England no match for efficient Sri Lanka
The ease with which in the opening one-day international in Dambulla does not bode well for their chances in the rest of this series.
Even without the injured , Sri Lanka are an accomplished side, especially in their own country.
They have made few changes since and England’s inexperienced team will need to adapt quickly to avoid the sort of against the same side last year.
Sri Lanka were efficient, no more than that, in achieving their seventh win in a row against England. They did not need to be. England’s middle order succumbed tamely and after that it was merely a question of how many they would lose by.
After the in South Africa the return to one-day internationals seemed rather prosaic, especially on sluggish pitch which made big shot-making tricky. Even Sanath Jayasuriya was inhibited at the start.
Debutant Phil Mustard, encouraged to play in his usual aggressive style, succeeded for a while but his dismissal, a lofted toe-ender to mid-off, illustrated the difficulty of hitting over the top consistently.
Sri Lanka are so adept in their own country. Their batting was unspectacular but they ensured they had enough to defend by not being too greedy.
So what do England do from here? They could play the same line-up and hope they perform better next time. The bolder option is to play two spinners and leave out a batsman. If they do that, then one of Alastair Cook, Owais Shah or Ravi Bopara will have to be jettisoned.
Cook, despite making 46, was unconvincing. It took him 80 balls. He is a batsman capable of playing 100 Tests, but he is yet to come to terms with the one-day game. One solution is to open with Ian Bell and bat Bopara at three.
In Andrew Flintoff’s absence it is difficult for England to balance their line-up. They are will either be short of bowling or batting options. Here Monty Panesar was sacrificed. With England unwilling to play two spinners, Graeme Swann’s all-round game was preferred.
If Panesar is to progress, clearly he has to play and he must have been frustrated to see Swann’s first ball turn and bounce.
England’s three trips to the Dambulla jungle have produced scores of 143, 88 and 150. Only the monkeys and the mosquitoes will keep Sri Lanka awake at night before the next match on Thursday.
°ä´Ç³¾³¾±ð²Ô³Ù²õÌýÌýPost your comment
monty should, like cook be left to play test cricket. He is not up to required standard for odi,
swann is a very good cricketer and very good one day player, why should he be sacrificed just to get monty better at this type of cricket.
Swann is only 28 and should at peak age for the next world cup, very good batsmen and top fielder too.
I like and admire monty, but test is his forte, swann should be number one now and given a long run, england will reap the rewards.
Complain about this comment
Another ODI, another England collapse... seriously, they're like a house of cards!!!
And yet more evidence for the Pietersen doubters... can't fault the average i guess, but personally, I only seem to catch the ducks, loose shots and crazy run-outs... the man's got quality, just wish he'd show it more!
Complain about this comment
While this column had some excellent insights, I remain astounded by England's obsession with Flintoff. Yes, he had a good Ashes season back in 2005, and yes at one point in time he was a fantastic all-rounder.
However, the fact remains that today his batting is in shambles and his bowling causes him visible pain. It is high time that England seek a permanent replacement for Flintoff. If he comes back, then he can be played again, but to pin the hopes of the English team on this unfit player is foolhardy.
I also feel that Cook is not a good one-day batsmen. While he bats decently in tests, he has proven unable to adapt to the one-day game. Similar arguments can be said about Monty Panesar.
Ultimately, however, England should not be fixated about winning this series, which barring divine intervention will never happen. Instead, England should use the experience of this tour to reconstruct their somewhat broken squad so that they have a consistent bunch of players they can rely on without injuries causing their team to collapse.
A side note: I think Jayawardene is one of the best captains in international cricket right now. I am curious as to what others think...
Complain about this comment
To be honest, I need a break from cricket for a bit. It has reached saturation point. I might just ignore this series and start again in New Zealand! Maybe, for England's sake, Wisden would do the same??!
Complain about this comment
Hmm same poor display just a different place !!!
I've not seen any improvement in any department in all forms of the game fro a while. I see a slight shift to picking the right people for the format of game but come on selectors sort it out. I really dont see us winning a single 1day game any time soon until this is sorted.
