England slam T20 World Cup venue pitch at RPICS

Player of the Match England’s Joe Root

• Probably the worst pitch I’ve ever played – England Captain Harry Brook
• I don’t think that’s a great wicket for ODI cricket – Joe Root

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Barely two weeks before the start of the ICC T20 World Cup, the pitch at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), which is one of the three venues hosting the World Cup matches, came for some harsh criticism from England Captain Harry Brook and star batsman Joe Root at the end of the second ODI played there on Saturday.

Although England managed to win the contest by five wickets to level the three-match series one-all, the slowness of the pitch and the lack of pace in it was a real struggle for the batsmen.

England did well to bowl Sri Lanka out for 219 in 49.3 overs, and had to depend on Root’s extraordinary skills as a world class batsman who has excelled on subcontinent pitches to get over the line. Root’s magnum opus knock of 75 off 90 balls saw England home comfortably with 22 balls to spare.

“It’s nice to get a win away from home. On a tough surface, but we’re happy to get the victory. Probably the worst pitch I’ve ever played on and you had to go out there and adapt as quickly as possible and just try and get off strike and get the other batter on strike,” said Brook at the post-match press conference.

Root, who took the Player of the Match award, said: “Nice to get the win on a very difficult surface. Just tried to take the ball as late as possible. I don’t think that’s a great wicket for ODI cricket if I’m being brutally honest, but we found a way today and we adapted and learnt from the mistakes we made in the first game with both bat and ball and got across the line.”

“We knew it was going to be a case of trying to maximise the powerplay and then a couple of big partnerships. If a couple of guys bat for a period of time there, then it’s going to be difficult for Sri Lanka to wrest momentum back in their favour. That’s how we tried to approach it. And thankfully, we got the job done. Just used experience, really. I’ve played a lot of cricket in the subcontinent, I’ve played a lot of cricket here in Sri Lanka. Have an understanding of the different nature of the bounce and how the ball can turn. Tried to work out the delivery from the hand as much as possible. As the ball gets softer and a bit older, then it makes it a little bit easier to play. When it’s newer, you’ve got to be really precise with your footwork.”

Brook praised his bowlers for bowling Sri Lanka out inside the 50 overs after they had won the toss for the second time in the series and opted to bat first. “I thought the bowlers did an amazing job there to bowl that side out. Obviously, they’re used to these conditions, so to bowl them out was awesome work from them guys.”

England went in with a bowling attack loaded with spinners and it worked out well for them. “It was just rotating the spinners really. We lost Creeps (Jack Crawley) for selection last night with his knee, so we brought Jacksy (Will Jacks) in to replace him back in the middle order and he did a really good job with the ball as well,” said Brook.

Commenting on Root’s innings, Brook said: “He’s an awesome player. His ability to get off strike and put the bad ball away when they slightly miss is awesome. He’s a phenomenal player to have in our side.”

Sri Lanka top order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva said that their batsmen could not finish the innings off and that’s why they fell about 25-30 runs short. “We didn’t get the amount of runs we required in the final overs. England executed their plans well to keep us down to this total.”

As regards the pitch, de Silva said: “The wicket was a bit slow when we batted but I think the ball came onto the bat a little quicker under lights.”

The third and final ODI will be played at the same venue tomorrow.