It was too much to hope that this tour would proceed without the use of the reserve days. Just as the first innings of the fifth ODI came to a conclusion it started raining in Pallekele and it did not stop for the rest of the evening. Assuming fine weather on Thursday England know what they have to do to stay in the series: they must score 240 in 50 overs.
It sounds simple enough. However, batting will not be straightforward on a surprisingly dry pitch against a Sri Lanka side who are very keen to finish off the series so that they can conduct their own World Cup experiments.
England, having opted to bowl first, were tenacious in the field. Chris Woakes, for the second time in his ODI career, took six wickets in the innings but the critical contribution in the first half of this contest probably came from Kumar Sangakkara. He compiled a predictably polished 91 from 123 balls, his fourth consecutive half-century, an innings born of vast experience and skill.
Cricket’s law of diminishing returns applied in Sri Lanka’s innings. Despite the early dismissal of Kusal Perera, caught at slip in Steven Finn’s first over, in the opening overs it looked as if one of those modern scores of more than 300 was likely.
Tillakaratne Dilshan likes batting here, where he averages more than 90. At the start the ball zipped on to the middle of his bat and thereafter sped to the boundary. But gradually it dawned that this was not quite the batting paradise it seemed and this realisation coincided with the departure of Dilshan, bowled by Chris Jordan, who had another encouraging day in the field, not just as a bowler – he also pocketed a couple of slip catches.
As soon as Moeen Ali was introduced it became apparent that the ball was going to turn. This is not so obvious from Sri Lanka’s scorecard. Only one wicket fell to a spinner, the recalled James Tredwell, and that was in England’s 23rd over of off-spin. One reason for this was that England have a monochrome spin attack. The expertise of the masterful Sangakkara was another.
He rapidly assessed the conditions, recognising that anything around 250 would provide a challenging target. So, alongside Angelo Mathews, he bided his time, respecting the turning ball and a skilful spell from Tredwell in particular. If nothing else the return of the canny off-spinner, plus 15 overs from Moeen and Joe Root, meant that for the first time in three games the England players will not be out of pocket because of a slow over-rate.
Sangakkara and Mathews added 85 together, mostly against England’s spinners. The contrast between the off-spinners was instructive. Tredwell’s natural pace, which is slower than Moeen’s, was better suited to the conditions and he was also more patient. Moeen has rarely seen the ball spin so much in his short international career and he may have been straining for that elusive wicket before the end of his spell. Root provided handy support.
All the while Sangakkara’s risk assessments were perfectly judged. Occasionally he drove hard against the spin to good effect but only when the ball was under his nose.
Perhaps because the England spinners posed the most obvious threat to Sri Lanka, the seamers took nine of the wickets. Woakes became the first Englishman to take six wickets in an innings on two occasions in ODI cricket. Two of his victims, Sangakkara and Thisara Perera, were caught on the deep midwicket boundary by Root.
The dismissal of Mahela Jayawardene must have been more satisfying for Woakes and Alastair Cook. The England captain meticulously placed Jordan at third slip and in that over Jayawardene, newly arrived at the crease, pushed hard straight to him. Later a Woakes bouncer hit Jeevan Mendis on the helmet, via the top edge, whereupon the ball lobbed back to the bowler. Then he polished off the tail. Woakes, like Jordan, has enhanced his reputation a little on this trip.
Meanwhile England’s fielding, apart from their penchant for hurling the ball at the stumps all the time, which led to several overthrows, was vibrant. So the game resumes at 2.30pm local time (9am GMT) on Thursday and it must be finished by 7pm.
On this surface the absence of the injured Rangana Herath from the Sri Lanka side is a bonus for England. He has been replaced by Sachithra Senanayake, who has just returned from an ICC ban for throwing. The effectiveness of his remodelled action is likely to be significant on Thursday. Loosening up before Wednesday it looked substantially different.