We can all see Cook will be one of the best test players for a long time to come but he just does not score quick enough in the 1day format. Monty has a long test future too unless he learns to bat with some conviction and stay in for good a 20+ runs as a tailender then no to the one day team for him. I understand that they are both young and it will improve their respective games ..but at what cost to the rankings. Surely we have more decent all rounders playing in England to back up the batsmen when or if they ever get a start ...
Complain about this comment
England supposedly played well against India but having 13 players in the team helped a lot. i just hope we do not a see a repeat show of the India England series.
Seriously what are the odds of the best batsman in the world being given out IN AN UNFAIR FASHION 5 times out of 12 times at bat?
Close to one in a billion or something like that?
Complain about this comment
Without Cook's innings how embarrassing the scorecard would have been for England.He was batting under lights in tricky conditions,with wickets falling at the other end.Give him a break.The Sri Lankans scored faster,but they batted first in home conditions,and the bowling was not that good.England needs to settle on a team and let them learn together.Most of them are novices at international cricket.On a pitch like that,singles and twos was the way to go,with an occasional boundary off a bad ball.Don't let the pressure build,keep the scorecard ticking over.If you lose,lose well,make a game of it.My advice to England players-Don't read the articles written about your team.
Complain about this comment
Collingwood says he has got a talented side, but has he? They keep losing. 5.0 looks a good bet for Sri Lanka again. More young talent is wanted in this England team and throw out the old 'ems.
Complain about this comment
Its simple - Bell, Pieterson, Colly and Shah scored about 20 between them. They are the engine room and normally do well. So no need to panic. Nor is it sensible to drop a batter. All of the bowlers did pretty well. In these conditions Colly should continue to be a pretty effective 5th bowler. What's more the incomers Mustard and Swann did pretty well. Cook was slow but this would not have mattered is even part of the engine room had fired.
Complain about this comment
First of all, Graeme Swann did okay - just okay. I don't think scoring 20 runs and taking 1 wicket at an economy rate of 5 an over, warrant him being the 'number 1' spinner over Monty. Monty has had a bit of a tough time in ODIs but look at his figures - he always takes at least 1 wicket and doesn't go for much more than 5 an over. If England want to win, they need to stop going for these bits and pieces cricketers (Graeme Swann, Ravi Bopara & in the recent past, Dalrymple, Mascharenhas) and go for specialist batsmen and specialist bowlers.
I noticed that Sri Lanka seem to have 7 out and out batsmen and 4 out and out bowlers - seems to work okay for them.
Complain about this comment
T Dasandi
Dalrymple was an aberration of a selection - just look at his county record before and after his brief England career.
You cannot possibly compare him to the highly talented Bopara, and Mascarenhas was a key performer in the home series win over India in the summer.
Swann should certainly have played regularly for England in ODIs during the Duncan Fletcher years. But, like Owais Shah, he was on the coach's unofficial black list
Complain about this comment
Panesar must play. He has very limited experience at one day matches - only 9 for his county- so it really is stupid to say he is unsuitable for this form of cricket. It is clear he is England's best spinner for decades and given time he will develop his style to suit one day cricket. He should be one of the first named even on the ODI teamsheet as he has real quality, something lacking from most of the team. Swann is a decent enough cricketer but is certainly not in the same league even now as Panesar. Swann is of course a better batsman but he won't add much to England's batting strength and would be best kept for when they need a "bits and pieces" player to back up England's premier spinner. He might be useful in some ODI matches but if he is left out it won't be a case of sacrificing him to get Monty better at this type of cricket but rather developing Monty's test match winning ability into ODI winning ability. Decent county level cricketers like Swann are not going to make England world class.
Collingwood and Moores really don't look up to the task of leading the team forward.
Complain about this comment
Same old England, we always seam to have the wrong approach to the game.
Our batsmen try to blast the ball to all corners like the Aussies regardless of the conditions. Some times you can do that, but sometimes you need to bat with brains not brawn.
Why do we pick our spinners they're ability with the bat? We've done this for years and no one has ever given me a good reason why we do this.
