Spin and swing key as England find attack for all seasons

A year ago England were playing at the Gabba at the start of an Ashes series that would highlight the limitations of the team’s one-dimensional bowling.

Move forward 12 months and England were propelled to a winning position in Colombo by a fast bowler banging the ball in short and a wrist spinner turning the ball both ways. The combination of Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid sparked a collapse of eight wickets for 57 after tea and must give Joe Root great confidence that he now has an attack capable of making things happen when the team are in trouble and away from the home comfort of green pitches.

In Australia, England’s over-reliance on right-arm medium-fast bowling and off-spin meant Root had nowhere to turn on good pitches when batsmen were set. Ed Smith, the England selector, has addressed this by giving Root an attack of three different spin bowlers in Sri Lanka, trusting Jack Leach where before he was suspected as being only a Taunton specialist and restoring Rashid to the side, despite the criticism it attracted for his decision not to play four-day cricket.

Add in Sam Curran’s left-arm swing and Root has an attack for all seasons if the selectors are brave enough in the Caribbean after Christmas.

Smith’s next job is to begin planning for life after James Anderson and Stuart Broad. West Indian pitches are generally slow, but by bowling short and aggressively Stokes negated the surface in Colombo in a way beyond those operating 5mph slower with an immense display of stamina.

Root and Smith need to find a way to squeeze a Jamie Overton or Olly Stone into the side in the West Indies.

Rashid’s performance has shown England have competition for spinbowling places for the first time in living memory, even if he modestly talked down his performance in Colombo. Rashid answered “maybe” when asked if it was his best bowling spell for England – he now has 22 wickets at 26 since his summer recall.

“There have been periods where I could have done better in my Test career, but to get wickets like that with Stokes was a great feeling,” he said. “It is just about making sure I go out with a positive mindset and bowl my variations. Hopefully I can stick to that positive mindset.”