England v Sri Lanka, 2016

At Lord's, June 9-13. Drawn. England 2pts, Sri Lanka 2pts. Toss: England.
The shoulders said it all - and two pairs of them defined the match. Jonny Bairstow's threatened to burst out of his shirt, which looked as if he'd left the coat-hanger in, as he reeled off another fine century. But Nick Compton's were hunched, as he sloped off after a double failure almost certainly ended his Test career.

Hopes of an England clean sweep, however, were washed away by the rain. Only 45 overs were possible on the fourth day, and 12.2 - in two soggy spells - on the fifth. This, plus patches of decent batting on a placid pitch, allowed Sri Lanka to escape with a draw - their first in 17 Tests, of which ten had been lost, since July 2014, but their fifth in a row at Lord's. It was also the first draw in 14 in England, since the opening Test against India at Nottingham that same month.

Before play, Cook was presented with a silver bat to mark 10,000 Test runs (two days later he was awarded a CBE), and he would have been delighted to win the toss: England had not lost here after batting first since South Africa upset them in 2003. The start was promising, too. Hales square-drove Lakmal for a juicy four, and soon Cook was posting England's first half-century opening partnership for 14 innings at home.

And then, in line with recent form, England hit trouble. Tied down by Herath, Hales thick-edged an ugly mow to slip; then the enthusiastic Lakmal had Compton nicking behind and, four balls later, Root lbw on review. It was the 21st time in 37 Test innings that England had lost their third wicket before reaching 75. Soon after lunch Vince was beaten by one which seamed up the hill from Pradeep Fernando, the liveliest of the bowlers. And, if Eranga at midwicket had held on waist-high to a firm clip from Bairstow - 11 at the time - they would have been 102 for five. It was a surprise that Eranga was playing at all, after his action was reported at Chester-le-Street (he was tested at Loughborough before this game, and suspended soon afterwards).

Sri Lanka's only alteration was to recall Kusal Perera - a recent arrival after doping charges had been dropped - for Milinda Siriwardene. England were unchanged. Bairstow made the most of his reprieve, leading the rescue act that eventually lifted England past 400. Standing still at the crease and playing late, he showed intent from the first ball, which he bottom-handed towards point, a shot more croquet than cricket. A quiet session followed, as the fifth-wicket pair rebuilt against some disciplined bowling, only for Cook to play across Pradeep Fernando and fall leg-before for 85, having passed Sunil Gavaskar's 10,122 Test runs. Ali uncorked a lip-smacking cover-drive, and helped add 63 before edging to slip; but Bairstow drove well against the new ball, and Woakes joined in with a couple of crisp drives of his own.

Just before the first-day close, Bairstow nurdled a leg-side single to bring up his third Test hundred, becoming only the second England wicketkeeper - after Les Ames in the West Indies in 1929-30 - to make two in the same series. He and Woakes stretched their stand to 144 next day, England's seventh-wicket best against Sri Lanka, beating 109 by Ian Bell and Matt Prior at Kandy in 2007-08. The persistent Herath juggled a return catch to dismiss Woakes for a career-best 66, but Bairstow was not done, purring past 150 (and his own highest Test score) in the following over. The tail did little, and Bairstow was stranded on 167, one short of Clyde Walcott's record for a wicketkeeper in a Test in England, and six behind Alec Stewart's overall England mark, set at Auckland in 1996-97.

Sri Lanka's reply had a frenetic start: Karunaratne lashed Anderson over the covers and leaned back to carve Broad for four and three, then Silva joined in, cover-driving Anderson: the first three overs cost 23. But the bowlers - and the batsmen - settled down. By tea the stand was worth 62, helped when Bairstow shelled a regulation nick from Woakes's first ball, with Karunaratne 28. Coming so soon after his superb innings, it fuelled the debate over whether he should hand the gloves to Jos Buttler, still in Test exile, and concentrate on batting. Bairstow was in little doubt, and finished with 19 dismissals, an England record for a three-match series, beating Geraint Jones's 17 - also against Sri Lanka - in 2006. Only Sri Lanka's Amal Silva, with 22 against India in 1985-86, had taken more.

That evening the openers took the score to 108. Karunaratne escaped a marginal lbw shout from Woakes, on 31, but possibly lost concentration after reaching 50 when, with drinks imminent, he flicked Finn down leg and was caught behind. In came the dapper Mendis, who kept the boundaries flowing, edging Broad not far from the leaping Root at third slip, then flaying Woakes through point. In between, Silva brought up the 150 with a cover-driven four off Broad.

Sri Lanka were sitting pretty at 162 for one by the close, but the game took a twist on the third morning, both batsmen falling without adding to their scores. Mendis was trapped by the first ball of the second over, while Silva provided Bairstow with another victim. Mathews - a centurion at Lord's in 2014 - soon edged to Root, and Sri Lanka were up against it once more. Cook displayed some innovative captaincy, preferring Woakes - the slipperiest bowler on show - to Anderson. Then he tried a 7-2 field and, although that produced no breakthroughs, turning to Finn did: Chandimal was lbw on review, and in his next over Thirimanne's loose drive flew to second slip. Perera paid Finn back with cuts and drives for four in the last over before lunch, but England still bossed the session with five for 56.

Perera and Herath stemmed the collapse, putting on 71. But, after Herath chopped on, Anderson removed the swishing Perera - his first Test wicket at Lord's for 68.2 overs - and the immobile Lakmal, before Woakes returned to grab another wicket with his first delivery, which Eranga steered to third slip. It was tea on the third day. England led by 128, but the forecast was dire and Cook, who had an X-ray after his knee collected a meaty Perera drive at silly point, was injured. In his absence, England's innings was opened by two right-handers for the first time since 2002 (Robert Key and Michael Vaughan against India). But Compton and Root failed again, and Vince misjudged the slope for a second time, leaving Pradeep Fernando on a hat-trick. The combined total of eight runs by England's Nos 3 and 4 was their lowest in any Test in which they batted four times; soon after, Compton announced he would be taking a break from cricket.

When nightwatchman Finn departed early on the fourth morning, Cook emerged and, freed from the hazards of the new ball, cut Pradeep Fernando for a couple of felicitous fours. His normal opening partner, Hales, should have departed when 58, his stumps demolished by a Pradeep Fernando shooter - but Rod Tucker had called no-ball, erroneously, as replays showed. Feelings ran high: the Sri Lankan flag was draped over their dressing-room balcony in protest, until MCC asked for it to be removed. Unabashed, Hales clattered Herath straight for six, then swept him for four. He was soon in the eighties for the third time in the series, but a maiden hundred remained elusive: at 94, with the light fading, Mathews won a reviewed lbw. After tea, Cook continued to show every sign of enjoying the No. 7 spot, trying a ramp and a reverse sweep - and then, just before declaring 361 ahead, clonking Eranga over midwicket for his first six in 43 Tests since December 2012. He walked off one short of another half-century, having taken his record against Sri Lanka at Lord's to 470 runs at 78.

Theoretically, Sri Lanka had 110 overs to survive but, after they negotiated a tricky spell at the end of the fourth day, the weather played spoilsport on the fifth. England took the series 2-0, an emphatic turnaround from their narrow defeat by Sri Lanka two years previously.
Man of the Match: J. M. Bairstow.