England lost the first game in their seven-match series against Sri Lanka but they discovered a one-day opener in the process. Moeen Ali, playing only his sixth ODI, struck 119 from 87 balls – the third-fastest century by an Englishman in this format and an innings which gave his side a glimmer of hope in pursuit of a massive target of 318 on a mercifully dry Colombo day and night.
England fell short of their target by 26 runs, a respectable defeat by recent standards. Once Moeen, who had caressed five sixes as well as 11 fours, had departed the chances of England pulling off a remarkable victory receded rapidly into the night sky despite a valiant 65 by Ravi Bopara. Too many of England’s batsmen were rusty or ruffled by a Sri Lanka team who, as ever, turned to their spin bowlers when the pressure was on.
England’s traditional strength, their pace bowling, could make no impact at the start. The expertise of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, both recuperating from injuries at home, would have made a difference. So might the presence of Steven Finn, who has been suffering from a mild groin injury. Understandably he was not risked in such slippery conditions.
Alastair Cook found himself in familiar territory, explaining away another defeat in one-day cricket. He could at least focus on Moeen’s remarkable knock, with his debut ODI century reached in 72 balls. “Mo was brilliant,” the captain said. “He has an amazing ability to time a cricket ball from the word go. It was extraordinary. Then he was able to rein himself in a little later in the innings.
“It is frustrating that we have had two really good centuries recently [Jos Buttler hit a 61-ball hundred against the Sri Lankans at Lord’s last summer] and we have not won either game.”
Cook could also praise his old mate Bopara, who was dropped from England’s last ODI squad at the end of last season. “He has come back with real hunger and purpose to prove us wrong,” he said. “It was a shame that someone couldn’t hang around with him at the end. We did a lot of things well. In the field we dragged it back after a shaky start.”
After that there was the batting of Moeen and Bopara but there the positives came to an end. “We were always losing a wicket or two too many,” Cook said. “And bowling 17 wides was frustrating. So was the first 10 overs in the field.”
Another issue not mentioned afterwards was Cook’s own form. He was unable to bat convincingly alongside Moeen. In England’s first over Cook was given out lbw twice. He opted to review both decisions and his judgment proved correct as the deliveries from Angelo Mathews were shown to be going over the stumps. However, Cook was unable to take advantage of his umpiring skills and was soon – legitimately – lbw for 10 to Tillakaratne Dilshan’s first ball. England’s pursuit of a one-day victory resumes on Saturday.
