Ahead of England’s three-Test series against Sri Lanka, we take a closer look at five storylines you need to follow…
How will England fare without Stokes?
There are many things teams do not want to happen just before a Test series. One of the biggest is losing your skipper to injury. Sadly for England, that is exactly what happened with Ben Stokes.
Stokes was carried off during The Hundred after pulling up while batting for Northern Superchargers against Manchester Originals, with scans subsequently confirming a left hamstring tear that will rule him out for the rest of the summer.
Vice-captain Ollie Pope will now lead against Sri Lanka as England look to continue their Bazball philosophy without one of its chief creators, Stokes, on the field.
Sky Sports Cricket’s Nasser Hussain said: “You’re not going to suddenly have Pope come in and be a bit timid and change the plans. The continuity, the messaging, will be absolutely the same. He won’t change any of that.”
“I don’t think [captaincy] comes as naturally to him as it does for Stokes. I see him as a bit of a worrier, so he has to bluff a little bit. But he’s been brought up in the school of Stokes and [Brendon] McCullum, so he will just continue the messaging.”
Bird, plane – or Mark Wood delivery?!
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When thinking about how England will use pace bowling across this Test series, there is no better place to start than Mark Wood. Just how fast and can he go? Even closer to 100mph?
Against West Indies in July, he maxed out at 97.1mph and produced the fastest England over since 2006, while he took five wickets for nine runs in a six-over spell of reverse swing to help clinch a 3-0 sweep at Edgbaston.
Wood will be joined by Gus Atkinson, who will be brimming with confidence after a debut to remember in the West Indies series. The Surrey man took 22 wickets, starting with a memorable 12-106 in Jimmy Anderson’s last Test at Lord’s.
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They may also be a chance for Olly Stone to really make a mark. Stone will be looking to add to his three Test caps and has been going well for Nottinghamshire but the pressure is on when returning to the England side for the first time in three years.
How Pope uses these three could be crucial to the outcome of the series. But if Wood is at his flying best, Atkinson continues on from his sensational debut, and Stone shows his worth, the pace attack should be a force to be reckoned with.
