England went 1-0 up in the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Saturday, but were made to work hard for their five-wicket victory.
Now the attention moves to Lord's for the second Test where England, now without pace ace Mark Wood as well as skipper Ben Stokes, can still make it a fifth straight Test win on home soil this summer.
- JOE ROOT TOP ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS SCORER
- GUS ATKINSON OVER 4.5 MATCH WICKETS
- KARUNARATNE UNDER 4.5 MATCH FOURS
Root To Showcase Class Again
Former England captain Joe Root modified his approach at Old Trafford, but it was his class and composure which got his side over the line in the first Test.
Some Sri Lankan defiance with the bat on the fourth morning, when Kamindu Mendis hit a sparkling 113, ensured England had a challenging target of 201 to make when a day before you wondered if they would have to bat at all.
England's all-risk approach, whatever the situation, ensured that the run chase became fretful.
But the one batter who looked totally in control was Root, whose 62 not out at a run rate of less than one every other ball - unheard of with England these days - was the difference.
Root often looks on another level to anyone else he goes to the middle with, but what would anyone expect from the seventh most prolific run-scorer in Test cricket, a player with 12,131 runs to his name.
Sri Lanka showed some defiance but England still look much the better side, so it's entirely plausible Root will only have to bat once at Lord's. Consider him as an option then to be the top England first-innings scorer rather than the top outright match batter.
JOE ROOT TOP ENGLAND FIRST-INNINGS RUN SCORER
Boundaries Difficult To Come By
Sri Lanka's top order struggled with the swinging, seaming new ball in both innings at Old Trafford and it is hard to imagine it being any different at Lord's.
Sri Lanka found themselves 6-3 in the first innings and 1-2 in the second, and it was a battle to get started.
Dimuth Karunaratne was out for two and 27 and never looked comfortable in either stint at the crease.
He scored a grand total of four boundaries from his 50 balls faced in the middle and that should be the height of his ambition at Lord's.
DIMUTH KARUNARATNE UNDER 4.5 MATCH FOURS
Atkinson’s Form To Continue
First Stuart Broad left the stage, then James Anderson, but Gus Atkinson's stunning arrival into the Test arena suggests England's seam bowling department has its next leader.
Atkinson took the new ball at Old Trafford, taking two wickets in the first innings and two more in the second.
In conditions far more helpful to England's seamers than Sri Lanka's batters Atkinson can flourish and, with 22 wickets in the 3-0 demolition of West Indies earlier in the summer, he is clearly enjoying Test cricket in this country.
At Lord's against West Indies, in helpful conditions, he took 7-45 and 5-61, so it is clearly a venue which brings out the best in him. It would be a major surprise if he didn't get at least five wickets in the match this week.
GUS ATKINSON OVER 4.5 MATCH WICKETS
