Conditions were tough for us in the second half – Brook

Dunith Wellalage with the Player of the Match award in the first ODI   

• The pitch became slower as the game went on - Wellalage
• Hasaranga available for selection but unlikely to play
• Rain forecast for today’s second ODI

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

England got a taste of the type of the pitches they are likely to encounter in the upcoming T20 World Cup when their batsmen were stumped playing spin on a slow R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium surface against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

“Tough conditions for us in the second half when we were batting. The pitch got a little bit more extreme,” said Harry Brook, England’s captain at the post-match press conference.

England were 129-1 in pursuit of 272 in the 27th over when things began to happen. They lost five wickets for 36 off 74 balls and by then the chase was as good as over despite a late cameo from Jamie Overton (34 off 17 balls) that took the game into the final over.

“The turn and the lack of bounce became more pronounced. It was proving very difficult to start as a batter out there,” said Brook.

It looked like plain sailing for England as long as Ben Duckett and Joe Root were at the crease as they stitched together a partnership of 117 which was the highest in the match.

“Obviously, Ducky and Rooty made it look fairly easy when they were set and going, but they both came off and said it was hard to start on there. Just getting used to the bounce and the turn was difficult, and sometimes there was a lack of spin when it just skidded through,” said Brook.

Dunith Wellalage who took the Player of the Match award also agreed that the pitch gradually changed midway through England’s innings.

“When the spinners came on to bowl, what Charith aiya kept saying was to make sure your lines and lengths are good. We wanted to get through the overs as cheaply as possible and build pressure on them that way. We did exactly that and were able to pull the game our way towards the end. The pitch was quite slow, and as the game went on it became slower. So we tried to vary our pace and bowl line and length,” said Wellalage, who, given his chance, showed his prowess as a useful all-rounder.

He scored a rapid 25* off 12 balls with 20 of those runs coming in the final over bowled by Overton and then on the field held onto two catches, one of which was an outstanding effort on the boundary line to send back Rehan Ahmed, and bowled 10 tight overs for 41 runs capturing two wickets.

“Credit in the batting should go to Kusal (Mendis) because of his knock we were able to come up with a good total. My plan was to support him. In the final over I tried to score as many runs as possible. The coach told us to get a target of around 260-270. We were able to achieve that,” said Wellalage.

Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay who replaced Wanindu Hasaranga in the first ODI is likely to retain his place for today’s game. With the left-arm spin of Wellalage, Vandersay bowled a tight length to take 2/39.

Meanwhile, Hasaranga has recovered from his mild hamstring and is available for selection. But it is most unlikely the selectors will take a chance with him in the present series as the main focus is for him to be fully fit for next month’s T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka is likely to go with an unchanged side unless there is interruption to weather. The forecast for today is for rain and in the event of that happening there could be a few changes depending on the number of overs available.

Sri Lanka has not won a bilateral ODI series against England since 2014 when they won 5-2 at home. They lead the present three-match series 1-0 after Thursday’s 19-run victory.