England hold eight Test trophies after beating Sri Lanka 2-0
Wednesday 13 July 2016 15:18, UK
England's 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka means they now hold eight of the nine Test trophies available - and they could complete a clean sweep this summer.
Victory over Pakistan - the team Alastair Cook's men lost 2-0 to in the United Arab Emirates prior to Christmas - would earn the side the full set of silverware, with the first of four Tests beginning at Lord's on Thursday.
But how have England trumped the eight other Test match teams they play? Here's our look at why the trophy cabinet is bulging…
A Yorkshireman and a Lancastrian propelled England to within one trophy of the full set. Bradford-born Jonny Bairstow totaled 387 runs across the three Tests, with his 140 in the first, at Leeds, rescuing England from a perilous 83-5 and steering them to 298. That score proved ample, with The Burnley Express, Anderson, completing match figures of 10-45 as Sri Lanka were thumped by an innings and 88 runs. Anderson nabbed another five-for in England's series-clinching nine-wicket win at Durham, after Moeen Ali had spanked an unbeaten 155 and before Alastair Cook passed 10,000 Test runs, while Bairstow hit another ton in the drawn final Test at Lord's - a Test-best 167no.
Ben Stokes provided the star turn as England toppled South Africa from top spot in the rankings, although his spectacular 258 in the second Test didn't earn the tourists victory in Cape Town. Rather, England struck early (for once) with a 241-run victory in the first Test before Stuart Broad's 6-17 blitz in the third Test gave Cook's men an unassailable 2-0 lead with one to play, South Africa folding to 83 all out. The Proteas regrouped to earn a consolation 280-run win in the fourth Test as 20-year-old Kagiso Rabada claimed match figures of 13-144.
Just 599 days after losing the urn in humiliating fashion, England regained the Ashes at Trent Bridge after just 14 days of cricket, storming to a 3-1 lead before Australia won the Oval Test. Broad produced another devastating spell, grabbing 8-15 from 9.3 overs as Australia imploded to 60 all out to as good as end a series that was in the balance after the tourists rallied from defeat in Cardiff to spank England at Lord's - Steve Smith striking a brilliant 215. Michael Clarke's men could not keep up the momentum at Edgbaston, though, as James Anderson's 6-47 bundled Australia out for just 136 and an eight-wicket defeat left the visitors vulnerable to Broad's knockout blow.
Stokes blitzed the fastest century by an English player in 113 years and the quickest ever at Lord's in the first Test, powering his way to three figures off just 85 balls before grabbing the prized scalps of Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum in a fiery second innings spell to seal victory by 124 runs - quite a turnaround after England conceded a first-innings deficit of 134. BJ Watling's ton proved the difference in the second Test after each side notched 350 first time around, England going down by 199 runs but retaining the upper hand by dint of their 2-0 series win in 2013.
England retained the Wisden Trophy after a 1-1 draw in the most recent series in 2015. After a draw in the first Test in Antigua, Joe Root's 182 not out set Cook's side on their way to a nine-wicket win in Grenada. However, after Anderson's 6-42 gave the tourists a first innings lead of 68 in a low-scoring game in Barbados, they crumbled in their second innings and slipped to a five-wicket loss. A draw was enough to hold onto the trophy though, as a result of a 2-0 series win in the sides' previous meeting in 2012.
It looked as if India would claim the Pataudi Trophy in 2014. The tourists led 1-0 with England seemingly in disarray after the first two Tests. Ishant Sharma was the Indian hero, taking 7-74 in their win at Lord's. England hit back though, and in emphatic style, to win the next three Tests at a canter - Broad's 6-25 at Old Trafford among the highlights for England.
Bangladesh, 2010
Andrew Strauss led England to a comfortable 2-0 series win over Bangladesh in 2010. Jonathan Trott was the star in an eight-wicket win at Lord's, the No 3 scoring a career best 226 in the first innings while Steven Finn ended with nine wickets for the match. The second Test was even more comprehensive, Ian Bell's 128 setting England up for an innings victory at Old Trafford.
Zimbabwe, 2003
Anderson took a five-for on his Test debut as Nasser Hussain's England beat Zimbabwe by an innings and 92 runs at Lord's on their way to a 2-0 series triumph in 2003. Mark Butcher was man of the match though as he followed a score of 137 with four wickets in the visitors' second innings. Meanwhile, Anthony McGrath (81) top scored in another innings win at Chester-le-Street, Richard Johnson taking 6-33 in Zimbabwe's first innings.
