England
Ollie Pope: 191 runs at 31.8; one catch
His embrace of captaincy duties from the crucial No 3 slot at a time when murmurs were beginning to burble about his form, showed admirable commitment to the team, but may not have been in the very best interests of himself or the group. The value of his 154, anchoring the first innings at the Oval, was demonstrated by the fact that nobody aside from Ben Duckett made 20. Even then, he needed a good helping of luck as he oscillated in and out of form almost from ball to ball, the cogs of his once classic defensive technique screeching. His trust in his charges led to some fine individual performances, but also an almost comically inept use of DRS, trusting advice from those better able to see and hear. But he kept the feelgood Stokes vibe going and delivered the series win, but the collective end-of-term indiscipline evident throughout the third Test will have done him no good in the long run. Grade B-
Ben Duckett: 186 runs at 31.0; two catches
You can take your pick as to whether the middling average or the sky-high strike rate (90.3) is the more important to the team, but the man himself does not seem to care – why should he if the team is winning? If Zak Crawley is the High Priest of the Church of Bazball, swinging willow in lieu of incense, Duckett is its most fervent disciple. He is not going to turn heretic any time soon, so quibbles about ‘leaving runs on the field’ are not going to change a thing. Grade B-
Dan Lawrence: 120 runs at 20.0; no wicket; three catches
There is mitigation of course, the man who started the season as low as seven for his county asked to open for his country, but it was all a bit ugly. Too nervous too often, he clung to his comfort blanket of leg-side fetches and, when he did free himself from the shackles, went too far at the Oval when a quiet 50 would have done the job. Grade D
Joe Root: 375 runs at 75.0; one wicket at 47.0; one catch
England’s greatest batter anyone alive has ever seen, was near his imperious best at Lord’s with twin (and record-breaking) centuries on a benign pitch against an attack that could not make life difficult. He was pretty good at Old Trafford too, but had nothing left in the tank at the Oval, three Tests in three weeks understandably beyond his powers. The administrators had managed to flatten even his genius, a butterfly broken upon a wheel – shame on them. Grade A
Harry Brook: 180 runs at 30.0; six catches
A run of scores (56, 32, 33, 37, 19, 3) speaks of a batter struggling to convert, running the hard yards and then stumbling just when the pressure should be easing off. Is the issue concentration, patience, the license offered by Bazball? Perhaps a combination of all three. Not good enough from the vice-captain though, something to reflect upon with stiffer challenges than this to come in the near future. Grade C
Jamie Smith: 280 runs at 46.7; nine catches
Elevated to No 6, Smith simply carried on where he left off in his maiden series earlier this summer, seeing the ball early and hitting it very hard indeed. A century in the first Test was backed up by a Gilchristian innings-turning 67 in the third, striking the ball as cleanly as it has ever been struck at the grand old ground. His keeping was competent, sometimes more than that standing back to leg-side deliveries. The only question about his international future now is whether he should be in as a specialist batter sooner or later. Grade A
Chris Woakes: 46 runs at 9.2; 13 wickets at 19.3; five catches
A wholly different personality to Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad, he assumed the attack leader’s mantle again as to the manner born. His swing and wobble seam garnered wickets regularly until he, like most of the side, had little left as Parthum Nissanka led the Lankans to their consolation win. Batting a notch high at seven, he never got going, but England only missed his runs when the series was secure. Grade A-
Gus Atkinson: 158 runs at 31.6; 12 wickets at 27.4
Nobody saw it coming, England’s No 8 (and Surrey’s No 10) stroking his way to a remarkable 118, having come to the crease with England rocking a little on 216 for six. The Lord’s Honours Board botherer was at it again. Back in the day job, he showed he was no flash in the pan, bowling that challenging line from close to the stumps at very decent pace, moving the ball a McGrath-like half a bat’s width, with a nasty bouncer to keep the batters honest. When successors to Broad and Anderson were mooted last year, few had Atkinson’s name on their coupon – yet, here he is. Grade A-
Mark Wood: 22 runs at 22.0; two wickets at 33.5
The wholehearted Durham pacer did what he does these days. Thrill the crowd and frighten the horses with raw pace; not take as many wickets as you would expect; entertain with the bat; and hobble off injured. Grade B-
Matthew Potts: 40 runs at 13.3; five wickets at 29.6; two catches
If he were in the playground lined up for picks, he would have to wait a while for the call, but he would definitely get it. Never lets England down, but probably will not ever offer enough pace or movement to be a regular. Grade B-
Olly Stone: 47 runs at 15.7; seven wickets at 29.4; one catch
Smiling more than a nasty-fasty should betrayed a certain, just-glad-to-back attitude from the often injured pacer. A little down on pace since his first iteration as an England bowler, he can still go toes and nose and find an edge when he needs it. Deserved a better return than his numbers suggest. Grade B
Josh Hull: 9 runs at 9.0; three wickets at 30.3
