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England player ratings: Tongue, Robinson share top spot and a ball

Sky Sports Football ·
England player ratings: Tongue, Robinson share top spot and a ball

Joe Root was excellent on his return to the captaincy while Harry Brook batted with maturity and Jordan Cox looked the part after replacing the injured Jacob Bethell at No 3; watch second Test, at Lord's, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday (11am first ball)

We rate England's players after the thumping innings win over Pakistan at Headingley as Joe Root's side took a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series...

Duckett suffers here from the fact Pakistan did not make England bat again, leaving him unable to add to his score with a second knock after a 28-ball 15 first time around.

The opener - who has rediscovered his mojo following a tough Ashes, impressing against New Zealand and in The Hundred - will hope to play a more central role in the Tests at Lord's and Edgbaston.

Gay came into this game off the back of a pair in a warm-up match so nerves would have been fluttering - but he eased those with a number of sweetly-struck boundaries before nicking off shortly after Duckett's dismissal.

The Durham man does look vulnerable to balls angled across him yet has shown plenty of promise early in his Test career, with two fifties versus New Zealand. Will hope for a big knock soon.

He may only be keeping the No 3 spot warm until Jacob Bethell (knee) is fit again but Cox put in a good case to stay in the XI long term with an authoritative half-century at first drop. He was aided by some poor Pakistan bowling but still looked the part.

It may be that Cox's best route into the XI going forward is as wicketkeeper-batter so an impressive next two Tests as well and he could pressure Jamie Smith for that post.

He took two catches at slip on the third and final day in Leeds, including a superb diving effort after the ball had ballooned up off gloveman Smith's thigh.

Almost everything Root touched in this Test, on his return to the permanent captaincy, turned to gold, bar his limp shot and even worse review on the second day.

He had batted with his usual brilliance before that and was excellent as captain, having had the fortune of winning the toss and inserting Pakistan under leaden skies.

Root, who largely stood at mid-off to have the ear of his bowlers, showed a ruthless streak by hooking Jofra Archer after two underwhelming overs in the first innings.

His funky field placings, including deploying himself at leg slip at one point, also paid off as England secured just a third win in their last 11 Tests. A fine start to the new era.

If fears over maturity was a reason Brook was overlooked when it came to deciding Ben Stokes' successor as Test skipper, then the vice-captain showed signs of growth in Leeds, with his near-run-a-ball 91 enterprising, of course, but not reckless.

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5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.skysports.com — the content belongs to Sky Sports Football.

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