Stocks: Prediction? Sri Lanka have no hope
THE north-east weather has dominated the build-up to the second Test, but if it holds fair for the majority of the next five days it would seem implausible that England will not achieve the win that would wrap up this series with a game to spare.
Such was the dominance of their bowling display in the first Test at Headingley, Alastair Cook’s side will not only be confident of sealing their first back-to-back series win since 2013 but will expect it.
Sri Lanka, who have spent much of their time in Durham, a venue where England have won all five of the Tests played, shivering under huge coats and bobble hats appear to be cannon fodder.
As uncomfortable as it is for England playing in 40C heat in Colombo, this brutal climate of northern England is probably even more difficult for the tourists.
Driving rain and single-digit temperatures dominated their first few days in the north-east.
Add in a Durham pitch tailormade for England’s attack and the promise of cloud cover that will assist them further and you have a perfect storm that threatens to blow the Sri Lankans away.
Rain is predicted for day four here. But who would back this game even going that far after the three-day execution England enacted in Leeds?
“I think the weather is improving and I think the overheads do play a massive part,” England captain Alastair Cook said yesterday. “It will do a bit but when the sun’s out it will be similar to Headingley and be a good batting surface. Given the runs that have been scored at county level this season, 400 has been a good score.”
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews admits that the Durham climate has unsettled his team but says that there can be no excuses after his team were routed for 91 and 119 during their innings defeat at Headingley last week.
He said: “It’s the coldest weather I’ve known playing cricket. The weather can be a factor, but it can’t be an excuse – you have to compete, regardless of the conditions.
“You can’t control the weather, but we can try to control our performances.
“It was an embarrassing defeat at Headingley. The more we think about it, the more disappointed we get. Obviously, you can’t erase it – but we have to move on. That’s what we’ll do. To stay alive in the series, we have to win.”
But do Sri Lanka, who are likely to replace the injured Dushmantha Chameera with Suranga Lakmal, believe that they can win? “Yes, it’s definitely possible,” insisted Mathews. “If we play to our potential, and don’t think about the weather too much we have the skill and the talent.”
To even contemplate that, though, they will have to find a way of blunting the potency of Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
The new-ball pair are England’s most successful bowling partnership in history, with a combined 646 wickets in the 84 Tests that they have played in tandem. And they are likely to be bowling in near-perfect conditions in Durham.
Anderson’s ten-wicket matchhaul in Leeds must still haunt this fragile Sri Lanka batting line-up. Then there’s Broad, whose last performance at the Riverside saw him take 11 wickets to inspire England to an Ashes-sealing win against Australia in 2013.
“We’ve actually improved in the last couple of years, I think,” Broad says of his partnership with Anderson. “We’ve always been quite good in communicating, but we’ve taken that to a new level, realising when one of us in on a wicket-taking streak, the other one can apply pressure and not get too greedy, and vice versa.
“We feel like we’ve got the experience now to be able to pick up on conditions quickly and know who’s day it’s going to be.
“We’ve taken that communication to the next level and it’s something we want to continue for
more years to come.”
England’s batting display in the first Test was far from perfect, making 298 in their only innings largely on the back of Jonny Bairstow’s outstanding century.
Alex Hales, though, did show signs that he could be a success as Cook’s opening partner with a dogged knock of 86 in Leeds.
“Last week was probably a confident booster for him,” said Cook. “He got in, played well and they were tough conditions. Until you have done it at a certain level, you always have that bloke on your shoulder or people just doubting you. So last week will have done him the world of good.”
As for Cook, he will hope to get the 20 runs that he needs to reach 10,000 in Tests – a target he will surely reach before the Pakistan series in the second half of the summer.
“I will have had a poor series if I’m still waiting then,” he joked. “It will be nice to get the next 20.”
The weather at Durham might be ropey but there’s no doubt that the county, who have to pay close to £1million to the England & Wales Cricket Board for the privilege of hosting the match, deserve their pace as a Test venue.
It would be a shame if, as mooted, this is its final Test due to financial considerations.
“I don’t know about the finances,” said Cook. “But as players we’ve always had great support here. When Stuart took those wickets in 2013, the noise and the atmosphere was brilliant.”