Sports

What’s England doing right in Sri Lanka

Published

5 years ago

2021/01/17

Rex Clementine in Galle Fort

There was a time when England barely lasted three days in Galle. The extreme heat, tracks that turned square and skilful spinners brought misery upon successive England teams. But they have found a way to turn the tide. What is England doing right to succeed in Sri Lankan conditions? In the last ten years, England have visited the island on three occasions and have never lost a series.

The easy answer is to say that the Sri Lankan team has lost some big names and the team is in transition. That’s not the truth. When England squared the two match series in 2012, the big three – Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and T.M. Dilshan – were very much part of the side. So, they must be doing something right to do well here.

To start with England and Wales Cricket Board initiated a programme whereby their young First Class players performed in our domestic cricket. Some of the names that come to mind are Ben Foakes (Colts CC) and Moeen Ali (Badureliya CC). There were many others. The experience these players gain by playing on our surfaces against some good spinners is invaluable.

Foakes for example made his Test debut in the last series in Sri Lanka and he looked pretty comfortable. He went onto top batting charts scoring 277 runs. His wicket keeping was flawless too and he was named Player of the Series.

How many of our players have gone onto represent county cricket in the last ten years?

The other important thing is that England’s development squads are constantly touring sub-continent. This prepares them well when they engage in Test match cricket. Sri Lanka rarely sends their ‘A’ team on overseas assignments these days. We had a former board president who went on record saying that ‘A’ team cricket was a futile exercise as they didn’t bring any money!

The other thing that England have done well is to plan properly. Last year when they were here, they spent more than two weeks before the first Test match and they were involved in two warm-up games. The tour was aborted after the outbreak of the pandemic. This time too, they spent nearly two weeks in Sri Lanka before the opening Test match although they didn’t have the luxury of warm-up games against local sides due to health restrictions.

Sri Lanka’s planning has been extremely poor. The gap between the LPL final and the first Test in South Africa was ten days. That sums up the story. In both Tests against South Africa and the first game against England, our batsmen have been in T-20 mode and we have had little momentum. When will we learn?

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Ben Stokes four-for, Ben Duckett hundred as England roar back

Published

4 hours ago

2026/06/27

Priyan

Ben Duckett raced through to an 88-ball hundred [Cricinfo]

As well as things had gone for New Zealand on day one at Trent Bridge, they went badly on day two. England, led by a four-wicket haul from Ben Stokes, completed their turnaround with the ball to cap the visitors at 438 – having been 317 for 0 – and Ben Duckett then rattled off his first international hundred in more than a year to launch the reply.

Duckett was given a life on 8, dropped in the slips by Henry Nicholls, but went on to form a second-wicket partnership worth 179 at exactly a run a ball with Jacob Bethell, who was eyeing a hundred of his own by the close of another scorching day in Nottingham.

New Zealand’s problems were compounded by a concussion suffered by Blair Tickner, who was struck on the side of the helmet by Jofra Archer while batting and, despite initially being cleared to continue and delivering a three-over spell before tea, did not emerge for the evening session. He was eventually replaced by Zak Foulkes.

With Tickner, Mitchell Santner and Ben Sears – the three changes from New Zealand’s victorious XI at The Oval – all leaking runs at upwards of five an over, things began to unravel for the tourists. When Duckett brought up an 88-ball hundred midway through the evening session, the game had almost completely flipped in trajectory from 24 hours earlier, when Tom Latham and Devon Conway were amassing 150s during their triple-century opening stand.

Having taken two wickets with the last two balls on day one, England continued their fightback on the second morning. Stokes claimed three in the session during an eight-over spell, as New Zealand’s middle order struggled to build on the foundation laid for them, before two in an over from Shoaib Bashir helped wrap the innings up.

It meant New Zealand had suffered a collapse of 10 for 121 and their total of 438, while respectable, was nevertheless the third-lowest in Test history for any innings featuring a 300-run partnership – behind England’s 407 against India at Edgbaston last summer, and the 431 made by West Indies at Sabina Park in 1999 – and the lowest when those runs had been scored by the openers.

