Slow and steady: Joe Root vanquishes mental demons to start 2021 as he means to go on

NICK HOWSON: The England captains admits to having over-thought his poor conversion rate after going to his 18th Test century against Sri Lanka in Galle

Sri Lanka v England: 1st Test scorecard

Day 2 Talking Points: Chingford pauses for Lawrence... and Arthur gets shorty

Joe Root delivers timely reminder of his enduring class

Defining, monumental, seismic. The narrative for Joe Root in 2021 was written barely two weeks into the New Year. Home and away series against India. A possible World Test Championship final. And a trip to Australia to reclaim the Ashes. Even in a year which begins in lockdown, there will be no hiding place for England's red-ball captain.

When the books are bound, Richard Osman does his hour-long sit down and Spotify produce their very own playlist at the end of his career, this will be the 12 months they all reflect on. Good, bad or indifferent there will be no getting away from what is about to transpire.

Root's return to somewhere approaching his most serene in Galle will either be considered the start of something wondrous or an outliner in an otherwise turbulent year. There is unlikely to be any in-between. Discourse won't allow it.

Such is the chasm between these two sides; England laying the foundations for greater challenges ahead while Sri Lanka perform like they know something we don't, there is more to be gained in the progress of individuals. The entire series already feels like a procession.

On any normal day, Dan Lawrence's remarkable start to life in the international cricket bubble would be the outstanding story of the day. But such is Root's importance to the cause and the discussion regarding his diminished standing in the game, his unbeaten 168 - the highest by any England player in Sri Lanka - feels like a key moment. It is hard to see all the team's major objectives being achieved without the captain making a major contribution, with the bat.

Central to those efforts will be bettering a conversion rate which has now been improved to 18 centuries and 49 fifties. It is among the worst of any player with 10 hundreds or more but ends a run of one three-figure score (albeit a double ton against New Zealand in Hamilton) in 30 innings.

^{Root played with restraint throughout his classy century}

"For the last year, two years I've over-thought it massively and made too big a deal of it in my own mind," admitted the 31-year-old "Because of that it has been to my detriment.

"I try to get in a one-on-one contest with each individual bowler and not try and think about anything other than ticking off one run at a time."

He added: "I did a lot of talking ahead of this year and before the game and do it myself. Felt like was a long time coming this and I've got to make sure we build on this.

"It has always been something that has been difficult to convert those fifties into big scores. Generally, when I get a hundred I make it count and I have a good record. I'll be trying to make that a really big one and drive the game forward from there.

It is worth remembering that this innings comes with the pressure, relatively, off his shoulders. Sri Lanka were pathetic in slumping to 135 all out and are offering almost no threat at all with the ball. Lasith Embuldeniya's 3-131 is where the positives end.

It won't always be like this in 2021, but Root has benefitted from England's strong start to the Test and their position of complete dominance. His record without the captaincy (52.80 average) indicates that when the pressure is off the runs flow much more readily.

^{Rain prevented England from adding to their first-innings lead, which already stands at 185}

"I got in a good mindset in this game so far and I'll try and take that forward into the rest of this winter tour and beyond," the Yorkshireman stated.

"The previous couple of hundreds I have got come at the end of the series. So, to get one at the start of a long winter is quite exciting and hopefully, I can take that forward into the rest of the games."

Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton were positively gleaming about Root's success against Sri Lanka's attack. Both identified him as one of England's best against spin-bowling, rivalling Graham Gooch and Graham Thorpe.

"I do think it is a big strength (of mine)," he said. "One thing that has worked well for me in the recent past in the longer format has been being selective in only playing a certain number of shots, not trying to play every shot in the book.

"On previous trips, I might have tried to play too many shots to the same ball and just being a bit more ruthless, stubborn and trusting my defence more at times has certainly paid off.

"It is very different facing a lot more spin over here. There are constantly things that I'll continue to keep getting better at and as good as possible."

All pictures courtesy of Sri Lanka Cricket