Take a look at how we rated England’s players out of 10 in the five-wicket win over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in the first Test…
Ben Duckett – 5 (out of 10)
The left-hander was far from his destructive best with the bat in this match, departing for scores of 18 and 11 in each of England’s innings.
Duckett was trapped lbw by Asitha Fernando in the first innings and then fell to the same bowler with an edge in the second, having been dropped on two earlier in the reply.
Dan Lawrence – 6
Zak Crawley’s injury saw Lawrence recalled to the Test team for the first time since the 2022 tour of the West Indies and promoted to open the batting for the first time.
The right-hander made good starts in both innings and looked more than capable of establishing himself as a Test opener but fell in the 30s on each occasion.
Ollie Pope – 5
England’s stand-in captain endured a difficult first game at the helm with the bat, making only a pair of sixes.
He did not enjoy much success with DRS reviews in the field either, but he did show some good thinking with his field placings and bowling changes when Sri Lanka’s batters dug in to help his team to victory.
Joe Root – 8
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England’s Joe Root brought up his 64th Test fifty against Sri Lanka on day four of the first Test.
One of England’s all-time greats once again underlined his importance to the team by helping them recover from tricky situations in both innings.
His 42 in the first innings as part of a 50 stand with Harry Brook was followed by an unbeaten 62 – his 64th Test half-century – which saw the hosts over the line for victory late on day four.
Harry Brook – 7
Brook played a crucial role with his ninth Test half-century in England’s first innings, putting on stands of 58 with fellow Yorkshireman Root and 62 with Jamie Smith.
He and Root put on 49 for the fourth wicket in the run chase as well, although the right-hander only managed 32 on that occasion after being caught and bowled by Prabath Jayasuriya.
Jamie Smith – 9
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Watch the best shots from Jamie Smith’s maiden Test century for England on day three of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
A first Test century saw Smith continue the excellent start to his international career, with his 111 in the first innings coming as part of half-century partnerships with Brook, Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson.
Named player of the match, he played a key role in fifth-wicket stand of 64 with Root in the second innings too before being undone by a fine yorker from Asitha Fernando on 39, and was very tidy with his glovework behind the stumps as well.
Chris Woakes – 8
Having stepped up to lead England’s attack at home following James Anderson’s retirement, Woakes is aiming to press for inclusion in this winter’s touring squad.
He took three wickets in each innings against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford to finish with impressive match figures of 6-90 and provided decent support with the bat as well.
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Chris Woakes secured his third wicket of the first day to help England stay in command against Sri Lanka.
Gus Atkinson – 7
It was not always the easiest of conditions for the bowlers at Old Trafford, but Atkinson stuck to his task with the new ball and proved a threat for England.
He backed up his 2-48 in the first innings with 2-89 in the second, and contributed a useful 20 runs with the bat as England built a first-innings lead.
Matthew Potts – 7
A mixed bag for the seamer on his first appearance for England’s Test team in over a year, going for 48 runs in a wicketless nine overs in Sri Lanka’s first innings.
Potts’ 3-47 in Sri Lanka’s second innings to help bowl them out for 326 was no less than he deserved though, particularly after suffering dropped catches by Root and Atkinson on day three.
Mark Wood – 7
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Mel Jones and Kumar Sangakkara reacted to the news that Mark Wood would not bowl for England against Sri Lanka on day four of the first Test after sustaining an injury.
Perhaps not quite at his fiery best as he was in the series against the West Indies and was unfortunate that a right thigh muscle injury curtailed his second-innings involvement.
Nevertheless, Wood bowled fairly economically during his spells, going at fewer than four runs an over, and picked up a wicket in each innings, along with contributing some useful runs with the bat.
Shoaib Bashir – 7
The off-spinner was one of England’s leading lights with the ball in the first innings, getting the crucial wickets of Sri Lanka top-scorers Dhananjaya de Silva and Milan Rathnayake.
However, the surface did not offer much for Bashir in the second innings and he was only able to add one more wicket to his 3-55 from the first.
Watch the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 10am on Thursday August 29 (first ball, 11am).
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