England’s momentum was briefly checked when Will O’Rourke had Emilio Gay caught down the leg side for a five-ball duck in the second over. They should have been 8 for 2 when Nathan Smith found Duckett’s outside edge, only for Nicholls to make a hash of the catch at third slip.

Duckett, who had twice drilled Smith for fours in his opening over, was in the mood to make New Zealand pay for such generosity. His next ball also disappeared through the covers, and he used the knowledge of his home ground to good effect, cutting, pulling and clipping his way to ten boundaries in a 40-ball fifty.

With Bethell recovering from a scratchy start against O’Rourke and the probing Smith, England went on to make New Zealand sweat in the field in much the same way they had through two-and-a-half sessions on day one.

Runs flowed in the passage after tea. Santner wasn’t allowed to settle, picked off for five boundaries in his first four overs by Duckett – although one of those, a thick outside edge, might have been held by Daryl Mitchell at slip had he not been stood so wide. From the other end, Sears was pulled and driven by Bethell, leaking 23 runs from three overs as England raced into three figures.

Latham was forced to go back to O’Rourke and, while Santner began to find some rhythm in his first Test appearance in ten months, Bethell worked him leg side for a single to bring up his first half-century in a home Test – and first such score in the first innings, having made all of his previous four in the second dig.

Duckett was by now in the 90s and quickly homed in on the milestone, his seventh hundred in Tests and first since the India series last year – ending a barren run of 22 innings in which he had only passed 50 three times. It was also his fourth 50-plus score in four innings at his home ground and although he was bowled shortly after, dragging on against Smith, Joe Root joined Bethell to steer England to the close two down.

New Zealand had added 77 to their overnight 361 for 4, Blundell’s 30 the only score of note as they fell well short of 500 – a total that looked all but inevitable when Latham and Conway were cashing in after opting to bat in baking conditions. Their frustration at being pegged back perhaps added to a sense of grievance around the dismissals of Mitchell and Santner, with both given out by the third umpire, Adrian Holdstock, after reviews.

The mercury was still rising on the second morning, with temperatures in the mid-30s C again forecast. New Zealand made a largely circumspect start in the knowledge that another long day in the field for England would only strengthen their hand in this deciding Test – only for Stokes to once again wrest the game his way during a tenacious spell with the ball.

O’Rourke, the nightwatcher, provided the main impetus for New Zealand inside the first hour as he advanced to his highest score in first-class cricket – beating the 17 not out he had made for Canterbury against Otago in March 2023. He managed boundaries off Archer, Josh Tongue and Stokes, comfortably eclipsing his previous Test best of 5 not out – and England then fluffed their first chance of a breakthrough as Jamie Smith dived across first slip in pursuit of a thick outside edge, but only managed to fingertip the ball out of Root’s grasp.

Stokes, already a shade of beetroot, threw his arms up in anger but bent himself to the task and extracted Mitchell an over later. Umpire Nitin Menon did not initially grant the appeal as Stokes nipped one past the bat, but UltraEdge detected a feather of an outside edge; Mitchell, however, seemed to think the sound was his bat hitting his front pad as he pushed forward.

O’Rourke was dismissed after the drinks break without having added to his score, and Stokes then chipped out his third of the session, and 250th in Tests, when Santner ducked into a bouncer and ballooned a catch to Bethell in the gully. Santner reviewed, gesturing that the ball had struck him on the arm guard. But Holdstock, in the TV umpire seat, took barely 30 seconds to examine one front-on replay before concluding that there was also contact with the strap of his glove, and upholding the on-field call.

After lunch, Bashir bounced back from dropping Blundell at deep backward square leg – a tough chance off Archer, but one he should have held having made up the ground. Archer’s chagrin appeared to extend to not joining the huddle to celebrate Bashir’s breakthrough a few balls later, when Smith drilled a return catch back – at least until Stokes made a point of calling the fast bowler up from fine leg.

Bashir made it two in four balls when Blundell missed a reverse-hoick at a delivery from round the wicket, which ball-tracking showed had pitched in line on review. With Nos. 10 and 11 at the crease, Archer had Tickner ducking and diving before delivering a full, straight one to pin Sears in front of leg stump first ball.

