The record books say England won 2-0. However, had the inclement London weather not intervened on the fifth day, it would very likely have finished 3-0, whatever Angelo Mathews may claim.
To their credit Sri Lanka did make a contest of the Lord’s Test. With England at 84-4 and 226-6, they had the upper hand, only for Jonny Bairstow to find solid company at the crease in Chris Woakes. Their stand of 144 restored England’s usual status as favourites.
It was reassuring to see the visitors’ openers finally compile a decent partnership, both Karanuratne and Silva making half-centuries. But then they all collapsed under the magic spell of England’s seamers, Woakes the best and fastest of them.
Alex Hales proceeded to 94 before again missing out on a maiden Test century, trapped lbw to Mathews’ medium pace, and England were able to declare safe in the knowledge that Sri Lanka would not achieve the 362-run target. The weather forecast backed them up and in the event the rain ruled out any chance of a positive result.
It wasn’t a great series for batsmen. Only four hundreds were scored, and Chandimal’s 126 at Chester-le-Street the sole ton for Sri Lanka. Half of those four came from the England wicketkeeper, who compensated for the occasional glaring lapse behind the stumps by dominating the series batting statistics. Only Alec Stewart has struck a higher score by an England ‘keeper, and it can only be a matter of time – perhaps a month or two – before the 25 year-old Yorkshireman breaks that particular record, too.
Neither Root, Compton nor Vince performed well at Lord’s and the latter two are vulnerable to replacement for the Pakistan series. It has to be said that while Sri Lanka inevitably miss the big three batting superstars, England are relying heavily on the experienced bowling pair Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. Finn remains an enigma, but Chris Woakes enhanced his reputation as more than just a decent county all-rounder and thoughtful one-day death bowler. Herath apart, it wasn’t a month for spinners, but that could change in the limited-overs competitions.
Chris Jordan hasn’t convinced me but has enjoyed a reasonable start to the 2016 season. Tymal Mills’ conversion from rough, ready and expensive paceman to part-time T20 specialist is complete after his selection for the Twenty20 international. That match doesn’t mean anything other than his potential England debut. The 50-over stuff is more intriguing, and offers England another opportunity to show what their younger, more exciting players can do. Let’s see if they succeed.
