We rate England's players after the 194-run, series-sealing victory over Pakistan at Lord's, with the seamers once again standing out... A forgettable Test which saw the England opener face only 26 deliveries across his two innings. He was one of a number of batters who perhaps felt a touch unfortunate to be given out lbw in the first innings to deliveries that, at first glance, looked to be going over the stumps, only to be shown otherwise after a timely Pakistan review.
His second-innings failure, however, simply owed to a poor shot as he chipped one straight to mid-off. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Gay can count himself unfortunate in both innings, with Mohammad Rizwan claiming a terrific diving grab off little more than a leg-side strangle in the first innings, before a devastating grubber did for him lbw when batting was at its toughest on a rain-interrupted third day. He'd batted determinedly through to stumps on the second evening, a quality that has been evident since making his debut this summer, but his place in the side is coming under increasing scrutiny with Jacob Bethell still to return after this series and others staking a claim.
Cox is one such player pushing for a permanent spot in the side as he registered a second fifty in as many Tests since his reintroduction in place of the injured Bethell at No 3. Speaking to Sky Sports Cricket ahead of the Lord's Test, Cox said of the opportunity handed to him: "This could be your only shot, make sure this counts". He's come close to doing just that, looking very assured out in the middle, just as he did at Headingley.
A century once again eluded him - this time thanks to an absolute screamer of a catch from Salman Ali Agha, one of the best slip catches you're ever likely to see. "It's fascinating that even a guy of more than 160 Tests, who averages over 50 - one of the greatest players England have ever produced - teams will still be looking at that developing trend," Sky Sports' Michael Atherton said as the skipper fell leg before wicket in both innings, making it seven such dismissals this summer and nine times in his last 12 Test innings'. He's far from the only batter to succumb in such fashion this summer, with lbw dismissals on the rise as a whole in seamer-friendly conditions, but it's certainly something he'll be eager to correct with a big score in the final Test at Edgbaston.
Brook batted better than his run haul would suggest, particularly in the second innings where he cautiously negotiated a testing period on the second evening, before building a promising partnership with Dan Lawrence on day three - with conditions at their toughest. Just as in the first innings, though, when bowled by a devastating Mohammad Ali in-ducker, one eventually had his name on it when grazing a faint shoulder edge to Rizwan, stood up to the stumps, off Mohammad Abbas. Has caught pretty consistently in the slips all summer, but put down Azan Awais on eight as he went on to score 46 in the first innings.
Lawrence is another staking his claim for a permanent place in the side, with the No 6 position seemingly suiting him perfectly as England look to fill the Ben Stokes-shaped hole left behind. While Lawrence could never hope to match Stokes' repeated and ridiculous feats of the past decade and more, he provides similar counter-attacking verve with the bat - which was on full display with his second-innings half century in testing conditions. He also helps balance the side with his part-time off-spin to complement England's four-pronged pace attack, which we've admittedly yet to see a lot of.
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