Complain about this comment
After all the fuss about interference to cricket due to weather during the last domestic competition, can anybody tell me how much time each county lost to the weather during the CCC1 season?
Complain about this comment
I agree with poster #10. AFter a game everyone, even the journalists love to bandy about theories and and all sorts about the state of engish cricket bla bla just from one match. As #10 guy says, the reason england lost was simple. collingwood pietersen bell and shah - a middle order that ANY country would be happy to have (in my opinion anyway) scored just 20 runs between them.
you are not going to chase 269 if you lose batters 3 to 6 for 20 runs.
simple as!!!!
Complain about this comment
With Mike Gattings appointment, it appears to me to be the same old faces same old worn out ideas.
Appointed because we lost the Ashes ?
Who will be the next appointment when we lose them next time then ?
Complain about this comment
Hear hear to numbers 10 and 15!
Also, I agree to some extent with the notion of Flintoff being permanently replaced. We keep rushing him back, in my opinion. Let him be for now, he has enough to worry about with his ankle, without having the nations hopes resting on his shoulders (even when he's NOT playing). He'll be back. But I hope it isn't until he's had a rest and restoration period.
Complain about this comment
We only lost one match, i have little confidence in the team but i think some of the comments are pretty negative considering our improved form versus India.
Complain about this comment
It's a recurring nightmare.
Panesar dropped, England loose.
I cannot believe the conservatism of Collingwood and Moores. They're a couple of old women fussing about balance and the tail etc.
Just pick the best spinner!
He will start to take more wickets given the chance and even when he only gets the odd one he adds enthusiasm and passion to the team, something clearly missing yesterday.
Complain about this comment
Ally cook is a fantastic test batsmen and may yet prove to be good 1 day player but he scores his runs far too slowly. Can we really afford to give him as long as he needs to get to grips with 50 over cricket???
Bell, Mustard and Bopara followed by KP would be a decent top 4. Colly at 5 Shah 6 and Swann 7. If that lot cant regularly provide 200 - 250 runs plus whatever the tail can manage (including perhaps Monty in these conditions) then we dont deserve to win games.
There is still a place for Freddie fitness permitting as we desperately need his bowling.
Complain about this comment
Posters 10 and 15 talk sense here. Its typical knee jerk reporting and over analysis looking for why English cricket is so poor at ODI's on the back of one game. This game was lost by the lack of runs in the middle order, but fair play to SL who I feel scored a few more than par for that wicket, they did it by very good running and placement, keeping a few wickets in hand etc. Now that could be a result of a mature stratergy that works well in most circumstances, I do feel we lag behind here, and we rely a bit to much on that brilliant knock from one guy to set an innings up. Fletcher rightly pointed out we did not score enough tons, but we must also have contributions through out, this is where experience really counts.
To defend the press and those having a pop st English ODI form we have only had the one success recently at home V India, a team who did not do well at the last world cup, playing away from home where they often struggle, so we can hardly say England had turned the corner and were now a good ODI team, theye may be some evidence of improvement but consider where we were a year back and its hard to belive we could get worse!
One poster said we should look for a long term replacement for Freddie, I would be amazed if the reason we hadnt found one was because ECB were not looking! I can see the county coach now "Oh blast, we have a guy who bowls accurately at 92mph, can score centuries, smash the biggest sixes, and takes slip catches for fun, but we forgot to tell you! Sorry!!"
Complain about this comment
Not impressed with the blog by Simon Mann which seems a bit short on facts. It isn't the same team that played in the ODI World Cup - quite a number of changes actually. And it isn't the team that last played in the ODI Sri Lanka Series in England, nor the one that played in the 20-20 World Cup. Sri Lanka is a notoriously difficult home side to beat. Day-night matches don't help if you lose the toss. Then there is the humidity of the climate and one of the most experienced teams in ODI cricket as opponents. Give the young guys a break. The middle order failed in the first game which happens in cricket all the time in any match. One of the reasons we love the game is the mysterious nature of the collapse. Bell, Pietersen and Collingwood are seasoned players and will fight back. The others are mostly newcomers and are still learning. Despite the result I thought there was a team spirit which was missing in the 20-20 World Cup. I expect this team to do well. I hope they don't read the papers or the comments of some fans though. The hardest thing being an England cricketer is the general response of the media to rubbish their triumphs and crow over their failures. Our media pundits are iconoclasts.
