superior strike rate to the blaster of the white ball, but that was the case in this series. Hales found a way to score Test runs, which was measured and ultimately effective, more so against fast bowlers than spinners. As an earlier England opener and sage might note, he had to make do with “Daddy 50s”. The next step is “Daddy hundreds”.
Mediocre middle order
But England’s middle order, to use a favourite adjective of the ECB chairman, might be described as “mediocre” in this series. Nick Compton has probably played his last Test match; James Vince will presumably retain his place because this regime likes to stay loyal for as long as possible. In the month between the two Lord’s Test matches Scott Borthwick of Durham will hope to retain excellent early-season form and avoid any broken fingers since the jungle drums have been beating out his name as Compton’s replacement. He is potentially a better Test batsman than leg-spinner, which is how he made an unexpected debut in Sydney in 2014. But to expect a transformation of Steve Smith proportions would be silly.
What now for Woakes?
Chris Woakes has suggested that he is more than an understudy for Ben Stokes. When England’s latest poster boy recovers from his knee injury Woakes may still demand a place in the side. He bowled faster than the others and with greater rhythm than Steven Finn. And his ability to score runs even if batting at No8 is not to be sneezed at. The notion that he will be the obvious replacement for Anderson is, however, fanciful. Woakes moves the ball one way, unlike the Burnley artist. Not that Anderson has hinted that he is ready to move on. His 21 wickets at an average of 10 is the best return in a three match series since Derek Underwood tormented the Kiwis in 1969.
The wicketkeeping dilemma
Jonny Bairstow was the man of the match and the series. He has batted with freedom and panache down the order, often rescuing England after the middle order has faltered. He is undoubtedly one of England’s best batsmen at the moment. Despite taking 19 catches there are reservations about his keeping.
Unsurprisingly he has been elevated to the ODI and T20 squads, yet there is no guarantee that he will be keeping in those matches. Jos Buttler has been the wicketkeeper recently for England in white-ball cricket and Sam Billings provides a third option in T20. The squad lists provided by the ECB do not identify the wicketkeeper but Trevor Bayliss revealed after the Test that Buttler will be the white-ball keeper.
Does that not mean that Buttler is regarded as the superior keeper? What implications does that have for future Test teams? There are still questions to be answered even after a comfortable series victory.