Even bigger than Steve Harmison, he had something of the early days of the Durham man about his steepling bounce, but also showed the left-armer’s priceless ability to swing it in to the right-hander. He is so raw and inexperienced that he probably should not have been picked, but once he was, his job was to show why. And he did. Now for an intense and bespoke coaching programme to protect his body and enhance his skills. Grade B
Shoaib Bashir: 16 runs at 8.0; six wickets at 49.3; two catches
Has the sang-froid any young spinner requires, unfazed when the batters try to hit him out of the attack. He can find turn on most tracks, is not afraid to flight it and, from that high release point, gets the bounce that batters dread. Will he become England’s Nathan Lyon? There’s a long way to go, for a man still a month off his 21st birthday, but it is not a bad start. Grade C
Sri Lanka
Dimuth Karunaratne: 108 runs at 18.0; one catch
Passing 7,000 Test runs was a moment to remember in a series to forget for the ex-captain who failed to show his experience against the moving ball in English conditions. Sri Lanka’s opening stands never crossed 40 in the series which gave England’s aggressive bowling and fields the encouragement they needed. Grade C-
Pathum Nissanka: 217 runs at 72.3; four catches
The diminutive, gifted opener has sometimes struggled to get into a strong Sri Lankan upper order, missing out on the first Test but showing his considerable class in the third, severe on anything he could work square of the wicket. Another batter one feels has hit his stride that little bit too late with the standout innings of the series. Grade A
Kusal Mendis: 77 runs at 19.3; three catches
Like some of his fellow countrymen, he looked undercooked with the bat, a perennial issue for touring sides, and only showed his true colours in the happy-go-lucky session late on day three of the third Test. Grade C-
Angelo Mathews: 158 runs at 31.6; no wicket; one catch
The veteran is a bit of a liability in the field these days, but he did have a trundle at the Oval for old times’ sake, the old bones just about carrying him to the crease. The upside of a lack of mobility is a lovely economy of movement at the crease, so it was always a bit of a surprise when he was dismissed. He has many happy memories of touring in this country and it was pleasing to see him sign off with a win. Grade B-
Dhananjaya de Silva: 204 runs at 40.8; two wickets at 16.0; three catches
At six, he was too often in firefighting mode, a job he did well, but with three half-centuries and a top score of 74, he could not go on to shape the match. Picked up a couple of wickets when he bowled and could have trusted himself with the ball more often. Played with a smile on his face, a most welcome feature of the series and deserved the consolation victory. Grade B+
Dinesh Chandimal: 177 runs at 35.4; eight catches
Another batter who will reflect on spurning opportunities to push on to scores that would set up a victory. He does have some mitigation, as injuries hampered his capacity on both sides of the popping crease. Quite why he felt the need to persist with the gauntlets when there were other options available, I cannot say. Grade B-
Kamindu Mendis: 267 runs at 53.4; no wicket; four catches
Had the style and range of shot of a No 4 at No 7, showing that his freakish figures after a late start to his Test career were no fluke. His batting is marked by that little bit more time that the best possess, born of lovely balance, a great eye and clarity of thought. His century in the second innings of the first Test pushed England’s target from simple to tricky. Grade A-
Milan Rathnayake: 151 runs at 30.2; 10 wickets at 32.1; three catches
Showed great enterprise with bat at Old Trafford, surprising your correspondent and Russell Arnold with 72 from No 9 to avoid his side being blown away by mid-afternoon on day one. With ball in hand, he bustled in and delivered at least one wicket in every innings, but never looked likely to take sufficient to slow England’s hitters. Grade B
Prabath Jayasuriya: 27 runs at 6.8; eight wickets at 48.0; two catches
The spinner bowled some super deliveries at Old Trafford, but he never got inside the batters’ heads (maybe England just do not do that any more) and was less threatening at Lord’s. Sacrificed for the extra seamer at the Oval, a tad unluckily. Grade C-
Vishwa Fernando: 13 runs at 4.3; seven wickets at 29.3; two catches
The left-armer kept the ball up to the bat and found some swing, albeit early rather than late at a pace that gives the batter time to adjust. Like his fellow seamers, his discipline and perseverance brought him regular wickets. Grade B-
Nishan Madushka: 24 runs at 6.0; seven catches
Opening and sometimes keeping wicket, sometimes not, the inexperienced batter who already has a Test double century, was dealt too difficult a hand but, nevertheless, played it badly. Grade D
Lahiru Kumara: 15 runs at 7.5; 11 wickets at 24.7; three catches
Inexplicably missed selection for the first Test but his pace, a heavy ball bowled by a strong man, made a difference at Lord’s. Though he leaked a few runs (all bowlers will against Bazball) he took at least two wickets in each of the four innings in which he bowled, underlining the consistency of his threat. Grade B
Asitha Fernando: 12 runs at 12.0; 17 wickets at 24.6; one catch
The wholehearted seamer never gave less than his all and took wickets consistently, knowing that England always gave a chance to a bowler who stuck to his guns. Picked up a four-fer at Old Trafford and a five-fer at Lord’s, both in the first innings when a pacer earns his corn. Grade B
