England’s Test summer concluded with an eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka at The Oval, but still took a 2-1 series win on the back of the 3-0 sweep against the West Indies.
It was a summer which saw newcomers Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith announce their presence on the international stage in style, Shoaib Bashir cement his place as England’s leading spinner, and Ollie Pope guide the team to a series win as stand-in captain when Ben Stokes was ruled out injured as they triumphed in five out of six Tests.
But there were still some questions around the team’s approach with the bat, particularly on the back of their second-innings collapse on day three at The Oval, and whether seamer Chris Woakes will be able to replicate his performances overseas.
Sky Sports Cricket experts Stuart Broad, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting debated all of the burning issues following the end of England’s Test summer…
More questions for England’s batting approach?
Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara on England’s batting:
“I don’t think that was good enough.
“I saw how Joe Root started under this new era, he was frenetic. He has now changed back to being Joe Root – batting, batting well, and playing proper cricket.
“Jamie Smith has really had to shoulder a lot of responsibility because time and time again it has fallen to him to stay with a batter or bat with the tail.
“Yes, you have your ups and downs. They have gone from one extreme to quite a reset in this series.
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England captain Ollie Pope shares his thoughts following the third-Test defeat to Sri Lanka
“They seem to have got caught in the middle. In the second innings, you saw they came in and wanted to recreate what they had at the start of this new style of play and they got lost in it.
“It is a really interesting point to make how the dressing room reacts to situations like this. Are they going to keep saying ‘This is how we play, this is going to happen, let’s go do the same thing’? Are they going to learn and evolve?
“They are going to play much tougher sides. No criticism on Sri Lanka but you have much more experienced and capable sides – India, Australia, away from England without the Dukes ball.
“How is that going to stand up under pressure?”
A ‘frustrating’ end to the summer for England
Former England bowler Stuart Broad on the eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka at The Oval:
“They will be frustrated to have lost here. It is generally a ground they play well at.
“I think I said at the start of the summer, their target will have been to win the six Test matches while also getting some new players into Test match cricket and see how they settle.
“I think that has certainly been achieved. There have been some brilliant performances from players that have come into Test match cricket and settled really nicely.
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Pathum Nissanka sealed the victory for Sri Lanka in the third Test as he hit a four to take his personal tally to 127no
“But this performance will frustrate them slightly, especially now there is a bit of a break before they play another Test match. Almost when you play like this and don’t get it quite right, you want to play the following week and stamp some of those habits out.
“England probably didn’t care for their wickets enough and get a big enough lead.”
Can Bashir cement status as ‘an out-and-out star’?
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting on what the future holds for England spinner Shoaib Bashir
“They think they have got an out-and-out star in Bashir.
“There have been all sorts of problems for finger spinners touring Australia.
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Shoaib Bashir’s brilliant second innings five-for at Trent Bridge sealed a series victory for England over West Indies
“Nathan Lyon’s record there is outstanding. I am not sure who would have the next-best record there. Obviously, that is going to be his greatest challenge.
“He started in India, great conditions to bowl in. The one thing he is going to have to do, when the ball isn’t spinning and bouncing all the time, is be a lot more consistent with his lines and lengths.
“That is how Nathan Lyon has been as consistent as he has been.”
Should Woakes go on tour with England?
Former England bowler Stuart Broad on whether Chris Woakes should be part of the Test tours to Pakistan and New Zealand, and next winter’s Ashes series:
“Whether Woakes goes to Pakistan or New Zealand or Australia we’re not sure, but ultimately he is a fine bowler in England. What you can’t do, like what Australia did, is when their greats of the game left, they all did it at the same time.
“Then it’s just a huge hole and then it’s harder for the leadership to get their messages to the whole team because who are your lieutenants to feed messages? You need experience in your bowling attack.
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Stuart Broad takes a closer look at Chris Woakes’ England Test career and calls for experience in the side
“It would be very difficult to go into a Test match with [Josh] Hull, [Matthew] Potts and [Gus] Atkinson now. Who are we leaning on? Chris Woakes – he is that senior bowler right now. If he will be that in Australia, we don’t know. It’s great to give exposure to people at the right time, but you need those bowlers looked after by a senior figure.
“When I saw James Anderson is not going to get selected but Woakes was, it didn’t make any sense to me, but now it does having seen how the summer has played out. Woakes has done well at home.
The ‘perfect summer’ for England new boy Atkinson
Former England bowler Stuart Broad on Gus Atkinson’s Test summer:
“He’s got every attribute you’d want for a Test match bowler: He’s tall, he can bowl a lot of wobble-seam deliveries, but he can also stand the ball up and swing the ball away from the right-hander.
“He’s got good pace – not 90mph-plus, but enough pace and bounce to really trouble you, and he can bowl different tactics.
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Watch all 12 wickets taken by debutant Gus Atkinson in the first Test against West Indies
“There are a lot of really good attributes there. Why does he not open the bowling for Surrey? I’ve got no idea…but that’s their choice.
“It will be really exciting to see him in different conditions, with the Kookaburra ball, in Pakistan on pitches which might be a bit flatter, but it’s been a hell of summer for him.
“It was the perfect summer for Gus Atkinson, I might suggest.”
Time for Smith to focus on wicketkeeping skills?
Former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Sangakkara on Jamie Smith’s development as England’s wicketkeeper:
“I thought he kept really well. His footwork is really good, his glovework is good, I just don’t like the way he stands and lines up sideways to the bowlers from either side – I prefer the Australian style of wicketkeeping!
“For him, it’s about apportioning his time: How much time do you apportion to make sure your batting is on point and how much time do you apportion to become a much better wicketkeeper as he goes along?
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Watch the best shots from Jamie Smith’s maiden Test century for England, against Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford
“In conditions like England, Australia, New Zealand and even South Africa it’s easy because standing back is the majority of your work, but you’ve got to start getting ready [for playing in spin-friendly conditions] – and he’s got no better sounding board than Alec Stewart and Ben Foakes at Surrey.
“I’ve followed his career as well and he’s an exceptional batter, so now I think it’s time to work on his wicketkeeping so it catches up to that standard of batting.”
Watch England vs Australia live on Sky Sports Cricket this September as the sides meet in three T20 internationals and five one-day internationals. The first T20I is in Southampton on Wednesday with build-up from 6pm ahead of the first ball at 6.30pm.
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