Nasser on captain Pope, smart Bazball, and injured seamers

Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain reflects on England’s first Test win over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, Joe Root’s match-winning knock on the final day, Ollie Pope’s captaincy and fitness concerns surrounding their seamers…

Pope took over as stand-in captain for an injured Ben Stokes and had his work cut out for him across the four days of action.

From a tough morning on day four trying to clinch the final four Sri Lanka wickets, to setting fields while taking the input of bowlers, Pope was being scrutinised on his management – and Hussain is here to break it down.

“Ollie Pope won the Test. And that’s all you’re judged by as an England captain,” Hussain said.

“Win what is in front of you – and against a very good Sri Lankan side.

“When you looked down on the side, you could see the plans he was setting and he didn’t look flustered. It didn’t look like there were 10 captains out there which sometimes you can get with stand-in captains.”

England’s style of play against Sri Lanka was a much more refined one than the Bazball fans have become accustomed to – Root taking 128 deliveries to reach 62 runs – but Hussain thinks Bazball is here to stay in the long run along with some “smarter” cricket.

“England are not binning Bazball, far from it. They have got Jamie Smith and Harry Brook, who are going to be in this Test side for a long time, who will absolutely belt it for years to come,” he added.

“It is just about being a bit smarter when you are in those positions where it could go either way. In those key moments where we have lost another wicket, where we look to sit in and then we will go again.

“Joe Root could have played that in so many different ways in the run-chase but he saw there was no [Ben] Stokes after him, he saw there was a slightly longer tail, and a pitch that was suiting Sri Lanka, so he just said ‘I have to be here at the end’.”

It has been confirmed that Mark Wood has been replaced by Leicestershire’s Josh Hull for the second Test against Sri Lanka after suffering a muscle strain.

Wood limped off late on day three of the First Test after another exciting performance at Old Trafford, and results of a subsequent scan have seen him ruled out of the rest of the series – with left-armer Hull drafted in to replace him.

Hussain believes managing the fitness of their seamers is going to be a tricky task for England this summer.

“It is going to be a tricky one for England heading to Lord’s. They have an abundance of seamers but not fit ones, because there are a lot of injuries right now,” Hussain said.

“You think Stone will come in for Mark Wood, that will be a straight swap.

“Chris Woakes is a fabulous cricketer and a magnificent cricketer at Lord’s – his record there with bat and ball is phenomenal – but, physically, he was struggling with his groin or something on day four at Old Trafford.

“They have won four from four this summer, they’ve just tinkered with Bazball… they have been pretty smart.

“There will be harder Tests ahead but they are playing some good cricket.”

Root channels ‘my inner Hussain’ in England run-chase

Joe Root joked that he channelled his inner Nasser Hussain as he guided England to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka on day four of the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford.

Left with a tricky run-chase of 205 in Manchester, Root resorted to some old-fashioned steely determination to see the home side over the line, hitting only two boundaries in his unbeaten 62 off 128 balls.

“I had to channel my inner Hussain, I reckon,” Root joked when interviewed alongside Hussain for Sky Sports.

“I’m still ahead of your career strike rate, but it was a tricky one today. It was a long, slow, hard grind but we got there in the end.”

England vs Sri Lanka series:

• First Test: Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester – England won by five wickets
• Second Test: Lord’s, London – August 29-September 2 (11am start)
• Third Test: The Kia Oval, London – September 6-10 (11am start)

Watch the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s from Thursday August 29, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 10am.

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Source : Sky Sports