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

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

What Pope will soon realise, if he didn’t already, is that losing Ben Stokes as captain is just as problematic as losing Ben Stokes as an all-rounder. In that sense, Stokes is truly irreplaceable.

At the height of Stokes’ knee problems, England could either make do with Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali as all-rounders, or upset the balance somewhat by fielding just four specialist bowlers.

It is therefore somewhat curious that England have chosen to replace Stokes with a seamer in Matthew Potts this time around. If Stokes had been fit to bat but not bowl, for example, England would probably have reverted to just four bowlers, as they have done in the past.

We can guess at the reasoning. With all due respect to Sri Lanka, England may think they can get away with a slightly longer tail than they would if this was the first Ashes Test in Perth. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith has already shown he has the makings of a top-six batting order, and Woakes, at seventh, is probably the second-best all-rounder in the country after 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 not optimal, then it would also be wise to ask Dan Lawrence to replace the injured Zak Crawley.