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Sri Lanka cruise to eight-wicket win over England in second ODI Sri Lanka cruise to eight-wicket win over England in second ODI
(about 1 hour later)
England’s batting let them down as they descended to a 2-0 series deficit against Sri Lanka, and seventh defeat in their last eight one-day internationals. After a traumatic week for all concerned normal service was resumed at the R Premadasa Stadium. Sri Lanka cruised to an unremarkable and routine victory by eight wickets with 64 balls to spare. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, a mere 815 caps between them, calmly knocked off the runs after the odd early uncertainty.
Despite Ravi Bopara’s second successive half-century, England stuttered almost throughout against the home spinners on an awkward, used pitch at the Premadasa Stadium. Then even after two early breakthroughs, they could never get a foothold in this second fixture of seven – whose wider signficance came in its timing two days after the death of Phillip Hughes. Anyone who has watched any Sri Lankan cricket over the past 15 years will know exactly how they did it. The target of 186 was nowhere near enough for them to break sweat. Towards the end only boredom was a threat but this pair do not appear to get bored with guiding their country to victory.
A minute’s silence was held before play, and both teams took the field wearing black armbands in memory of the Australia Test batsman. England captain Alastair Cook explained on Friday it was mutually agreed here that the best way to pay respects to Hughes, who died of his injuries after being hit by a bouncer, was to play cricket. When England did that, they got off to a poor start – and never became competitive. It has rarely been so simple for the home side. After Alastair Cook had won the toss the England innings spluttered like an old charabanc on a cold November morning but it never came to life. Ravi Bopara hit a dutiful half-century to avoid utter humiliation and Joe Root offered hope until he played all around a straight ball from Angelo Mathews. Even for these two it was always a struggle.
In a match shortened by rain to 45 overs per side, Sri Lanka raced to victory with more than 10 of their share – and eight wickets – to spare as Mahela Jayawardene (77 not out) and Kumar Sangakkara (67 not out) put England in their place after two early breakthroughs. The teams were playing on the same pitch as on Wednesday but it now had different properties. The ball came off a tacky surface more slowly and it would sometimes grip for the spinners. Naturally Mathews understood this. He reserved his so-called opening bowler, Dhammika Prasad, until the 32nd over, a devious option and increasingly it was apparent that it was also the bleeding obvious one.
In the absence of a 50 stand for the tourists, only Bopara (51) and Joe Root’s hard-working contributions got England anywhere near 200 after Cook had made the obvious choice to bat first on a surface unlikely to become any easier. In the two middle-order batsmen’s 93 combined runs, they managed just a solitary boundary each out of England’s aggregate of eight – paltry in comparison to their hosts’ 22. In their 43 overs of a match reduced to 45 per side after morning rain, England managed just eight boundaries, two of which were struck unwittingly from the edge of the bat and Cook hit three of those. Moeen Ali could not rediscover the magic of Wednesday and was soon bowled off his pads by a skidding Tillakaratne Dilshan off-break.
Tillakaratne Dilshan set out to make the most of any pace on the new ball at the start of Sri Lanka’s reply – and with a mishook over the wicketkeeper’s head first ball, he then added two more fours in Steven Finn’s opening over. England hit back, Finn striking when Kusal Perera miscued a pull to midwicket, and then Dilshan getting underneath an attempted big hit at Moeen Ali and skying a catch to Chris Woakes at mid-off. But the old firm of Jayawardene and Sangakkara took over in an unbroken stand of 149, each easing past their 50s – although the left-hander was dropped on 39 when Chris Woakes ought to have held a return chance. This brought England’s venerable pair, Cook and Ian Bell, together though they did not seem minded to bat like wily old men on this cloying surface. It may be that they have been reading the papers. There have been constant calls for greater dynamism at the top of the order. Given their experience they must have recognised that this was a grafting sort of surface.
Moeen, who made a maiden hundred in defeat here on Wednesday, was England’s first batsman to go this time – followed by Ian Bell and then Cook in quick succession. Moeen charged at Dilshan, the off-spinner taking the new ball with captain Angelo Mathews, got in a tangle and was bowled off his pad in the second over. Bell, in his 150th ODI, also tried to go on the attack but merely hit Rangana Herath high to long-off. Then in the next over Cook mistimed a sweep, lofting off an upper edge when the intention appeared to be to hit down, and was caught at deep square-leg off Dilshan. The captain has therefore in this format made only one half-century in his last 18 innings. Even so they felt obliged to play high-risk shots against the spinners. In swift succession Bell was caught from a mishit drive against Rangana Herath, while Cook’s top-edge when sweeping against Dilshan was caught at deep backward square leg.
From 37 for three, Eoin Morgan and Root needed to rebuild – and doubled the score before the Irishman poked a simple catch to cover off Thisara Perera. Root and Bopara dug in for a scurrying stand of 42 which ended when the Yorkshireman missed a push to leg and was lbw to Mathews. When Jos Buttler edged on to leg-stump, in a belated first over from frontline seamer Dhammika Prasad, England were running out of resources to attack in the batting powerplay. From 37 for three it was always going to be a trial as Mathews happily juggled his four spinners. Eoin Morgan threatened something alongside Root until he pushed a drive into the hands of Lahiru Thirimanne at cover. Cook’s recent travails have tended to disguise Morgan’s lean trot. In his last 12 innings in ODI cricket he averages 17 – as it happens Cook averages 30 in that time.
They eked out 31 for one – an acceptable outcome in the circumstances – albeit with the sting in the tail of Woakes’ wicket, stumped off Ajantha Mendis (three for 33) with the penultimate ball of the 40th over. Bopara had just had a moment of fortune against the same bowler, his mis-pull on 44 dropped by Mathews – but there was precious little more to come, once he swept Mendis to the captain at midwicket, and soon afterwards England were all out with two overs unused. Another 30 runs might have made this match interesting – but without them, England had little chance and urgently need to arrest their slide here if they are to get back on track in this World Cup winter. This is not to suggest that Morgan, effectively the team’s vice-captain, should be ditched from any World Cup plans. He can be a match-winner and should be part of the squad. But he is not undroppable. Actually no one should be undroppable.
• Vic Marks’s report from Colombo to follow … England’s biggest partnership was the 42 added by Root and Bopara, a paltry number for any team hoping to win a game of cricket. And there was no late flurry at the end. So England’s bowlers were left with an almost impossible task.
Any crumbs of comfort for the tourists came from the fact that Steven Finn, returning to the side, bowled a little better than his figures suggest. He dismissed Kusal Perera courtesy of some extra bounce; Moeen induced a skier from the bat of Dilshan. Three men could have caught the ball but there was a moment when none seemed inclined until Chris Woakes took responsibility. Then the old firm gradually took control in an unbroken 149-run partnership with Sangakkara meticulous and Jayawardene occasionally magical.
Afterwards Cook acknowledged a poor performance: “We set our sights too high as a batting unit; 250 would have given us a good chance.” His mood was not lightened when informed of the latest call for him to resign from Kevin Pietersen on Twitter. “It’s a good job I’m not on social media,” he said.