England vs Sri Lanka in 2024

Test matches (3): England 2 (24pts), Sri Lanka 1 (12pts)

England beat Sri Lanka - no surprise there - but their 2-1 victory posed as many questions as it answered. Under a caretaker captain, Ollie Pope, they did not dominate their opponents as many expected, culminating in heavy defeat at The Oval, perhaps their worst performance since Brendon McCullum became coach. It meant their hopes of a clean sweep of Test victories in a home season for the first time since 2004 were dashed - though 5-1, after the whitewash of West Indies, was hardly a disaster.

Joe Root's runs were vital in the first two Tests. He guided England home at Old Trafford with 62 not out, before making a century in each innings at Lord's - first equalling, then passing, Alastair Cook's England Test record of 33. Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith continued their stellar first summers, and Chris Woakes took 13 wickets at less than 20. But Atkinson alone managed better than a three-for, and only two batters averaged over 32.

Sri Lanka were six for three in the first innings of the series, and one for two in their second, but they often displayed resolve and skill, and their performance at The Oval - their first away win beyond Bangladesh or Zimbabwe for more than five years - confirmed their spirit. At Old Trafford, Kamindu Mendis, a technically correct left-hander who should have batted higher than No. 7, took his tally to three hundreds in his first four Tests, and added a half-century in both London games. At The Oval, Pathum Nissanka, strangely ignored in Manchester, swept Sri Lanka to victory with a dazzling 127 not out. Both impressed their batting coach, Ian Bell, once of England. Asitha Fernando, a bustling seamer, finished with 17 wickets, more than anyone on either side, and the combative Lahiru Kumara 11 from two games. And Sri Lanka's resourcefulness was reflected by three of their players - Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis and Nishan Madushka Fernando - keeping wicket.

With Ben Stokes tearing his left hamstring in The Hundred, Pope - the official vice-captain - was promoted, despite having led Surrey in just one first-class match, three years earlier. Harry Brook was named his deputy. Stokes attended every training session, and every day of every match, and was highly visible on the balcony. He promised not to be a back-seat driver, instead allowing Pope to captain as he wished, and offering advice only when asked. Pope certainly tried to lead in Stokes's manner, always looking to attack, and sometimes reverting to short-pitched bowling with a spread field. In fact, he was criticised by some for being too aggressive at The Oval, as Sri Lanka sprinted to victory with a string of boundaries. Pope scored just 30 runs in four innings, but then racked up 154 on his home ground, further evidence of his feast-or-famine batting. Brook and Ben Duckett scored a fifty each, but at times impatience seemed to get the better of them.

There is a fine line between prudent aggression and recklessness. At The Oval, Brook crossed it, but he was not alone. Dan Lawrence, England's reserve batter for the previous couple of years, was given a chance at the top of the order because Zak Crawley had broken a finger against West Indies. He was hopelessly miscast, his vulnerability outside off stump exposed. By the end, he was frequently charging down the pitch, swinging wildly - and often missing. It was painful to watch, and he was dropped for the tour of Pakistan. As so often, then, it was left to Root to shore up England's batting. At Lord's, he scored twin centuries for the first time, and his second-innings hundred - from 111 balls - was his fastest. When he failed twice at The Oval, England lost. But he finished the home season with 666 runs at 74, his highest average in an English summer for a decade.

Smith recorded his maiden Test century, at Old Trafford, where he also took control of England's fourth-innings chase, and batted with a compelling mixture of control and power. When operating with the tail at The Oval, after England collapsed, he advanced from 17 to 67 in just 17 balls. His glovework was decent, too, and his temperament calm: there was little obvious emotion when he reached three figures. At Lord's, Atkinson became the first England No. 8 to make a century in a home Test since Peter Willey in 1980. Another five-wicket haul - following the 12 he had taken against West Indies - meant his first two Tests there had yielded 19 wickets (including three five-fors), two victories, two match awards and a maiden century. Altogether, he took 34 wickets in his first summer of Test cricket, and it was understandable that his pace dropped towards the end.

Woakes's steadiness and penetration with the new ball earned him a tour of Pakistan, despite a modest record overseas. Mark Wood bowled rapidly until he was forced out of the First Test in Manchester with a thigh niggle; the discovery of an elbow problem ruled him out for the rest of the year. Matthew Potts and Olly Stone played two games each, both performing well on their Test comebacks, while England gave a debut at The Oval to Josh Hull, a seamer who had only just turned 20. Even by the standards of Bazball, it was a left-field selection. He had taken five wickets for England Lions in Sri Lanka's only warm-up match, but his 2024 first-class numbers for Leicestershire had been two wickets at 182. There were comparisons with Shoaib Bashir's inclusion on the Test tour of India earlier in the year, after ten wickets at 67 for Somerset.

Hull, though, was perhaps England's unlikeliest home pick since Darren Pattinson against South Africa in 2008. Born in Grimsby but brought up in Australia, Pattinson had been chosen after just 11 first-class matches, but had taken 29 wickets at 20 for Nottinghamshire that summer; he never played for England again. Hull, 6ft 7in and left-arm, showed some promise with the ball, but he felt discomfort in his thigh as the match progressed, suggesting a physical unreadiness for the demands of international cricket. He also dropped a dolly.

Three days before the Third Test, McCullum was appointed white-ball coach from January 2025, on top of his existing role with the Test team. On the eve of the match, Stokes and Root were among the pall-bearers at Graham Thorpe's funeral in nearby Southwark. It is unclear whether either of these events affected England's performance, but two strong positions were tossed away. They were 261 for three in their first innings, and had Sri Lanka 93 for five in theirs, yet they contrived to lose by eight wickets, after surrendering their last 17 for 220. Sri Lanka's bowlers found some swing - left-armer Vishwa Fernando had Root and Brook lbw in successive overs - and England played several ill-judged shots. Their attack then looked impotent, as Nissanka helped Sri Lanka knock off a target of 219 in just 40.3 overs. It was difficult to escape the conclusion that England had believed they would breeze to another win. The awakening was rude.