England seal Sri Lanka series as Gus Atkinson adds five wickets to century

The energy at the Lord's cricket ground was lacking, with only a small crowd present on a quiet Sunday. However, things picked up at 5pm when Gus Atkinson took five wickets once again, helping England secure a series victory against Sri Lanka. This win puts them in a position to potentially have a flawless Test summer, something they haven't achieved in two decades.

It has been years since England last won every Test in a home season like they did in 2004 under Michael Vaughan's leadership. Despite playing fewer Tests now, England's 2-0 lead over Sri Lanka after a 190-run victory in the second Test, following a 3-0 win against West Indies, is a special achievement. Stand-in captain Ollie Pope, who has led the team to two wins but has struggled with his own batting form, will be looking forward to playing at the Oval this week.

Similar to the vintage Vaughan team, this England squad is looking to gradually improve and reach their peak in the future. They are a team that is still developing and not yet the final product. Despite having to make changes to their lineup, especially in their bowling attack, and missing key players due to injuries like Ben Stokes, Zak Crawley, and Mark Wood, they have still managed to achieve victories. While their opponents may not be as financially strong in the world of sports, they deserve credit for their performance this summer.

Having a star player like Joe Root on the team definitely makes a difference. He showed his talent at Lord's with two impressive centuries, bringing his total to 34 - surpassing Alastair Cook. What's even more promising is that, at 33 years old and no longer captain, Root still has a lot to offer and plenty of good playing years ahead of him.

In this game, Atkinson continued to impress as a Test cricketer. His score of 118 runs from the 8th position in the first innings showed his skill and talent as a batsman, rather than just luck as a lower-order player. Despite his flashy hair, which may have been inspired by Anderson's celebratory drink after his final Test match, Atkinson has shown to be humble and determined in his character.

During his time at work, Atkinson continued to impress by consistently taking at least two wickets each game since he first started in July. On the fourth day of the match, Sri Lanka put up a strong fight and managed to score 292 runs in 86.4 overs, even though they needed 483 runs to win. Atkinson played a key role in this, taking five wickets for 62 runs in his 16 overs.

When Chris Woakes secured the victory by causing Lahiru Kumara to make a mistake, it was Atkinson, not Root, who was named the best player of the game. Atkinson had definitely earned the celebration afterwards, as he became only the third England cricketer to both score a century and take five wickets in the same test match. The only others to achieve this were Tony Greig and Ian Botham, although Lord Beefy may mention that he has done it five times. Regardless, the person responsible for updating the prestigious honours boards at Lord's probably won't have any trouble adding Atkinson's name to them.

Honestly, the outcome of the game was pretty much guaranteed from the beginning, which is why there weren't many people buying tickets at the last minute. It was just a matter of how quickly the last eight wickets would fall.

The visitors managed to score three competitive half-centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne (55), Dinesh Chandimal (58) and Dhananjaya de Silva (50). However, just when it seemed like they were building momentum and a potential comeback on Monday was in sight, Pope and his team were able to break their partnerships.

In the morning, it became clear that patience was essential. Woakes managed to outsmart Prabath Jayasuriya, the umpire known for his strictness on bad light conditions. Then, Olly Stone stepped up and delivered a powerful 87.2mph ball that hit Karunaratne in the armpit, resulting in him getting caught behind. Stone finished his return to Test cricket with four wickets, and his performance filling in for Wood, including a few helmet-clanging moments, earned him even more respect.

Shoaib Bashir played an important part for Pope as the day went on, getting rid of Angelo Mathews for 36. He bowled from a different angle and tempted Mathews to hit a chip to mid-off with some added height. Sri Lanka's score was reduced to 174 for five after that.

After that, everyone was focused on Atkinson. He had already taken one wicket the night before, and then he got rid of Chandimal and Mendis before tea with the old ball. Later on, he came back to take two more wickets with the new ball.

Unlike many London taxi drivers, the series is now moving to the south side of the river to see if England can win all six matches. Atkinson has taken 33 wickets and scored a century in his first five Tests, making this summer nearly perfect for him.