England won by five wickets with five balls to spare and it was all remarkably straightforward. Joe Root, the young old pro, hit a superb unbeaten century during which he hardly played a false stroke. Meanwhile James Taylor, the junior pro, hit 68 vital runs in another innings where he assessed the risks precisely. Their partnership of 104 was decisive.
Afterwards the England captain, Alastair Cook, was delighted by a win which keeps the series alive. Sri Lanka now lead 3-2 with two matches to play. The next one starts in Pallekele morning.
“Over two days we deserved to win,” said Cook. “It was a brave toss to field first, even though we did not get to bat under lights.” Clearly the thinktank thought that the ball might skid on more easily for batsmen in the dark. We will never know.
Cook was grateful for some “phenomenal batting”. “Kumar Sangakkara gave a masterclass [on the first day]. Well, Joe was in the same league today, which is as good a compliment as I can pay him,” he said. “It was an important win for us. Colombo has not been kind to us but it would be great if we can go back there with the series 3-3.”
Once again Taylor impressed enormously at No3. “Tich stands out for his mental approach; he knows his game and he knows himself,” said Cook. Taylor also knows an lbw when he sees one – just. Cook consulted Taylor when he was given out lbw and the new man on the block had little hesitation in sending his captain on his way. Fortunately for him the “umpire’s call” meant that Taylor had read the decision correctly. Once again Cook’s own form was scrappy, which remains a blot on an increasingly cheerful landscape.
In fact neither of England’s openers convinced. Sachithra Senanayake, back from his ban, bowled the second over as England began their pursuit of 240 runs and while Moeen Ali crisply drove his second ball for four, he had a horrible hack at the fourth and was bowled. Moeen has captivated and exasperated in equal measure on this tour. Perhaps that is part of the bargain when he opens the batting. However if he can bring himself to watch that dismissal again he might rethink his strategy against off-spin at the very start of an innings.
Cook hit two boundaries from Tillakaratne Dilshan’s opening over with his favourite cut shot. But soon Senanayake tormented him all too easily. If Sri Lanka had used their review he would have been lbw earlier. It may be that the Sri Lankans mentioned to Cook that they did not wish to waste a review on him.
No matter. It was not long before Cook was hit on the front pad by a straight ball from Senanayake, propelled with a straight arm incidentally. This time the umpire raised his finger and after consultation Cook declined to review the decision. Against off-spinners Cook might benefit from practising without wearing his right pad.
However Taylor and Root, who was mature enough to take plenty of time in reconnaissance, calmly restored the situation. Taylor’s footwork against the spinners was nimble; he was also swift between the wickets, judging what constituted a run unerringly.
As in Colombo Taylor’s innings was galvanised once he had hit a sudden six. Down the wicket he came to Dilshan and the ball sailed over the boundary at long-on. Later he unveiled a deft paddle-sweep that would have had the pundits purring for ages had it been played by Mahela Jayawardene.
In the space of two innings Taylor has surely booked his passage to the World Cup and into England’s best team. It has been his calm temperament and judgment of risk that has been most impressive. He has played the Sri Lankan spinners expertly.
The challenges in Australia and New Zealand will be different; the pitches will bounce more, spinners will be used more sparingly. Even so Taylor has seized his chance and worked his passage quite brilliantly.
Meanwhile Root demonstrated his ability against spin once again. He judges the length of the ball a little quicker than most, so he refrains from lurching on to the front foot prematurely. Instead he stays back, which was no great risk on this sluggish surface, and clipped the ball for singles. This method eventually causes the slow bowlers to pitch the ball fuller.
Root has been in good form throughout the tour but here he assembled a truly substantial innings. There were no frills. Still only 23, he batted like a veteran, forever working the ball into the business area – on the leg side.
After a partnership of 104 Taylor departed when a well-timed pull skimmed straight into the hands of Ajantha Mendis at long leg.
Thereafter Ravi Bopara cruised along in Root’s wake. He took his time and holed out just before the end, as did Eoin Morgan. But by then Root had cracked a six over midwicket to reach his third ODI century of the year. So far every time Root hits a hundred in ODI cricket, England win.
