Since England adopted an aggressive approach to Test cricket, they have averaged 4.65 runs per over. But when they won by five wickets against Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford on Day 4, they finished at just 3.5 runs per over in the chase.
Although it is a relatively modest record by the standards of the team since Ben Stokes and Brendan McCullum took over two years ago, it is notable that it is slightly higher than the average of 3.29 runs per over scored in all Test matches around the world between 2003 and 2023.
Nonetheless, England showed their ability to win against Sri Lanka in a style not often seen in recent years, with Sri Lanka chasing 205 runs to go 1-0 ahead in the three-match series, with their handling of the ball in both innings questionable on a tricky pitch.
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This is the most exciting match of the fourth day of the first Test match between England and Sri Lanka.
“Scores like this are always a bit of a tough chase, but then you get a good wicket,” said Jamie Smith, England's first innings centurion and man of the match.
“They also bowled well and made the field straight, making it very difficult to score runs, so it was quite tough at times.
“Joe Root anchored the innings really well and allowed people to play around him, but fortunately we got through it after a pretty intense four days.”
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Check out the most entertaining moments from England's first Test match against Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford.
Ollie Pope passed his first test as acting captain.
He failed to score in single figures in either innings, but the 26-year-old had to figure out how to get Sri Lanka out twice on a surface that has not been very helpful to bowlers for a long time.
Additionally, Pope will find it difficult to rely on the fearsome pace of Mark Wood, who suffered a thigh injury while hitting the second ball of the 11th over and will miss the remainder of the matches at Lord's and Kia Oval.
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England's Jamie Smith and Ollie Pope react to their win over Sri Lanka in the first Test.
The injured Stokes' reserve has embraced the challenge and Pope was understandably delighted to oversee a win that gives England a chance to clinch a series win in London this week.
“It was good,” Pope said. “I enjoyed reading the game on the pitch and finding different ways to get 20 wickets on the pitch, but after 15 or 20 overs it was really hard to bowl.
“The first day was a bit harder than I expected, but I think it will be the same in the future.”
Pope, who served as vice-captain under manager Stokes, has put his own stamp on the side, taking advice from other senior players, including former captain Root, when necessary.
For Root, he had to draw on all the experience he had gained in his previous 143 Test matches, including 53 as captain, when England struggled in the first and second innings.
The 33-year-old was one of the players who most enthusiastically embraced England's 'buzzball' philosophy with the bat, but his unbeaten 62 to lead the home side to victory was perhaps one of his most tenacious innings.
How tenaciously he and England fought against Sri Lanka was evident in the fact that his winning innings had a strike rate of just 48.43, and Root was happy to show that his team could do it the hard way, as was the example he set during Pope's three games in charge.
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Joe Root scored a superb boundary to seal England's win against Sri Lanka on day four of the first Test.
“I suggested a few things here and there, but I didn't have to give him much, and he had a good handle on what was going on,” Root said. Sky Sports.
“He had a few other issues to deal with and it wasn't a typical England Test match so hats off to him.
“He was very good at changing things up, trying different things and constantly trying to move the game in the right direction.
“This is another step in the direction we want to go as a team, and it's a really good sign for us that we're doing things a little differently and still finding ways to win.”
Watch the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord's Ground live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 10am on Thursday (first game at 11am).
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