As Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum watched the second day at Lord’s from the pavilion balcony, there were times they could have been forgiven for reaching for the box of cigars and not just to get in there before the mooted ban on smoking in outdoor spaces.
Sri Lanka had a grizzly time of it, no question, shipping 427 with the ball and then rolled for 196 in 55.3 overs. At stumps England were batting again, the stand-in captain, Ollie Pope, eschewing the follow-on – and then a nightwatcher – as the hosts closed on 25 for one. But even factoring in the shortcomings of the tourists, the overhaul Stokes and McCullum have instigated this summer – that switch from living in the moment to building towards the future – had gained further vindication.
