SaqEngland ended their near-perfect Test summer on a disappointing note as they suffered an eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka at the Oval.
The tourists’ victory brought the consolation of a 2-1 series lead, with England having won the previous two Tests – at Old Trafford and Lord’s – as well as a 3-0 sweep of the West Indies earlier in the summer.
It was a summer of evolution for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s side, with the likes of James Anderson, Jack Leach, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes all coming through, while Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson and Josh Hull all made their debuts.
Here’s England’s ranking over the summer at home…
Zak Crawley – 5
97 races at 24.25
He started the summer with 76 against the West Indies at Lord’s, his only significant contribution before a broken finger ruled him out of the Sri Lanka Tests. His stock has risen in his absence, however, and will return straight to Pakistan.
Ben Duckett – 6
364 races at 36.40
He is clearly in much better form than his numbers suggest. He is wasteful at times, admitting to dropping a hundred runs against Sri Lanka at the Oval, but continues to set the tone. He needs to be greedy this winter and will be happy to see his partner Crawley return.
Dan Lawrence – 3
120 races at 8:00 p.m.
He had waited a long time for his first opportunity of the Bazball era, but he probably would have preferred it not to have come at the top of the order. His best score in six innings was a shambolic 35 at the Oval, when he seemed to have accepted that his run was over. Will he even be retained as Pakistan’s reserve batsman?
Ollie Pope – 7
430 races at 43.00
He started with 102 fifties in his first three innings, before a worrying slump after taking over as interim captain. He has been good under pressure on his home turf with the bat, making 154 in the third Test against Sri Lanka, but doubts remain over whether he is Ben Stokes’ successor.
Joe Root – 9
666 runs at 74.00; 1 wicket at 66.00
Officially named England’s best player of the summer, he made three centuries and three fifties in ten innings, including an unbeaten effort in the run chase against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford and then two tons to clinch the series at Lord’s. He is now sixth in the all-time Test scoring list and will overtake Sir Alastair Cook as the greatest English player in Pakistan.
Harry Brook – 5
377 races at 37.70
He made his first century at home against the West Indies, but his results declined thereafter, with just a half-century in six knocks against Sri Lanka. He seemed to find it harder than most to believe that this was not a high-stakes summer. The first failure of his Test career.
Ben Stokes – 7
192 runs at 48.00; 5 wickets at 34.20
He regained his full all-rounder ability during the West Indies series and looked as fit as at any time since the 2019 peak. He made three fifties in five innings, including the fastest in England Test history. Hit by a torn hamstring during the Hundred and now in contention to be fit for Pakistan.
Jamie Smith – 9
487 races at 48.70
An extraordinary early summer. An eyebrow-raising choice at first, England’s undisputed wicketkeeper by the end. Mature and adaptable, he made a maiden hundred and finished second only to Root in the run-scoring charts. Glove work was a question mark, but he did a more than satisfactory job behind the stumps.
Chris Woakes – 8
24 wickets at 8:25 p.m.; 180 runs at 8:00 p.m.
Returning to the team after missing the winter trip to India, he took charge of the attack after James Anderson retired. Superb in the match and incredibly consistent from the second Test onwards. His valuable contributions with the bat against the West Indies gave England the confidence to use him to balance the team at No.7 when Stokes was dropped.
Gus Atkinson – 9
34 wickets at 20.17; 202 runs at 25.25
It looks like he will be playing Test cricket for a long time but he will struggle to match that first campaign. He took 12 wickets on debut at Lord’s, then another five on the same ground against Sri Lanka, before capping it all with a ridiculous first hundred of his career. His only below-par result came at the Oval, when he was struggling with injury.
Marc Bois – 8
11 counters at 10:45 p.m.
Magnificent against the West Indies, where he was clocked at 97.1mph and took a second innings five for. He only played once against Sri Lanka, before injuring his elbow. He will be sorely missed this winter.
Pierre Olly – 6
7 wickets at 29.42
A beneficiary of Wood’s injury, he has made an encouraging return to the team after three years out. He won’t be able to match the Durham man’s pace but he is quick enough and will have a big part to play this winter if he can stay fit.
Matthew Potts – 5
5 wickets at 29.60
He tried too hard on his return against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford but improved greatly at Lord’s and was unlucky to be left out when England decided to give Josh Hull a chance. He would have had a few more wickets had it not been for a couple of horrible falls and gave Atkinson good support with the bat en route to his tone.
Shoaib Bashir – 6
15 wickets at 36.06
He did not bowl, bat or take a catch at Lord’s against the West Indies, but crushed the tourists with a fourth-innings five-for at Trent Bridge. He never really got into the series against Sri Lanka, but ensured he was the No. 1 spinner ahead of Pakistan.
James Anderson – 5
4 counters at 14.50
He had a farewell Test at Lord’s earlier this summer, before taking on the role of mentor, a fortunate feature that saw him finish top of the bowling averages.
Josh Hull – 5
3 wickets at 30.33
Thrown into the final Test as a late-summer gamble, he showed both promise and rawness. His height and left-arm angle are intriguing, though whether or not he plays for Pakistan may depend on the balance of the England team. He will rue the loss of Dhananjaya de Silva on day two.
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