England embark on their tour to Sri Lanka determined to smile at all the obstacles ahead. They play the first of two practice games against Sri Lanka A on Friday before the seven-match ODI series gets under way on Wednesday.
There are several adversities at which they must smile. A tour of Sri Lanka is never easy. England were beaten 3-2 in a spicy series on home turf last summer; it is likely to be tougher still for Alastair Cook’s side in Colombo, Pallekele and Hambantota.
Admittedly Sri Lanka are hardly on a roll themselves. In India last month they were volunteered as last-minute replacements for West Indies – who suddenly decided to abandon their tour – and they have just returned, defeated 5-0, an experience that some of England’s tourists have shared. They are missing key bowlers: Lasith Malinga is injured while Sachitra Senanayake, the off-spinner, is remodelling a dodgy action, which helps to explain some of the mammoth totals compiled by India in the recent ODI series.
England have lost five of their last six series and confidence is low. Commentary-box sages have decreed their captain should not be in the team. Moreover, the England hierarchy itself is none too sure which 11 players constitute their best team – although they express no doubts about Cook. Even though conditions in Sri Lanka will have little in common with those anticipated in the World Cup, a few victories are required to relieve the pressure and to move on the debate about this England team. At least we are all assuming that conditions in Sri Lanka will be very different to those in Australasia in February and March.
In its wisdom the England and Wales Cricket Board has decided on a tour to Sri Lanka at the tail-end of the monsoon season, when it is often possible to set one’s watch according to the arrival of the late-afternoon thunderstorm in Colombo. This explains why five of the seven ODI matches have reserve days, an oddity in the modern era when schedules rarely have time for such niceties. It does not explain, however, why four of the seven matches will be day-night affairs – except that in the 21st century TV schedules trump long-established weather patterns.
The patience of all those involved may be tested. Even so, Harry Gurney, the Nottinghamshire left-arm paceman, has epitomised the dogged optimism of the team. “Being English, we’re used to a bit of rain,” he said. “So that does not bother anyone really. Turning up and having slightly damp footholds is not something any of us are fazed by.” If Gurney really has the attributes of the archetypal old English pro he will also be able to smile broadly when he turns up to find that a mini-monsoon has transformed the outfield into a lake fit only for water-skiing.
This should be a decisive trip for the faster bowlers. Gurney is accompanied by Steven Finn and a hotchpotch of all-rounders, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes. They all understand that Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson will be back for the World Cup so one or two of them will have to give way in February. Gurney and Jordan look the most vulnerable but sterling performances from them in Sri Lanka could change that.
Among the batsmen the focus may well be on two of Gurney’s Notts colleagues, neither of whom has much experience at this level. Alex Hales, despite his success in the T20 format, has only flickered so far in his four ODIs. James Taylor can only boast 26 runs in two ODIs against Ireland separated by two years. This pair has flourished together at Trent Bridge, where a Taylor-Hales partnership has caused some head-scratching around the counties. The fact that a long hop to Taylor is a good-length ball to Hales can prompt confusion among the bowling fraternity. We wait to see whether international bowlers are so gullible.
Moeen Ali (five ODIs) is not much more experienced and has much to gain. Cook’s critics, whether friends or foes, will be keeping their eyes on the England captain’s output and his strike rate. So we might be a little wiser about England’s likely World Cup lineup in a month’s time – weather permitting.
