A contender for game of the Cricket World Cup has seen Sri Lanka come away with a thrilling 20-run upset win over England at Headingley.
Sri Lanka didn’t appear to have nearly enough on the board, but near-perfect execution of their bowling and fielding plan on a pitch which appeared two-paced, as well as some silly shots from the English middle order, got them over the line.
It was Lasith Malinga who was the star of the show, as he picked up four wickets and left England on the back foot late in the innings.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat on a deceptively good-looking pitch.
England bowled well early and had Sri Lanka two down for only four runs after just three overs, with the pressure on. Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis led the recovery though as they put 59 for the third wicket, with Fernando looking in great form.
His wicket brought Angelo Mathews to the crease, who managed to hold the innings together, despite the strong middle overs bowling from spin duo Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.
It was clear that scoring quickly was going to be difficult, with Mathews mistiming just about everything during his long stay, ultimately ending up 85 not out.
The former Sri Lankan skipper’s knock, alongside those of Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva, got Sri Lanka to what looked like a very under-par 232.
It was clear the Sri Lankans were going to need to bowl England out, and they couldn’t have gotten off to a better start as Jonny Bairstow was removed in the first over by Malinga.
The men from the sub-continent had another shortly afterwards as James Vince departed, but Joe Root steadied the ship as he pieced together slow-moving but effective 47 and 54-run partnerships with Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes respectively.
Still, when Root got out, England were a long way from out of the woods, with Malinga’s reintroduction for a second spell enough to get rid of the Test skipper for 57 from 89 balls.
England were still in front of the match, but losing the wickets of Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali cheaply to Isuru Udana and Dhananjaya de Silva respectively put them in strife at 6/170.
Moeen’s wicket, in particular, was a shocker, given he had only just hit a six and England needed under six runs per over at that stage.
Chris Woakes came and went against the bowling of Dhananjaya, as did Adil Rashid, before Jofra Archer provided the foil for Stokes, but was eventually caught at long off to the bowling of Udana.
It left Mark Wood to team up with Stokes, and the duo needed to put on 47 from 38 balls to win the game.
While they managed to see off Lasith Malinga, it was all on Stokes to score the runs, and after belting Udana for 14 one over and nine from the 47th, he turned the strike over to Mark Wood for a single ball, but that was all it took as Pradeep caught the outside edge to complete a famous victory for the Sri Lankans.
The result keeps Sri Lanka’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive, while England are left with two losses to their name and only the three other sides in the top four to play, putting them under some pressure during the back half of the tournament.
Sri Lanka: 9/232 (50) (Angelo Mathews 85, Avishka Fernando 49, Kusal Mendis 46, Mark Wood 3/40, Jofra Archer 3/42) defeat England 10/212 (47) (Ben Stokes 82*, Joe Root 57, Lasith Malinga 4/43, Dhananjaya de Silva 3/32) by 20 runs.
Paul
Roar Guru
and the same in return Neel. Always look forward to reading your thoughts.
Neel
Roar Guru
Yeah, thank you so much Paul. I appreciate it. Looking forward to future conversations about cricket. I have learnt heaps of you.
Paul
Roar Guru
congrats on being a Roar Pro, too.
Nelson R.
Guest
A total of 232 can all of a sudden look like 400, with tight line & length.
Paul
Roar Guru
congrats on being a Roar Pro, too.
Paul
Roar Guru
The timing of the finals games also become crucial, Jeff. England play it's last game against New Zealand on the 3rd of July, but then have to wait for another 4 games to see who makes the finals. Three of those games could have a direct bearing, especially if England lose one of its last 3. Pakistan v Bangladesh, India V Sri Lanka and Australia v South Africa, all happen after the Poms last game. It's difficult to see the Poms NOT making the finals, but they don't want to be relying on other teams getting results on their behalf. The next week has suddenly become very interesting.
Jim Prideaux
Roar Rookie
Can’t argue with any of that Paul, only thing I’d add is temperament comes into it too, being able to bat within yourself when the pitch isn’t playing ball. Of course you still have to keep the scoreboard ticking over, but 6 singles an over is still 6 an over.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Yes I think in hindsight you are right. Root and Morgan would have to come in ahead of Stokes. Just frustrated me, England's approach. Not a 2 horse race at all. Not even the SFs locked up, almost a week on from last week's "meaningless games" discussion. Some absolutely crackers of matches just gone. All for different reasons. I'm backing AUS to beat ENG. So with a likely win for BAN tonight and PAK & SL matches winnable for those teams ), it's not inconceivable ENG could find itself sitting 5th or 6th prior to their clash with IND on Sunday and that will likely place enormous pressure on them leading into that match.
Paul
Roar Guru
In fairness though Neel, they've beaten all these teams in tournaments in more recent times. I don't disagree the pressure on England is really ramping up and all one of these teams needs to do is have a good day out ( like Sri Lanka) and the Poms have to be in big trouble, mentally if nothing else.
