England have become a fragile home team but their struggles against Sri Lanka have reopened old wounds

England arrived at the Oval looking to make history: winning every home Test match this summer for the first time since 2004. It is an ambition that, after a torrid weekend, is now within reach for the team.

A perfect home summer would be historic for England, but for their greatest rivals it would hardly be worth celebrating. Since Michael Vaughan captained England to triumph 20 years ago, Australia have had six home summers in which they won every Test.

This sums up a curiosity about modern English cricket. Despite all the justified efforts to develop a team capable of thriving away from home, in recent years England have been relatively weaker at home than they are abroad.

Since 2015, England have ranked fourth among away teams, with a lower win-loss ratio than India, Australia and Pakistan. But at home, England’s win-loss ratio is even lower: fifth, behind India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Since 2015, India have won 8.5 home Tests for every loss, Australia 4.7 and New Zealand 3.4. England have won just 2.2 home Tests for every loss, with 18 losses for every 39 wins.

England’s home Tests are organised in such a way that both Australians and Indians are in large numbers. Yet these rivalries are asymmetrical: fiercely contested in England, but completely one-sided abroad. In the last three Ashes series away from home, England have lost 13 Tests and won none; in the last three home series, England have won seven Tests but lost six. In the last three series in India, England have lost 11 Tests and won only two; in their last three series in India, England have won nine Tests but lost four.

England’s welcoming spirit has extended to lesser-known tourists. West Indies have won just four away Tests against the top seven ranked nations since 2000; half of those have been in England, with victories in 2017 and 2020.

Yet for all England’s batting weaknesses, their home bowling attack has not been as outstanding as was once thought. From 2015 until earlier this summer, England’s bowling attack had only the fifth-best average of any nation in home Tests.

Despite the exceptional talents of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes, even in England, bowling attacks need variety. The need is particularly great with the latest batches of Dukes balls offering less lateral movement.

In the 2019 and 2023 Ashes, England started both series without a fast option – Jofra Archer in 2019, Mark Wood in 2023. Without Archer or Wood, England lost all three Tests in both series. But, with one of those fast bowlers, England won four Tests and lost only one. Having Archer or Wood didn’t just give England a new dimension; it complemented the rest of the attack, making them more effective.

This way of thinking has been the basis of England’s approach throughout the summer. A varied attack is rightly seen as essential to making England better away from home, but it should also make England a better home team. Gus Atkinson’s 33 wickets this year, the devastation wrought by the pace of Wood and Olly Stone and Shoaib Bashir’s five wickets in a session at Trent Bridge have all borne out this way of thinking. So far this summer, each wicket taken by England has cost just 24.3 – the lowest price since 2010. Greater variety has not come at the expense of quality.

Today, on this last day of summer, the attack is tasked with correcting the batsmen’s madness. From Saturday morning until the end of the second innings on Sunday afternoon, England lost 17 wickets for 220 runs. Having reached 261 for three in the first innings, England batted with the air of a team that felt a pristine summer was predestined.

This nonchalance is punished brutally in the World Test Championship. To reach the final, teams must be unbeatable at home. New Zealand, the 2021 World Test Championship winners, have won all six of their home Tests in the cycle. Australia, last year’s World Test champions, have won nine of their ten home Tests, drawing one, in the cycle. Home defeats, even in series already won, are a barrier to qualifying for the final of the world Test game trophy.

Barring a fourth-innings collapse by Sri Lanka, England’s 20-year wait for a perfect summer could continue. It would highlight a largely overlooked truth: for all England’s need to become more balanced away from home, their hopes of reaching the pinnacle of Test football also depend on being far more ruthless at home.