Scores:
England 223 for 2 in 45 overs (Ben Duckett 113, Jacob Bethell 74*) trail New Zealand 438 in 114.5 overs (Tom Latham 151, Devon Conway 157; Ben Stokes 4-70) by 215 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Jangoo, Chase’s defiant stand takes West Indies close to parity

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/27

Priyan

Roston Chase and Amir Jangoo put on an unbeaten century stand [Cricinfo]

Amir Jangoo may not have even featured in the opening Test for West Indies had Shai Hope not suffered an injury during training. But with a chance handed out, he made full use of it to rescue the hosts from a precarious position to leave them only 37 behind Sri Lanka’s first-innings 308.

Jangoo, playing his second Test, walked in at 97 for 2 in the afternoon, and showed off an obdurate batting style, taking 174 balls for his unbeaten 78. His maiden Test half-century took West Indies to 271 for 5 at stumps.

At the other end, a man with something else to prove batted on from No. 7 – Roston Chase, the West Indies captain who has averaged 15.50 in the 15 innings he has batted since July 2025. Watchful in dead-batting and playing the long game, he joined Jangoo in the middle at 168 for 5, took 105 balls to score 42, and contributed to an unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership of 103 to leave the hosts the happier side after day two.

Their stand was crucial because it came after a middle-session where West Indies lost 4 for 79, losing the gains they had achieved in the morning session, with the openers helping them reach 89 for 1 at lunch.

John Campbell (39) and Brandon King (31) saw off the new ball and enjoyed a half-century stand in the morning. The runs came West Indies’ way right from the start of the day when Lahiru Kumara sprayed the ball wide in his only over of the session, conceding two four-byes, before leaving the field for the rest of the day with a hamstring niggle. Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha operated close to the corridor of uncertainty but the openers saw them out successfully against the new ball.

Boundaries from Campbell and King came the classical way – on-drives past the non-striker or crisp shots square on either side – but the occasional mistimed slash also found the fence. The Sri Lanka seamers occasionally got sideways movement off the pitch and in the air, and regularly beat the batters’ edge.

The opening stand ended in the 14th over, shortly after the day’s first drinks break. King miscued a drive off Milan Rathnayaka to short cover.

But in the second session, Sri Lanka’s bowlers were right on top with their consistency, and chipped away at West Indies’ batting line-up. Campbell was out right after lunch when left-arm spinner Sonal Dinusha tempted him with a full ball outside off. Thinking of lofting Dinusha over his head, all he did was hole out to Nishan Madushka.

Next over, Rathnayaka added a second wicket to his name – after King’s dismissal in the morning – by being rewarded for some tidy bowling in the corridor of uncertainty. After zeroing in on a steady line and length through the 26th over, he got a good-length ball to generate some extra bounce, leaving Hodge (16) inside-edging a defensive shot onto his stumps.

Joshua Da Silva (20) and Jangoo began a repair job with West Indies at 102 for 3, and were comfortable absorbing the pressure with run-scoring drying up. Jangoo shuffled around his crease, moving to the leg-side often to access punches and drives through the off side while Da Silva was more watchful.

But after 18 overs of rebuilding with a 52-run partnership for the fourth wicket, Da Silva struck Asitha to cover, reminiscent of the King dismissal earlier in the day. Asitha once again delivered by getting a nagging delivery to nip away. Greaves was in two minds whether to play or leave, and the eventual edge was pounced by a diving Kusal Mendis with a one-handed special.

It was under these circumstances that Chase and Jangoo got together, and batted 33.5 overs till stumps without any further damage. Sri Lanka’s lack of incision late in the back-third of the day was not for lack of trying, but they were a bowler short with Lahiru’s absence. The batting pair were unhurried against the setting sun in the background, and ground out Sri Lanka till stumps. It was the kind of stand that can be the difference between yet another WTC defeat or a first win of the new cycle for West Indies.

