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Self-destruction would be one way to put England’s performance against Sri Lanka in their 2023 World Cup clash in Bengaluru on Thursday. If there was a match that was to revive England’s semi-final hopes, then this was it.
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Instead, it all went downhill for an England side that looked demotivated once again. From 59/2 in the first powerplay, to losing eight wickets for less than 100 runs, and eventually being dismissed for 156, this team did not feel like a champion side. This England team were far from what defending champions would look like.
So, where did England go wrong against Sri Lanka?
Shaky start from Jonny Bairstow
After having opted to bat, it was a rather imperfect start from England. On any ordinary day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where boundaries are short, the team batting first would have looked to go full aggressive early on – especially in the first 10 powerplay overs.
The Australia vs Pakistan clash that took place at the venue less than a week back is a perfect example of that, where after Australia scored 367 batting first, Pakistan gave them a fight, before being dismissed for 305.
But for England, in order to get those required runs, they had to put up a fight, and show some character. However, the England batters lacked that and it resulted in self-destruction.
While Jonny Bairstow did score 30 runs off 31 balls, things could have been a lot different at the very start of the England innings.
Dilshan Madushanka was introduced to the attack right away, and he began with an inswinging yorker to Bairstow. On this occasion, Bairstow was late to it, and the ball seemingly hit the middle of Bairstow’s bat, and went straight down the ground, as the England openers collected three runs.
Just a few seconds later, the Sri Lankans regrouped and contemplated a review. But, they eventually did not take it. If they had, it would have done wonders, as the ball-tracking showed that the ball was hitting the pad first. That’s not all. The ball eventually pitched in line, and went onto hit leg stump, which means it would have been out had the Lankans gone for the review.
On the contrary, Dawid Malan was batting quite freely. Twenty-four of his 28 runs came in boundaries. Two boundaries each in the third and fourth overs meant Malan was finding his touch. But, not for long.
The talk around the Lankan camp had been on Angelo Mathews return to the squad. A week ago, Mathews may not have even imagined having flying to India for the World Cup, but an injury to Matheesha Pathirana opened up a window.
And Mathews showed what Sri Lanka probably missed in their first few matches. He struck on just the third ball of his spell, with the best of cross seamers at a perfect line and length, almost making Malan steer the ball, only for Malan to edge it to Kusal Mendis behind the wickets.
This time, once again, Malan was given not out, but the Lankans made use of the review and the outcome was a positive one.
From 44/0 at one stage, England were reeling at 85/5. Enter Ben Stokes.
Ben Stokes, the lone fighter
Ben Stokes came into bat following the dismissal of Joe Root in the 10th over. But, losing partners at the other end certainly did not help his case. Stokes lost Bairstow, Buttler and Livingstone before he could make an impact.
However, a 37-run stand with Moeen Ali would then help the duo gain at least a small bit of momentum for England.
Stokes collected his first boundary in the 17th over, hitting Lahiru Kumara for a four with a push past the slip cordon.
He would then go onto punish Madushanka and Dhananjaya de Silva for a few boundaries, including a pull through mid-wicket off Madushanka’s ball in the 23rd over.
However, once Moeen Ali was dismissed in the 25th over, boundaries once again dried up for Stokes, apart from slamming through the covers off Kasun Rajitha’s ball in the 28th over.
Without a set batter at the other end, Stokes was always going to find his job difficult.
Stokes eventually fell victim to Lahiru Kumara’s short ball in the 31st over, mistiming the pull and eventually holing out to substitute fielder Dushan Hemantha at deep midwicket. Stokes was dismissed for a rather slow-paced 43, off 73 balls.
It was only last week when England coach Matthew Mott said that his team lacked confidence, and once again, on Thursday, there were hardly any positives to take away from the game.
“I thought we started really well with the bat, looked quite positive. But we kept losing wickets in quick succession and we were at least 100-120 short of a good score on that wicket,” said Mott speaking to broadcasters Sky Sports after the match.
“I don’t know [what’s going wrong]. I’ve had a quick chat with Jos; it’s really hard to explain,” he added.
With every loss they suffer, the extent of the setback only becomes bigger. It may be past the time when England had to pull up their socks, and the loss to Sri Lanka is a clear indication that not all the time, things go the way you expect them to be.
For now, England must regroup once again, and instead of thinking about the World Cup permutations, it’s that batting lineup Jos Buttler and Co will have to improve upon, before they face India in Lucknow on Sunday. More so, England’s batters need to fire in unison more than anything else.
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