Five things we learned from England’s Test series whitewash over Sri Lanka: Spinners, Foakes, Root and selectors all shine

England’s tour of Sri Lanka ended perfectly for the visitors and appropriately for the Test series as a whole.

A contest defined by England’s mastery of spin bowling was concluded when their stand-out proponent of the art, Jack Leach, trapped opposition captain Suranga Lakmal lbw to complete a 42-run victory and a 3-0 series whitewash.

England arrived in Sri Lanka as a side with a plethora of questions and left with many answered. The way they threw off their one-trick pony tag was certainly the most obvious of them.

Joe Root’s team have long been defined by their strength in home conditions, with the skill-sets of James Anderson and Stuart Broad often used as a stick with which to beat them.

But over the last three Test matches 100 of 116 wickets have fallen to spinners, with England’s Leach and Moeen Ali claiming 18 each and Adil Rashid 12.

The three haven’t been perfect, but their differing styles offer Root the tools on turning wickets to rebuff England’s critics.

Fantastic Foakes

Leach’s performances may have been impressive but the title of breakthrough player for England undoubtedly goes to Ben Foakes.

The Surrey wicket-keeper began the tour relaxing on holiday in Portugal before an injury to Jonny Bairstow saw him whisked out to Sri Lanka to make his debut in Galle.

Since then he’s been faultless, scoring a maiden Test century, a series-high 277 runs at an average of 69.25 and taking eight catches and two stumpings to claim the man of the series award.

Having bided his time for an opportunity he’s now “definitely there” for the tour of West Indies in January according to coach Trevor Bayliss – and that’s despite the similarly impressive performances of fellow wicket-keepers Bairstow and Jos Buttler.

Root rises as captain

The positives are many for England and the person basking in their glow the most is Root, who guided his team astutely with authority and confidence to end 2018 on a high.

While his stand-out moment as a batsman was the second-innings 124 at Galle, it was his other role as captain which will have a lasting effect.

Under Root England have implemented a high-risk, proactive and aggressive batting style which saw them flirt with collapse but ultimately come out on top.

Meanwhile, they trusted their spinners to take the bulk of the wickets, had clear plans in the field and looked a confident and united group.

“Because we have had to do things differently, I have had to drive that and make a point of it but it’s very powerful when everyone buys into it,” Root explained.

Selectors deserve credit

Root leads the team, but it is England’s selectors, chaired by Ed Smith, who choose it and they should receive plaudits.

Earlier in the year Smith drew anger in some quarters for convincing Rashid to return to red-ball cricket, while Buttler’s reintroduction to the five-day game also looked bold. They are both stalwarts now.

Elsewhere, having struggled massively at home, Keaton Jennings rewarded the faith shown in him by scoring a crucial unbeaten 146 in Galle and proving a dab hand at short leg.

Sam Curran has continued to enhance his reputation with mature lower-order runs and Bairstow returned triumphant from injury in Colombo to score a century from the problem position of No3.

England are far from the finished product, but Smith and the selection committee have made bold calls to address some of the issues.

Aiming for the summit again

The 3-0 series scoreline sees England overtake South Africa and reach the No2 spot in the world rankings, behind leaders India.

England held the No1 position for 12 months between August 2011 and August 2012 and after the huge boost in Sri Lanka Root is not content with remaining there.

“We want to keep pushing, keep improving so guys are going to have to accept that on occasions they are going to miss out,” he said.

“Having that environment will keep driving guys in possession forward. It feels like we are in a good place but we can’t be happy with where we are – we have a lot of hard work still to do.”