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• 'Coldplay can't be number one every week' – Root confident in England's approach

  England have much to be positive about despite losing the final Test of their three-match series against Sri Lanka.

  That is the view of Joe Root, who was named England's Player of the Series.

  England were firmly second best as they lost by eight wickets at The Oval in the third Test, with Sri Lanka picking up just their fourth win in the longest format on English soil.

  Yet after winning the first two Tests, and their three matches against West Indies earlier in the summer, England have plenty to be happy with, so says Root, who used a musical comparison to emphasise his point.

  "Not so much this week, but it has been a good summer," Root told BBC Sport.

  "We have played some really good cricket along the way. We have had new faces come into the team and some really exciting prospects off the back of that. We are constantly learning and evolving as a group, and it is nice to contribute to that.

  "I don't think we played our best cricket this week and that is going to happen from time to time. Coldplay can't be number one every week.

  "My point being is we are always trying to move the game forward. We wanted to keep our catchers in and as batters want to find ways of putting the opposition under pressure.

  "We are not always going to get it right all of the time. For 90% of the summer we have. We have shown what a good team we can be when we play in that matter.

  "It is important we are authentic to what we are as a team and what brings out the best in our individual players."

  Root plundered 375 runs across six innings in the series, including two hundreds in the second Test.

  However, only scoring 25 in the third Test means he is 14 runs short of 1,000 for 2024.

  He will likely get the chance to surpass that milestone, and equal Alastair Cook as the only other English player to score 1,000+ runs in five calendar years, when England tour Pakistan in October.

  "You can laud it when it comes off," Root continued on England's approach. "When it doesn't always come off it might not look like traditional dismissals, but [Pathum] Nissanka was hitting over mid-on and mid-off last night.

  "When you are 127 not out you can look back and say what a brilliant innings it was. He was brave enough to take the challenge on and that is what we pride ourselves on as well - how can you knock bowlers off a length, how can you make it difficult for them to build pressure on you.

  "Some of our guys have a different method to how I would do it and that is what makes us such a good team when we are at our best, because we compliment each other really well and find a different way of getting teams to bowl away from where the danger is.

  "Over the last couple of years, that is what has made us have the success we have had."

  England's focus now switches to an ODI series against Australia, with bowler Gus Atkinson having been rested after sustaining an injury at The Oval.

• England paceman Wood sidelined until 2025 with elbow injury

  England bowler Mark Wood will miss the remainder of 2024 after sustaining an injury to his right elbow.

  Wood played a full part in the first Test versus Sri Lanka at Old Trafford last month, despite suffering from stiffness and discomfort while bowling during July's series against West Indies.

  Wood managed two wickets in that match as England sealed a five-wicket victory, but he was then replaced by Olly Stone for the second Test at Lord's, which ended in another comprehensive home win.

  The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has now confirmed Wood's injury will rule him out of red-ball tours of Pakistan in October and New Zealand in December.

  The ECB said it will closely monitor Wood's rehabilitation ahead of a potential return to action in early 2025, with England embarking on a white-ball tour of India – their first with Brendon McCullum in charge of their limited-over sides – in January.

  They then head to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.  

• Gibbs-White: England job 'suits Carsley perfectly'

  Morgan Gibbs-White believes Lee Carsley is a perfect fit for the England job and has backed the interim head coach to get the full-time position.

  Gibbs-White is one of four new players, along with Angel Gomes, Tino Livramento and Noni Madueke, to be called up in Carsley's first England squad for the start of their Nations League campaign.

  The Nottingham Forest captain was a key player for Carsley in the U21s, making 15 appearances under him, and was also part of the Under-21 European Championship win last year.

  England won all six of their matches at the tournament in Romania and Georgia, scoring 11 goals and overperforming their expected goals (xG) figures by 2.5.

  Their defensive solidity was just as important to their success though, as they did not concede a single goal from 79 shots faced.

  And Gibbs-White thinks that with his credentials, Carsley should be a real contender to become the permanent England manager.

  "I know how he works, he's a great manager tactically, man-management is great," Gibbs-White said.

  "I was buzzing when I found out that he got the job as he really deserved it, and I feel like it suits him perfectly.

  "Hopefully the games go well for him, and you never know what the future holds."

  Madueke, another of the players to make the move up from England U21, also has faith that Carsley will do well in the role.

  The Chelsea winger made 19 appearances under the 50-year-old, with only Taylor Harwood-Belis (21) being handed more caps than him.

  "He has great ideas, and he is also able to implement the way he wants to play, like in your mind, and make it easy for you," Madueke told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I feel as though all of the top managers have that.

  "Definitely I couldn't speak more highly of him. I feel as though he is a great manager. I feel as though he knows the pathway, he knows the system.

  "He knows the FA; he has been working at the FA for a long time. [He is] similar to Gareth [Southgate] in that sense, so I hope he can do extremely well.

  "I have got all the belief in him for sure."

  England begin their Nations League campaign against the Republic of Ireland in League B Group 2 before hosting Finland on Tuesday.