'Plans change, dont they?' – Foakes revels in unexpected debut

Following the announcement of Jonny Bairstow's ankle injury, things quickly changed for Foakes, and after flying out to Sri Lanka to join up with the squad, he then learned on the eve of the Test that he would be included in the starting XI.

Bairstow's injury naturally provoked the assumption amongst many that Jos Buttler would oversee wicket-keeping duties for this Test, and even Foakes expressed his initial surprise upon learning he would be making his Test debut.

"I only found out yesterday during training when Rooty (Joe Root) came to tell me. I was quite shocked to be fair," he said after the day's play.

"It was a whirlwind. I didn’t think I’d be playing. I was a little surprised but it was a proud moment. I had a lot of emotions this morning but to get out there and get off the mark settled me down a bit.

"I’d heard about Jonny’s ankle but I still wasn’t sure if I’d be coming out. I’d just got back from a lads’ trip to Lisbon when Ed Smith (national selector) gave me a ring… good preparation!

"I was going to have six months off, originally. I’ve had quite a few England Lions trips so it was just to kind of clear my head, get way from cricket for a little while and come back fresh. Plans change, don’t they?"

An excellent, unbeaten 87 from Foakes helped England recover from 103/5 to 306/8 at the close of play. Sri Lanka opted to field a solitary seam bowler alongside four spin options, and Dilruwan Perera was the pick of the bunch with four scalps on the opening day.

Foakes has knowledge of Perera and Akila Dananjaya from a placement he once had playing alongside them at Colombo-based Colts CC, and this experience, combined with a few Lions tours in Sri Lanka, he believes has greatly benefited his game on the subcontinent.

"Obviously coming out here a few times, you get good experience," he said. "At Colts I got to learn a little bit about Perera and Dananjaya, which was fantastic, it definitely helped. The thing you can’t really prepare for here is the heat, unless you’ve done it."

Foakes also described how he negated the damp, spinning pitch by "nudging and nurdling". "It looked quite tough this morning, it had been a lot wetter (in the build-up) so it spun a lot," he observed.

"I think given the state of the game, I had to kind of nudge and nurdle, which is my game, then it got a little bit drier so it got easier to score your runs. Throughout the day it got easier for us.

"I personally try to be pretty simple, I haven’t got the array of shots of the other guys, I have to try to be quick on my feet, go back and forth, and just try and play a simple game."