Rain puts a dampener on England’s ninth series win in row as fans suffer
Decision to play during the monsoon season backfires Root and Morgan secure Duckworth/Lewis victory
England won their ninth one-day series in succession but it was a pity rain ruined a match that was in the balance and set for a good finish.
England were 132 for two chasing 274 when heavy rain arrived in the late afternoon to drown out any chance of a proper finish. Instead, England won by 18 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis method to go 3-0 up in the series, but after four games we are yet to see a full match, with each interrupted or ruined by the monsoon.
England have not lost a one-day series since being defeated 3-2 in India at the start of 2017 (excluding the one-off game against Scotland) and are the undisputed No1 side in the world. They have adapted to conditions in Sri Lanka, played within themselves to win professionally, even when looking rusty against opponents beaten down by corruption allegations and in a miserable run of form.
The real downside has been the weather and the handful of England fans who have made the costly trip to support the team have been shortchanged by the scheduling.
It was always a gamble to play here in October, chancing the monsoon weather. But the sheer volume of cricket sold to broadcasters means boards take risks with playing out of season. Sri Lanka would ideally like to play in the dry months between December and March but that clashes with the southern hemisphere season when their team are on tour in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Sri Lanka lack clout and have to take what they are given by the richer nations, and England are in the West Indies in the new year, hence rolling the dice with the monsoon.
It has been a low-key trip for captain Eoin Morgan as he continues to build towards the World Cup. He described his team’s fielding in this match as “average” and “nowhere near” their usual standard but has been pleased with the way they have thought on their feet and coped with conditions.
Jason Roy had a decent start, looking his most comfortable against left-arm spin as England embarked on what could have been a tricky chase if Sri Lanka’s spinners struck early. He twice hit Amila Aponso down the ground for boundaries but he will be disappointed he did not kick on, falling for 45 off 49 balls. He had kept out Akila Dananjaya’s off-breaks but was beaten by his “leggie”. Alex Hales did not have a successful return in place of the injured Jonny Bairstow. He missed a catch on the boundary and was stumped off Dananjaya’s first ball.
Joe Root was struggling a little for touch and should have been out caught off a full toss but dozy Sri Lanka did not have enough fielders inside the ring and the delivery was called a no-ball. It was a crucial error for the wicket would have brought Sri Lanka into the game by narrowing the Duckworth/Lewis margin. England were only just ahead when Root was given his lifeline and the heavy clouds were forming in the Kandy hills.
Sri Lanka brought on Lasith Malinga, their spearhead, to try to grab the crucial wicket that would nose them ahead but Morgan took the attack to the bowlers and England were comfortably in control when the downpour arrived.
Sri Lanka had paced their innings like a team short of confidence. They paid England’s seamers plenty of respect with the new ball and then decided not to take risks against spin, preferring to hold wickets back for the final overs. It was an old-fashioned approach that England would not recognise any more but it gave Sri Lanka a defendable total.
England were a spinner short and when Morgan bowled Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali through the middle innings, it left him with only seamers bowling slower balls to try to keep Sri Lanka in line in the death overs.
It did not work. Sri Lanka put on 84 in the final 10 with Olly Stone expensive and Tom Curran’s pace changes not quite as dangerous as they were in the third ODI. Chris Woakes was hit for two fours and a six in the final over as England lacked their usual precision, and Sri Lanka’s lower order scrambled useful runs.
After the rain that delayed Wednesday’s third ODI, two days of hot sunshine baked the pitch hard, meaning it turned more for the spinners. Moeen and Rashid barely bowled a bad ball, keeping the pressure on Sri Lanka and never letting good players of spin get on top of them.
Moeen bowled Dinesh Chandimal with a ball that turned and beat the drive. Rashid should have had two in two. Niroshan Dickwella was lbw missing a straight ball and Dhananjaya de Silva should have been out first ball when he danced down to Moeen, missed his drive but Jos Buttler fluffed the stumping.
Kusal Mendis is really struggling to read Rashid and was lbw playing across the line. Dasun Shanaka was the only batsman to attack the spinners but he should have been caught on 24 when a slog sweep went straight to the backpeddling Hales but all he could grab was thin air. Shanaka made England pay by hitting five sixes. Thisara Perera made 44 off 41 balls but just as Sri Lanka looked set for a total of 300-plus he was run out after some great work from Ben Stokes in the deep.