Complain about this comment
I am so pleased that we did not hear yet again about the "positives" that we are carrying forward.
What a stupid remark. The only "positive" is to win, otherwise its all "negatives" that we do regrettably carry forward.
I really do feel that the English cricketers are exhausted. Straight from a Test and one day series with the Indians to South Africa for a 20/20 World cup and now to Sri Lanka for a one day and Test series. Surely they deserve some rest!, but whilst TV and the ECB demand more and more, matters will continue to go downhill.
Perhaps we should not blame them after all.
Norman West
Complain about this comment
The main problem was the England lost the toss. Out of 13 matches in which Sri Lanka put the opposition to bat second, they last just one match. It is very difficult to chase under light with Lankan spinners bowling at 10MPH.
Instead of practising batting and bowling in the nets, Colly should practice more by asking some one else toss the coin in the air and call it *right*.
Complain about this comment
i still think cook should be left to play test cricket andput bopara in to open
Complain about this comment
You are so wrong about Cook. England are screaming out for players who are patient ( and lets not forget he contributed almost a 1/3 of the total score), you have can have as many flare players as you like, but if you all aspire to is a quick 20-something then fill the ranks with Darren Goughs , they will never disappoint with Flare and braveness, but I suspect you will lose lots of games. Pick you best players, batsman that hit a bad ball and leave the rest, and bowlers that bowl line and length all the time. It works, unless you think Australia, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan have got it wrong!!!!! By the way what is Mr Shah playing at, has he some sort of spread bet on the amount of team mates he can run out.
Complain about this comment
re post 19-
Do people not realise the difference between formats?
Test cricket is quite obviously totally different to one day cricket, We are talking about odi at the moment and how utterly abject we have been for far too long.
Monty is a quality test bowler, but does not have the qualities( at present anyway) needed for one day cricket.
Have a look at his international record-25 matches and distinctly poor record.
He needs to have a good season or two playing domestic one day cricket, then maybe he will be ready for odi's.
Swann is a far better one day bowler than monty, and thats just focusing on bowling.
The fact he is decent batsmen and top fielder are good bonuses.
All this ' play the best spinner' comments are ignorant of montys one day bowling performances and skills, swanny is a better one day spinner.
Complain about this comment
oliver brett at bbc sport
i watched dalrymple score a magnificent double hundred against a very strong attack including heath streak. i believe he is an exceptionally gifted batsman, brilliant fielder and a classy bowler when the pitch offers him a bit of assistance. and i think you are wrong to have written him off - in fact, i believe they should give him a go as a pinch hitter at the start of the innings.
Complain about this comment
re post 19-
Do people not realise the difference between formats?
Test cricket is quite obviously totally different to one day cricket, We are talking about odi at the moment and how utterly abject we have been for far too long.
Monty is a quality test bowler, but does not have the qualities( at present anyway) needed for one day cricket.
Have a look at his international record-25 matches and distinctly poor record.
He needs to have a good season or two playing domestic one day cricket, then maybe he will be ready for odi's.
Swann is a far better one day bowler than monty, and thats just focusing on bowling.
The fact he is decent batsmen and top fielder are good bonuses.
All this ' play the best spinner' comments are ignorant of montys one day bowling performances and skills, swanny is a better one day spinner.
Complain about this comment
i know its still early days for Peter Moores, but for a few years now there have always been questions over the management's selection and policies concerning the different forms of the game. Those people saying that Alastair Cook is not a limited-overs guy are 100% correct, and even a rookie like me can see that his natural game isn't suited to odi's and perhaps never will be.
in fact, i hope it never will be. Cook is an exceptional test cricketer and has been an absolute revelation since his debut. he was making mammoth scores at the top of the order, then we introduced him to international odi's and his test performances have fallen slightly. it would be horrendous yet typical of the england management to expect him to 'adapt' to one-dayers more, when he could become one of the greatest openers of all time in tests if he stuck to them and devoted himself to mastering the art.
the other factor about the loss is the middle-order collapse; of course i expected us to lose batting second but note how the enemy achieved victory - unspectacular, solid batting and unspectacular, consistent bowling. i've felt for a while now that england's batsmen, despite being of exceptional quality, do not always exude an air of 'solidity'. for example Sangakkara, Chanderpaul, Yousuf, Pietersen and Vaughan are all top test players, but when watching the latter 2 you still always feel that they could edge the next ball, whereas if you find sangakkara or yousuf's edge with pace bowling then you'd better hold the chance. especially true of pietersen, who is a truly frustrating enigma.
and then there's the bowling - anderson has always been erratic bowling long spells, but broad concerns me the most. if you're not going to do much with the ball then you need to bowl like maharoof did: nothing amazing, just annoyingly consistent. I hope Ottis Gibson gets Broad some practice in the nets and works out a routine for him, because for a line and length bowler broad's action was all over the place yesterday.
Complain about this comment
I can't believe cook is getting such stick. out of all the players he was the one doing what was needed. His score rate was a little slow, but he is a slow scorer and it was a very low scoring pitch. If others had dug in in a similar fashion it would have been much more competitive. However we decide to lambast him for trying to get the job done and doing a better job than any of the others.
Jayawardene takes his time, and helps his batting partner settle in and produce good scores himself. Off course, hoping anyone in the england team will be able to produce a preformance of jaya's standards is dreaming as he is one of the classiest most mentaly tough batsmen in the world who has a tremendous influence over his players. but still at least cook gave it a sensible go rather than just disregarding the pitch and going for single figures.
Complain about this comment
Simon.
A very good effort at arguing the same point from oppposing sides!
You say that for Monty to progress then he must play, but deny Cook the same privilege. How is he to "come to terms with the one-day game" with a drinks holder in his hand?
As a batsman Cook averages over 30 in 12 ODIs with a strike rate of 73 and a hundred under his belt - not a bad start for a rookie.
A few months back, Ian Bell was a slow-scoring batsman who should be confined to Test cricket; now he is our best ODI batsman bar none.
He's never going to be a batsman who scores 100 off 70 balls, but he is a wonderful player to build an innings around.
His role should be to bat through 50 overs playing his natural game while the likes of Prior/Mustard, Wright, Bell, Pietersen, Flintoff, Shah etc. do the same.
Complain about this comment
Simon.
A very good effort at arguing the same point from oppposing sides!
You say that for Monty to progress then he must play, but deny Cook the same privilege. How is he to "come to terms with the one-day game" with a drinks holder in his hand?
As a batsman Cook averages over 30 in 12 ODIs with a strike rate of 73 and a hundred under his belt - not a bad start for a rookie.
A few months back, Ian Bell was a slow-scoring batsman who should be confined to Test cricket; now he is our best ODI batsman bar none.
He's never going to be a batsman who scores 100 off 70 balls, but he is a wonderful player to build an innings around.
His role should be to bat through 50 overs playing his natural game while the likes of Prior/Mustard, Wright, Bell, Pietersen, Flintoff, Shah etc. do the same.
Complain about this comment
big head pietersen again when will he learn he cant domnaite every one just get yourself and play sensbily then acclerate later on in their innings and i dont think many will get you out unless its a jaffer
swann has only played 1 game rember on a turning pitch so watch what ya say about in test team and tht cmon
Complain about this comment
Whatever else England do tjhey need to sort out the middle order. I actually think Cook needs to play in the top order, but his opening partner should be KP. Bell, Shah and Collingwood should make a good middle order, and with Swann and Mustard and maybe Bopara as a lower middle order with Broad, Anderson and Panesar with possibly another quick bowler instead or Swann depending on conditions. Then you have to trust players to do there job.
I tyhink England need to take KP out of his comfort zone and tell him to play for the team, not his own ego, stick him in first and tell him to go for it. It puts more pressure on Cook not to get out, but if KP fires England can build from a good base.
