Still some room for improvement in hunt to be the world No1 team, says Farbrace
Paul Farbrace tells Chris Stocks he was happy with Sri Lanka win but says they can still be more clinical
In the aftermath of England’s crushing win against Sri Lanka inside three days, Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach, was asked to judge the team’s performance.
England, fired by a fine all-round display from Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson’s magnificent ten-wicket match haul, were irresistible. But the touring side, whose flimsy batting line-up was brutally exposed under the leaden skies of Leeds, showed little, if any stomach, for the fight.
That, though, was not the fault of Alastair Cook’s team. So how do we judge this performance?
“With three or four wickets to go I was thinking the same thing,” said Farbrace. “We should be really pleased with the way we played.
“But if we are serious about being the number one side in the world then there were times when we could have been a bit more clinical.
“Losing wickets in clumps was not ideal.We dropped two catches. It does happen and is part of the game, but those are the things we have to get rid of.
“Ideally you’re always searching for the perfect game. That does not always happen.We think we still have areas we have to get better at but if we were in Colombo now on a dusty dry surface and it was 100 degrees and 100 per cent humidity and we had lost in three days, it would be England can’t play spin etc.
“We have shown a lot of quality in this game, but you always want to keep getting better.”
Farbrace is right. England do have areas that they can improve on. The batting, for example, did leave a lot to be desired. Floundering on 83 for five when Bairstow walked to the crease on the first afternoon, it was the Yorkshireman’s 141-run sixth-wicket stand with Alex Hales that lifted his side towards a competitive first-innings total. Bairstow again held firm in the face of another collapse on the second morning, when England lost three wickets for nine runs. The eventual total of 298, Bairstow’s 140 accounting for almost half of those runs, was more than enough in the end to set up an innings victory – but only because of the brilliance of the bowlers and the inability of Sri Lanka’s batsmen to counter it in any meaningful way.
England’s ultimate aim, as stated by Farbrace and every player interviewed in the run-up to this first Test, is to become the No1-ranked Test team in the world. Five wins from the seven Tests this summer against Sri Lanka and Pakistan will take them to No 2 behind Australia.
On the basis of this performance, only the weather can surely prevent England from completing a 3-0 whitewash against the first opponents of the summer.
Sri Lanka may have won in England two years ago, thanks to a series-sealing victory at Headingley of all places. But their batting is now struggling badly in the absence of retired greats Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, while their bowling has been hit by tour-ending injuries to Dhammika Prasad, the leader of their attack, and Dushmantha Chameera.
These really are opponents there for the taking and if England are to underline their burgeoning emergence as one of the world’s best teams, they need to be just as ruthless over the next two Tests at Durham and Lord’s.
That’s something England have failed to do in the recent past, think back to last spring’s 1-1 series draw in the West Indies, the home series against New Zealand that followed and the 2-0 defeat by Pakistan in the UAE at the start of last winter.
Yet there is a feeling that this England team is improving rapidly – beating Australia and South Africa in the past year were signs of how good they can be – and they can go up another level again this summer.
Not everything is perfect. But Hales, whose 86 in Leeds went some way to easing the pressure on his opening position, and Bairstow, whose nine catches at Headingley quietened doubts over his keeping that had been raised in South Africa, made significant strides in this opening Test of the summer.
Bairstow’s all-round display, including a first Test century in England at his home ground, earned him the man-of-the-match award.
“This is a very special game,” he said. “First Test in England keeping wicket, first 100 in England in the Test side, 25th cap at your home ground in front of your home crowd is a fantastic moment.
“It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever forget. And to have family and friends here makes it a pretty good week. I was pleased with taking nine catches in a Test match. I’ll put down chances in the future. I can’t read Jimmy Anderson and I’m sure the batters can’t either, that’s why he’s the best in the world, and it’s all about the release point and his wrist.” Bairstow is right about Anderson. Stuart Broad, who took five wickets in the match, may be the No 1-ranked bowler in the world.Yet Anderson, whose twin five-wicket hauls moved him up to No 3, is the best bowler on the planet in conditions such as these. England’s new-ball pair promises to be a devastating combination this summer. However, bigger challenges will lie ahead this winter in Bangladesh and India. Anderson, who is 34 in July, shows no signs of slowing down, his haul of Test wickets now standing at 443 – propelling him past Kapil Dev and up to sixth on the all-time list. But how long can he go on for? Speaking to The Cricket Paper before this series began, he said: “I think I can keep going for a bit longer.You always try and improve – you can always get fitter and stronger so I want to try and do that.” Anderson looks as good as his word and the prospects of him carrying on until at least the next Ashes series in Australia in 2017-18 – when England might also ascend to the top of the world rankings – appear good.
Losing wickets in clumps was not ideal. We dropped two catches. Ideally you’re always searching for the perfect game. That doesn’t always happen. We have areas we have to improve