‘England and Ollie Pope can prepare for life without Ben Stokes’

While it is always intriguing to see how a new skipper goes about things, England’s method is ingrained, so we are unlikely to witness any radical changes. It is a blow to lose Stokes’ aura, personality and tactical creativity, yet it is also invaluable for Pope to learn the job in the event of another injury to the skipper, or for when Stokes is captain no more.

What Pope will soon realise, if he isn’t already well aware, is losing Ben Stokes the captain is as problematic as losing Ben Stokes the all-rounder. In that sense, Stokes really is irreplaceable.

When Stokes’ knee problems were at their worst, England either muddled through with Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali as all-rounders, or lost a little balance by fielding only four specialist bowlers.

It is therefore slightly curious that, on this occasion, England have chosen to replace Stokes with a seamer in Matthew Potts. If, say, Stokes had been fit to bat but not bowl, England probably would have reverted to only four bowlers, as they have in the past.

We can guess at the reasoning. With all due respect to Sri Lanka, England may feel they can get away with a slightly longer tail than if this was the first Ashes Test in Perth. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith has already shown his potential to bat in the top six and Woakes, at seven, is probably the next best all-rounder in the country behind Stokes. Three Tests in three weeks is another reason to spread the pace-bowling load across four men, rather than three.

If the balance of the England team is sub-optimal, then so is asking Dan Lawrence to open in place of the injured Zak Crawley.