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The England cricket team will be in a confused state of mind as they embark on their winter tour to Sri Lanka this month.
The Twenty20 World Cup has been a major disappointment for the side which started as one of the favourites. England were expected to do well as they had a good Twenty20 structure at home and their players were experienced in the format.
The team was in good form too after beating India 4-3 in a thrilling one-day series. Now the indifferent performances in the World Cup are bound to weigh heavily on Paul Collingwood and his men.
England lacked consistency from the onset. The big boys in the team – Kevin Pieterson, Andrew Flintoff and Collingwood – had a poor tournament by their standards. Catches were dropped at crucial moments and the bowling was ragged at times.
England had a chance to win in most of their matches but they faltered chasing modest totals. They lost the momentum in the last two or three overs and too much was asked of their lower order batsmen.
England did finish on a better note when they reached 200 while chasing India’s total of 218. But they leaked crucial runs with India’s Yuvraj Singh hammering six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad.
Sri Lanka will not be an easy place to tour. The Lankans are virtually unbeatable in their own territory.
With Flintoff out of the tour due to a nagging ankle injury, the England squad will be weakened considerably. Flintoff has done well in the past on Sub-Continent pitches and his bowling in particular will be sorely missed.
The return of Ravi Bopara will be welcomed. His cool and collected approach in the lower order has been a bright point for England in recent times.
Interestingly, England have opted for off-spinner Graeme Swann for the tour. Swann has been an improved player in the domestic circuit and his progress will be crucial on the spinner-friendly wickets in Sri Lanka.
Swann will lend Monty Panesar much needed support and England may well play two spinners in the side. Swann is also a more than useful batsman and in the absence of Flintoff, will strengthen the middle-order.
England’s top order remains strong and Pieterson will once again be the key player. Pieterson is a determined and strong willed person and his tussles with Sri Lankan spin ace Muttiah Muralitharan will be worth watching.
Ian Bell is a transformed man and his batting will be crucial to England’s fortunes. Collingwood is a good on Sub-Continent pitches and if he finds form again, it will reflect positively on England’s fortunes.
James Anderson will spearhead the attack once again but he may find the pitches in Sri Lanka unresponsive. Broad is a promising bowler and he must forget Yuvraj’s onslaught and carry on the good work he is doing.
Sri Lanka will also be hurt by their performances in the Twenty20 World Cup.
They started off brilliantly by posting the highest score ever in the format but fell off as their campaign progressed.
There was a lack of understanding of the situation in their crucial encounter with Australia. Instead of putting their heads down and grinding it out, the Lankan batsmen played stupid shots on a slow pitch and got themselves into trouble.
Sanath Jayasuriya started the tournament brilliantly but as his form fell away so did the Lankans. On the positive side, the Lankan bowlers did well in the absence of Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando was easily the pick of them.
Chaminda Vaas maintained the high standards he sets himself and Lasith Malinga continued with his recent good form.
With Muralitharan back in the team, the Lankans will start as favourites. It was not so long ago that they made it to the final of the World Cup and despite the Twenty20 disappointment, they will be confident in their own backyard.
England must put their Twenty20 setback behind them.
They are getting better by the day in the 50-over format and they just need to push ahead with their plans.
The 50-over version is a different ball game and they must remember that they beat India in style.
By playing positively and aggressively, they can turn winners again.
