England finally found the magic potion for one-day cricket which has eluded them for decades.
They can be justifiably proud of their 3-2 away victory against Sri Lanka in extremely trying conditions. This win is another feather in the cap of new captain Paul Collingwood who has cobbled together a bunch of talented individuals into a winning unit.
England’s recipe for success was to keep it simple and stick to the basics.
This they did very well on the slow, low wickets which were offered to them in Sri Lanka.
The England selectors deserve a pat on the back for sticking to players who are genuine and not bits and pieces as in the past. Every cricketer in the England side was good enough to even represent England at Test level.
Finally the misconception of horses for courses has been buried by the England think-tank. They have realised that top-class cricketers can fit into any form of the game.
England showed great discipline against a team who were World Cup finalists just a few months ago. Sri Lanka is never easy to tour and many teams around the world have returned disappointed including England.
England did not start confidently as the Twenty20 defeat must have still weighed heavy on them. The first one-dayer was lost in a comprehensive manner and another disastrous tour loomed.
But the England cricketers pulled themselves together in the second one-dayer with a 65-run victory. The third one-dayer was a bit tight but the England tail-enders held their nerve and England won by two wickets.
The matches at Dambulla were tough as the wicket and outfield were slow.
Despite that, the low-scoring affairs did provide some thrilling moments.
The last two one-dayers at Colombo were expected to be more high-scoring but this did not happen as the wickets there were also slow though slightly better than Dambulla.
England clinched the series in emphatic fashion in Colombo with a five-wicket win. The last one-dayer was a bit of a letdown but that did not take away anything from the England performance.
England’s pace trio of James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad played a major part in the England revival.
They showed the kind of discipline which was so lacking in England teams of the past.
They bowled with pace and fire and rarely let the Sri Lankan top order get away. This was very crucial as Sri Lanka’s top order always like to take full advantage of the power play.
Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga were rarely allowed width to free their arms and in the bargain they found scoring were difficult.
The pace trio were ably supported by off spinning all-rounder Graeme Swann who marked his comeback with some good performances. It was refreshing to see an off-spinner actually flight the ball and look for wickets.
He remained cool and calm at critical junctures, particularly with the bat. England have now found an effective all-rounder who can be a good foil to Monty Panesar in the Tests as well.
England’s lower order batting got a bit of spine with the likes of Ravi Bopara, Swann and Broad. This proved particularly beneficial in the low scoring matches.
England’s batting was inconsistent but thankfully all the top order batsmen played at least one critical innings in the series.
Kevin Pieterson had one of his worst series with the bat but he did play well in the crucial fourth one-dayer.
Sri Lanka will be bitterly disappointed by their performances in the series. They are tigers in their home territory and this reputation got a thorough beating.
Jayasuriya found it tough as did captain Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara.
The biggest blow for the home team was that their main striker Muttiah Muralidharan missed the entire series through injury.
Though they hate to admit it, Sri Lanka are only half the side without the ace off spinner. Farvez Mahroof was the best of the Lankan bowlers but injury kept him out at the later stages.
Dilhara Fernando had a good series but Lasith Malinga was extremely disappointing.
England must now look to build upon this fine victory. The next step should be to clinch a trophy in the near future.