Scores:
West Indies 271 for 5 in 84 overs (Amir Jangoo 78*, Roston Chase 42*; Asitha Fernando 2-25, Milan Rathnayaka 2-45) trail Sri Lanka 308 in 71.5 overs [Dinesh Chandimal 54, Dhananjaya de Silva 120; Justin Greaves 3-39] by 37 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Heartbreak for Scotland as Sri Lanka clinch thriller to stay alive

Published

7 hours ago

2026/06/27

Priyan

Sugandika Kumari and Nilakshika Silva took Sri Lanka home with one ball to spare [Cricinfo]

Sri Lanka kept alive their slim hopes of making it to the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup with a nervy win over Scotland in Manchester.

Chasing 152, they found themselves needing seven from the final over. Nilakshika Silva and Sugandika Kumari took four off the first three balls of Rachel Slater before the seamer hobbled off with what looked like a knee issue. Priyanaz Chatterji came on to bowl the remaining three balls. She conceded a single off the fourth delivery but with two needed from two, Sugandika slashed through short third for four to seal the win.

Sri Lanka now rely on England beating New Zealand and Ireland handing a thrashing to West Indies to make it to the final four. On the other hand, Scotland would rue a golden opportunity of securing a direct qualification to the 2028 edition of the tournament.

Darcey Carter and Katherine Fraser gave Scotland a brisk start. Carter didn’t hesitate to take the aerial route and picked up four fours off the first ten balls she faced. Fraser too chipped in with a couple of boundaries but Silva’s excellent catch diving to her right at mid-off off Mithali Ayodhya ended her innings on 12.

Carter and Kathryn Bryce took the side to 45 for 1 in the powerplay. During this period, Carter also became the leading run getter in the tournament, going past England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s tally of 193.

Sri Lanka made a comeback once the field restrictions were relaxed. Even though Kathryn hit Athapaththu for a six and a four off successive balls in the ninth over, she could manage only 23 off 23 before being caught and bowled by Kavisha Dilhari.

Carter tried to break the shackles but her aerial shots failed to clear or beat the boundary riders. After being 18 off ten at one point, she could manage only 16 off the next 26 deliveries she faced. As a result, Scotland could score only 43 in eight overs after the powerplay.

Sarah Bryce and Ailsa Lister put the Scotland innings back on track with a fourth-wicket stand of 53 in just 32 balls. The stand was broken when Lister was run out for 26 off 17 as Silva nailed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end after fielding the ball in her follow-through. Chatterji was also run out on the very ball but Sarah carried on. She hit two fours off Ayodhya in the final over to take her side past 150. That meant Scotland scored 63 in the last six overs.

Coming off an unbeaten 106 against Ireland, Athapaththu once again was at her attacking best. She started by smashing two fours off Kathryn in the opening over before taking down Gabriella Fontenla in the next. She hit Fontenla three fours and a six in an 18-run over. Imesha Dulani fell cheaply but Athapaththu and Hasini Perera took Sri Lanka past fifty in just 4.4 overs.

Just when it started to look like another easy chase for Sri Lanka, Fraser bowled Athapaththu from around the wicket for 33 off 16. Harshitha Samarawickrama showed good intent, hitting two fours off the first three balls, but just like the first innings, the scoring rate dropped after the powerplay. Kathryn then had Perera caught at mid-off in the ninth over and Fraser trapped Hansima Karunaratne lbw in the tenth to make it 78 for 4.

Fraser and Kirstie Gordon bowled enough dots to keep Sri Lanka under pressure. But with 27 required from 18 balls, Gabriella Fontenla dropped two catches in two overs. In the penultimate over, Kathryn also felt the pressure and gave away ten, including two in the form of wides. In contrast, the experienced Silva stayed calm and took her side home in the company of Sugandika.

Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 154 for 7 in 19.5 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 33, Hasini Perera 23, Harshitha Samarawickrama 27, Kavisha Dilhari 18, Nilakshiaka Silva 21*, Kaushini Nuthyangana 12; Kathryn Bryce 2-28, Rachel Slater 2-31, Kathryn Farser 2-25, Kirstie Gordon 1-24) beat Scotland Women 151 for 6 in 20 overs (Sarah Bryce 47*, Darcey Carter 34, Katherine Fraser 12, Kathryn Bryce 23, Alisa Lister 26; Mithali Ayodhya 2-34, Sugandika Kumari 1-25, Kavisha Dilhari 1-19) by three wickets

[Cricinfo]