England against Sri Lanka, although they were made to work hard at Old Trafford. Jamie Smith , but he was not the only player to impress. Telegraph Sport rates the players from both sides.
He carried on playing aerial shots when Sri Lanka opened with two spinners (the first time a touring team had used such an opening gambit in England since 1907), but short and skiddy seamers are a new challenge he has yet to solve. Every inch a Test batsman when the ball is legside. The trouble is that when it is offside he does not have the mindset of an established opener to leave it.
Did a competent job in the absence of Zak Crawley, and could even do it again on pitches like Pakistan’s, but not a contender for a permanent role as opener. Bring back Zak. Consistency continues to elude him as a Test batsman, captain or not, giving the opposing bowlers a chance early in his innings.
Reasonable shot at the captaincy, like a watered-down version of Ben Stokes. Brought Shoaib Bashir on earlier than Ben Stokes might have done, which is no criticism as the offspinner kept Sri Lanka’s first innings in check. Blended in very neatly as senior pro, and as you would expect, never dictating to Pope in his first Test as captain.
Some beautiful driving in his first innings when Sri Lanka’s reverse-swingers pitched up, and stuck like glue to the crease when Sri Lanka pushed for victory. Grim defence when it was needed. Has grown in stature since his first taste of senior captaincy with Northern Su.