If the three T20 Internationals against England were totally one-sided, the three-match ODIs that followed flattered to deceive.
Sri Lanka lost the ODI series 2-1 after coming back strongly in the second to level it which saw a full house at The Oval for the series decider. But Sri Lanka failed to live up to expectations and fell flat on their face to be beaten comprehensively by a massive 233 runs.
On a pitch where England had racked up an imposing 355-7, Sri Lanka failed to enliven the contest and folded up rather tamely for 132 inside 30 overs without a semblance of a fight, disappointing their supporters who had turned up in their numbers to watch a spectacle.
Inconsistency in the batting has been Sri Lanka’s Achilles heel in T20I cricket but not so in ODIs although the results in the recently concluded series indicate.
It is not that Sri Lanka cannot compete. They showed that they can, by coming back after losing the first ODI to beat England by 16 runs in the second.
What they lack is the toughness to fight back when the chips are down. This is an area that needs to be addressed in white ball cricket especially with the Cricket World Cup 12 months away.
Winning and losing is part and parcel of the game, but it is the manner in which Sri Lanka loses is what irks many. What you want to see as a cricketing nation is to compete hard and run your opponents close which was not witnessed in all the defeats on the tour.
You don’t just simply throw away your wickets as Sri Lanka did against England in the first and third ODIs. It was poor shot selection coupled by some intelligent bowling by England that resulted in their downfall.
Another factor that needs to be looked at is whether the Lankan cricketers adapted to the English conditions suitably. True, they went weeks ahead of the start of the series, and also lost the two warm-up games against England Lions which should at least have given them food for thought of what was in store for them in the white ball matches to follow.
In red ball cricket Sri Lanka are a different entity as they showed in their fight back against India after being asked to follow-on in the recent Test series. Why that same principle cannot be applied to ODI cricket is baffling.
Sri Lanka has the bowling to win matches but there should be runs on the board to make it happen. This has been a long-standing problem with white ball cricket.
The manner in which England beat Sri Lanka in the ODIs gives the impression that there is a big gulf between the two sides, which in actual fact is not. T20I cricket yes, but not in the 50-over where Sri Lanka are capable of giving some of the best teams a good run.
Sri Lanka’s Head Coach Gary Kirsten said that the team’s disappointing white ball tour of England must be viewed as part of a bigger rebuilding process with the 2027 World Cup firmly in mind.
Despite the setback Kirsten is looking beyond immediate results and focusing on developing the right players, building consistency and preparing Sri Lanka to compete at the highest level when the World Cup arrives.
‘For us to win a series against a team like England, we need to reach all our goals on tour. We had set targets for the tour but did not meet all of them,’ said Kirsten looking back on the tour. ‘They were very realistic things that we set out for ourselves, which we didn’t get to all of them.’
Kirsten admitted that Sri Lanka’s batting was disappointing, with the team failing to build momentum despite arriving early for the tour and playing two warm-up matches.
‘We’ve got some senior players in the batting group and there’s a lot of experience there, so we just never got the batting going. There’s a bit of work to be done. Hopefully, we can leave here having learned a lot about each individual and what they need to do to develop their game.’
‘I think once we get our shape right as an ODI team, how we want to play, who needs to do what and what roles everyone needs to be playing, we’ll be on our way. We’ll be competitive against any team.’
Kirsten said the highlight for him on the tour of England was the fielding.
‘I thought our ground fielding was outstanding. We put a lot of effort into eliminating unforced errors. Pavan Rathnayake had an outstanding series with his fielding and he certainly set the tone for us.’
He also singled out debutant Sachindu Colombage, Dunith Wellalage and left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka for their performances during the series.
‘I thought Sachindu did really well as he began his ODI career. That’s a step in the right direction. Dunith did really well too. He showed what he’s capable of as an all-rounder, but I thought his bowling was fantastic. Madushanka showed us that he can be an all-format bowler. I am quite excited by him as well and certainly want to develop him as we go along.’
Sri Lanka’s next assignment is a three-match T20I series in Pakistan followed by a one-day tri-series with Pakistan and England also in Pakistan.
Kirsten said the upcoming one-day tri-series would provide another opportunity to improve, including two more matches against England.