Tuesday 31 May 2016 15:33, UK
With England taking an unassailable 2-0 (or, if you prefer, 8-0) lead in the series against Sri Lanka after completing a nine-wicket win at Emirates Riverside, the statistical headlines were dominated by Alastair Cook passing the much-acclaimed 10,000-run milestone.
But there were many more records broken over the course of the four days, including Jimmy Anderson going past 450 Test wickets.
It is only right that we start with the England captain, who became the first England batsman to clock up five figures in the runs tally and, by 170 days, is the youngest of all time at 31 years and 157 days.
To sit ahead of Sachin Tendulkar in any Test-match batting list is quite some achievement and 'The Little Master' was 31 years and 327 days when he stroked his 10,000th run.
Only 12 batsmen in Test history have reached that mark since Test number one was played over 139 years ago at Melbourne between Australia and England.
However, Cook has taken just 10 years and 88 days of Test playing time since his debut in Nagpur in 2006 to achieve it. Many will say that considerably more Test cricket is played now than previously and that record is somewhat false.
What sets Cook apart, though, is that he has actually played in 126 consecutive Tests for England - a record only surpassed by Allan Border, who played 153 for Australia from 1979 to 1994.
Cook has only missed one Test since making his debut and that was in his debut series against India, when a stomach bug caused him to miss the third Test.
Two records that he didn't break, however, were that he was ninth of the 12 in terms of innings batted (only Border, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh were slower) and eighth in terms of Tests played.
As the dust settled on Cook's major milestone, he also claimed another for good measure.
On reaching 34, he became the leading run-scorer as an England captain, going past Michael Atherton's 3,815 tally compiled in 54 Tests. Cook, playing in his 47th as skipper, has now pocketed that landmark, too. It wasn't all about Cook, though.
Anderson became the sixth bowler to reach 450 Test wickets and only the third fast bowler after Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh. He is still some 68 wickets shy of the West Indian great, who has 519 to his name.
But Anderson has certainly made this series his own with an incredible 18 wickets at an average of just 7.72 and an economy rate of 2.14.
Not since Steve Harmison in 2003/04 has an England quick taken 18 wickets across two Tests and his average of 7.72 in the last couple of games is the lowest by an England seamer since Alec Bedser way back in 1952/53.
His stats read 64.4 overs, 22 maidens, 18-139. What a performance - and coupled with three five-wicket hauls as well, that is quite something. Ryan Sidebottom was the last bowler to take three five-wicket hauls in a series for England - a three-match series against New Zealand away.
The last England seamer to take three five-wicket hauls in a three-match series in England was Sir Ian Botham, when he decimated the Kiwis in 1978.
Anderson is now slowly closing in on Sir Ian's record of the most five-wicket hauls in Tests for England. His second-innings effort was his 21st, with only the great SF Barnes (24) and Beefy (27) ahead of him.
And then there was Moeen Ali and his magnificent second Test century. Once again it was a record of Sir Ian's that was partnered, as Ali joined Jonny Bairstow in recording tons in the England No 7 berth.
Scores of 100 and 108 against Pakistan at Lord's and Edgbaston back in 1978 was the last time that an England No 7 had recorded centuries in consecutive innings for England.
It should not be forgotten that Rangana Herath, after 28.3 overs of toil in England's first innings, finally saw Finn slog a ball in the air, happily took the return catch and raised the ball in celebration of his 300th Test wicket.
The wily slow left-armer is the 30th bowler to reach the 300 mark but just the second of his type to do it after Daniel Vettori. He is the third Sri Lankan to reach the milestone following Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas but also the second oldest of all time.
West Indian spinner Lance Gibbs was over 41 years of age when he picked up his 300th Test scalp at Perth, when he removed the Australian Gary Gilmour during an innings victory in 1975.
Herath also helped himself to a classy half-century as well, becoming the third-oldest Sri Lankan to do so after Somachandra de Silva struck two in 1984 aged over 40, while Sanath Jayasuriya did so in 2006 at 38 years and 154 days.
But it was another defeat for his team, despite some resilience in the second innings. And what resilience it was, too - a huge difference of 374 runs between their first innings of 101 and their second of 475.
Only England's incredible effort of 583-4 declared at Edgbaston in 1957 against West Indies has seen a bigger differential between first and second innings in a Test in England.
In that game, captain Peter May (285 not out) and Colin Cowdrey (154) helped frustrate the West Indian bowlers for 258 overs - Sonny Ramadhin bowling 98 of them and Denis Atkinson 72 - as they battled for the draw after being removed for 186 first time round. That differential was 397, so only 23 more than Sri Lanka managed in this Test.
Their awful innings of 101 was the third innings in succession that they had been bowled out for less than 120. New Zealand were spun out by Jim Laker and Tony Lock in 1958 for just 47, 74 and 67, and that was the last time it had happened.
But at least Dinesh Chandimal propped up the second innings with a fine century, his sixth in Test cricket and his first outside of Asia. It was the first century by a visiting wicket-keeper to England since Denesh Ramdin's imfamous 'Yea Viv, Talk Nah' 100 at Edgbaston in 2012.
No such histrionics this time, though, but the visitors will be hoping that their second-innings effort gives them some kind of confidence when the series continues on June 9 at Lord's.
