Inexplicable!

Sri Lanka’s performance against England could be described as disappointing and beyond the expectation of the most pessimistic fan. It is obvious that England were the underdogs and after their recent drubbing by Australia and minus their stars Flintoff and Pieterson, at best could have given the Lankans a decent fight leave alone winning! At least that was what the expectation was. But what transpired on that fateful day was something inexplicable! Sri Lanka were easily over powered by 6 wickets with 30 balls remaining! The campaign to reach the first goal will have to restart for Sri Lanka!

The group itself is interestingly poised with both South Africa and Sri Lanka having a win each from 2 games played whilst New Zealand are still searching for a win with England getting off the mark straight away. Considering the rest of the fixtures, the New Zealand game for Sri Lanka on the 27th is a must win and England’s game against South Africa on the same day will be crucial to both teams. A win for England would effectively rule the hosts out of the tournament, with England’s game against New Zealand on the 29th being the decider for them. However if South Africa beats England and Sri Lanka beats New Zealand, the 29th match between England and New Zealand may still be crucial and could decide the 2nd place in the group if England beats the Kiwis as it would mean that Sri Lanka, South Africa and England will be tied on points.

The head to head scenario too will be an interesting one as assuming it goes in the manner this column predicts, Sri Lanka had beaten South Africa, South Africa would have beaten England and England had beaten Sri Lanka! So it will be the run rates that will be crucial in the final count.
Back to the Sri Lanka game against England, what went wrong with Sri Lanka after their brilliant start to the campaign? I thought against South Africa on a good pitch Dilshan was just magnificent and having the form of his life and the batting of Jayawardane who was short of runs and of course Skipper Sangakkara, Samaraweera and Kandamby all making very good contributions, the three hundred plus score was never going to be easy! Then came Ajantha Mendis who was simply unplayable and back to his old bowling form confusing the batsmen and also hurrying them with an excellent mix of deliveries. It appeared to the world that Sri Lanka had just the right blend to move on and who could have doubted it when you beat the World’s top ODI team in their own backyard with the greatest of ease?

England's Paul Collingwood plays a shot during their ICC Champions Trophy cricket match against Sri Lanka in Johannesburg, September 25, 2009. REUTERS

But the New Wanders stadium in Johannesburg was something different and had a different challenge for the Lankan batsmen, a very familiar challenge to almost all subcontinent batsmen! The moving ball at pace on a greenish strip!

True the toss was vital and a good one to win and Strauss duly won it but didn’t Sri Lanka have the batting muscle to withstand that challenge? I know it’s easy for critics to have a field day and question some of the strokes the batsmen played and also their approach. It would be tougher for any other to even walk to that pitch leave alone facing a few deliveries and even surviving them. That’s how challenging the game is today and it is never easy. But having said all that, it is important that players too realize that a more committed and a measured approach would be needed in situations such as the one that prevailed against England. To me the pitch was not a slam bang pitch where the bat can be thrown around at will. It was the type of pitch that would demand a more concentrated and a structured effort from a batsman in the manner Kandamby played! It was a pity to see him being run out and young Mathews who is impressing with every outing to the crease unable to convert the half centuries they made to say eighties or even nineties, as Sri Lanka still had almost two and a half overs in their bag when they were all out. Fifteen balls and a longer partnership between the two set batsmen Kandamby and Mathews could have given Sri Lanka a further 30 to 40 runs which would have had England approaching target differently! But it is history now and the Lankans need to forget it as a bad dream. They need to be ready for the kill on the 27th which is a do or die battle when they encounter the Kiwis who are definitely no pushovers and can be as effective as the England pace attack. In reality Shane Bond could be far tougher than Anderson, Onions or Broad as he is faster than them and is as controlled with his line and length.

So it’s important for Sri Lanka to consider the game against England as the possible bad game a team could encounter in a tournament and move forward with confidence to take on the kiwis. I am also sure that the players and especially the batsmen who failed and played bad shots will be the first to admit it and be determined to reverse their fortunes. As a team comprising the experience of the Sri Lankan outfit is too good to miss out from the Semi Final stage.

So let’s hope the Sri Lankans will move on those lines I am sure with that approach Sri Lanka can move forward and first to the Semi Final and then hopefully the Championship!
Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator