Trevor Bayliss tips Ben Foakes & Rory Burns to become England regulars

Foakes and Burns made their debuts in the opening Test at Galle, where the former scored a match-winning century and claimed the Man of the Match award

Ben Foakes and Rory Burns have broken through this winter (Getty)

Trevor Bayliss has tipped Surrey pair Ben Foakes and Rory Burns to become England mainstays after both made valuable contributions to a first Test series win in Sri Lanka for 17 years.

Foakes and Burns made their debuts in the opening Test at Galle, where the former scored a match-winning century and claimed the Man of the Match award to render himself undroppable, even with first-choice wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow returning to fitness for the second match.

Burns then impressed at Pallekele, scoring a gritty first-innings 43 when the ball was turning sharply to provide a platform for his team. The opener followed that up with a maiden international half-century in the second innings to push England to a target that Sri Lanka would eventually fall 57 runs short of to hand the tourists a series win.

Ben Foakes has been in fine form for England (Getty)

And after Bayliss had entered the series with selection headaches atop the order and with the gloves, the Australian suggested that he has solved a couple of big problems in Sri Lanka.

“There’s no secret in the fact we’ve been looking for two or three, maybe even four, positions to sort of get nailed down over the last few years,” he said.

“I think on this particular tour we’ve probably seen two or three of those positions getting nailed down.

“I think the job that Burns and Foakes have done in the two Tests they’ve been here – it’s looks like they’re playing their 30th or 40th Tests. Their calmness has been outstanding.

“To be only the second England team to win here in Sri Lanka is a feather in the cap.”