In truth, without Freddie fit and raring to go, both England's lower middle order and bowling look a little anaemic, but you have to deal ewith the situation you face not the situation you would like.
Complain about this comment
As several people have commented, the reason we lost was the paltry number of runs contributed by no's 3,4,5 & 6. No team in world cricket is going to recover from that against a team like Sri Lanka playing at home in favourable conditions. The SL's were not given enough credit for the way they picked up runs through 1's & 2's, they may not look as good but they still add to the score.
In general, it is going to take English cricket years to catch up in ODI's as we don't play enough of them. Jayasuriya (399) & Vaas (301) have played more games than the enitre England squad so of course we are going to get beaten repeatedly by them. What we saw against India was the exception rather than the rule and we should not even fantasise about that situation changing.
As someone else also mentioned, please can we stop going on about Andrew Flintoff? His bowling when fit is very good, yes. His batting is easy to work out, as most teams seem to have done. If he comes back, then bat him at 7 in both forms of the game.
Complain about this comment
Well Once again Sri Lanka proved that they are a much better side than England. The sports reportes England make a big show when ever England win a odd one day match here and there but what they don't write is England do not know to play the sorter wersen of the game. Common England go back to school of cricket. One individual performance is not enough to be a good one day side. When Monti came in to the seen what did the big guns of England including Ian Botham say Monti is the best spinner in he world common on England he have to atleast another year or two even to make that comparisson. Today If Murari was a englishman he would have been the best ever spinner crickting world will see. England reporters should learn to give credit where it is due this appies to the current sky sports comentators too.
Well done Sri lanka keep doing well
Complain about this comment
What is it with Englands obsession with opening with the wicket keeper/batsman? Mustard flailed at the ball in a rather Prior-esq way and then scooped one, agian reminisent of Prior. Surely that kind of batting is more suited a bit further down the order for a bit of a cameo after the likes of Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood and Shah have laid the foundations. Everyone would love to see a Hayden or a Gilchrist at the top of the order, but if we dont have the players, dont play that game!
Complain about this comment
if australia destroyed india, sri lanka demolished/wiped out england
Complain about this comment
Agree re Cook: another Michael Vaughan in the making odi-wise. Team packing the top 3 with power players and batting Shah at 5 plus Panesar should be but won't be selected tomorrow. Bopara.Mustard.Pietersen.Bell.Shah.Collingwood.Swann.Broad.Anderson.Sidebottom.Panesar. Tomorrow souds like no changes. Let's see how long it takes to make these changes.
Complain about this comment
Agree re Cook: another Michael Vaughan in the making odi-wise. Team packing the top 3 with power players and batting Shah at 5 plus Panesar should be but won't be selected tomorrow. Bopara.Mustard.Pietersen.Bell.Shah.Collingwood.Swann.Broad.Anderson.Sidebottom.Panesar. Tomorrow souds like no changes. Let's see how long it takes to make these changes.
Complain about this comment
I do agree with you on most points ie with Cook. However Bopara at three- that would a huge step up from him especially when playing in Sri Lanka.
You can't doubt Sri Lankas performance. Their batting was average, but their bowling was good(remembering there's no Murali). So overall it was a good performance by SL.
Complain about this comment
I couldn't agree more about Panesar - he is world class and I don not belive any other international side would so consistently ignore his natural ability on the one hand and the need to invest in developing him in all forms of the game.
Complain about this comment
What can one say of the England selectors who keep batsman like Ian Bell away from Twenty20 action in South Africa. Now that Flintoff is back home nursing injuries. There is no point harping on his name. Make do with what ever is available. England has one of the best left arm spinners in Monty Panesar. Simple thing is that to play him who is simply better than any other spinner in the touring party.Let some common sense prevail in selection matters,which will go a long way in achieving what is desired.
bajarkar
Complain about this comment
Simon - I expect you'll be eating your words now!
Complain about this comment
Suggest that all school children in our country read these type of articles written by British reporters and learn good English. In this part of the world, where I live (NY-USA) it is very rare that you see or get opportunities to read this kind of language but all garbage.
Thank you SIMON
Complain about this comment
How wrong can you be?
Complain about this comment