Banton shows his worth as England cruise to series victory against Sri Lanka

Brook’s fireworks in Southampton rather obscured Baker’s superb bowling. He took three wickets there, but this was better still, because England were bowling first and he was shaping the game. Baker had two bruising white-ball international debuts last summer, then an introduction to Test cricket at the Oval in June that would have left him in no doubt of the difficulty of the longest format’s challenge. But Baker is a bundle of energy, and a voracious listener with natural pace: a good combination. Here, his greatest skills were the variations he used at the death.

The third of the trio, Banton, turns 28 this year, and made his England debut almost seven years ago. He never quite settled and lost form, before a recall under Brendon McCullum and Brook – a good friend from England U19 days – last year. He was asked to bat lower down than he is used to, and has done pretty well, whilst always fielding superbly.

A 24-ball half-century here made this one of his best nights in an England shirt, with some crisp striking towards the River Taff, and smart use of the deeper pockets on this unusually shaped ground. When Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell and Sam Curran return, there will be a squeeze on for places, but Banton showed his worth here.