Paul
Roar Guru
Jim, you're right about the pitches for sure, but surely that means the flat foot slogger has a tough time of it and the guys who can really bat, should thrive? I love the contest that's taking place in a lot of games, between ball & bat. It does my head in watching world class bowlers delivering a high quality ball, only to watch it sail 60 metres for 6, because the games being played on a road. The really good players will get runs and those with an iffy technique will be found out - and good job too!
Jim Prideaux
Roar Rookie
It wasn’t just them Paul, it was from what i heard/ read in the lead up to the WC from almost everybody - England will happily let you set whatever total you desire because they will chase it down. The huge scores that were predicted to be a common factor in this WC so far haven’t really materialised. Why? One thing that I’ve noticed anecdotally is that many of the pitches have been a little two-paced, making blazing away from ball one tougher. The other is the pressure factor, every game has meaning, especially if you lose one early. I agree, tomorrow evening will be interesting. Lose a couple quickly in a chasing situation- will they be able to adjust?
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Jeff I don't think there was any way Stokes could have batted higher. More to the point, why would England want him higher when the 2 guys immediately above him, have been in outstanding form? Root's scored a heap of runs in the tournament and last game, Morgan got that hundred with 17 sixes, so on paper, Stokes at 5 should have been perfect, only 3 wickets down when he came in. This is the sort of game where Australia would do well, simply because it has so many players who can pace an innings and that comes from long form cricket. I've said it many times, England has a rock solid plan A with their batting and when it comes off, 80% of the time they win games. The Sri Lankan game called for plan b and they have few guys who can do that. The finals may catch them out, especially if there's a bit of juice in the track. I don't think they have enough guys with sound techniques. Root & Stokes do but the other guys got found out against Sri Lanka and better attacks could do the same again in the finals. It's suddenly not a 2 horse race!
Paul
Roar Guru
Your last sentence is interesting Jim. I was listening to Atherton & Hussein during the Pakistan warm up series and they were firmly of the opinion England were the best chasing side in world cricket. Mind you, they'd just run down a 300 plus score with ridiculous ease on an absolute road, so plenty of reason to make that sort of comment. It will be very interesting to see how the Poms go tomorrow evening. Another loss would really hammer their confidence.
Neel
Roar Guru
England now play three teams who they haven’t beaten at World Cups in more than 2 decades. They haven’t beaten New Zealand in their last 5 World Cup encounters dating back to 1983. They haven’t beaten Australia and India in their last 3 and 2 encounters, respectively. Their last World Cup victories against Australia and India were in the 1992 World Cup. Will England choke under pressure? The choke is definitely on.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
- RRR at start of the innings was 4.6 - ENG RR after 10 overs was 3.80. - After 20 overs it was still 3.80 and RRR had slipped to 5.23 - Moeen and Stokes put on 26 runs in 36 balls I think upping the run rate is standard for chasing irrespective of the format when a team isn't on pace, unless the assumption is they are that good that they can pull off mostly anything in the last 15. I suspect there was something of that in ENG's approach. Agreed, I don't think they do have a Plan B and yes, there has been an over-emphasis in commentary about posting the biggest total (350+) and too much focus on wicket taking/penetrating bowlers even if at the expense of ER. Tight bowling and building pressure can be a great leveller, particularly against teams that have focussed on a game plan for some time of allowing RRRs to steadily climb before "going big" at the end.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
The wickets have been two paced for everyone.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
They had a target and were a run a ball with Stokes and Moeen. Upping the run rate is so 20/20, but all they needed to do was win ugly, bank the tournament points and move on. They are showing they can't deviate from plan A. Great sign for the other finals contenders as to what disciplined bowling will do against a vaunted sure bet!
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Yesterday most didn't think they'd lose to Sri Lanka. Gotta love a tournament!
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
So much for 'meaningless week in World Cup'. It amuses me when experts try to sum up something that hasn't even happened yet. Good on Sri Lanka, showing the nerve and steady cricket that they know wins tournaments. Thanks too for the insight into how to allow England to self destruct, if not on Tuesday, then in the finals. Once again England shows they are one dimensional.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Yep. I think that is where AUS could get an edge - or bridge the gap - on the slightly more (perceived at least) talent of ENG and to a lesser extent IND, by being clever with line-up order depending on match situation. Be adaptable with batting line up and not afraid to maximise our strengths - so Smith comes in if it is apparent we aren't going to get more than 25 overs exposure from him; his talent and ability to accumulate/accelerate warrants it (sorry Usman), or bring in Maxwell from over 35 at fall of next wicket to maximise his explosive acceleration (sorry again Usman, and maybe Smith). But that's OK, if 1 down after 10, Usman absolutely. That is not what we saw with ENG last night. Let's face it, Stokes in at 3 against the non-Malinga line-up, they would have had 100+ on the board by the 20th and probably game over because pressure off. Can't see an excuse for Stokes being left without partners and with overs remaining - not in a low scoring game where Stokes, of all players, could clear the ropes with limited risk, rather than struggling to pierce the field. Well, that's my hindsight take anyway!