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#360view: Success in Sri Lanka can help unlock the puzzle of England’s enigmatic side
A series in Sri Lanka in November might not be the smartest of plans. But as is the case almost every year, there is an international series in the island nation with England the visitors this time. The weather might be uncertain but what is certain is the fact that the two sides involved have a lot riding on it.
England enter the seven-match ODI series looking to create some sort of a structure as far as their one-day set up is concerned. Alastair Cook’s side don’t inspire a lot of confidence in coloured clothing and they have reasons to be worried. Their last ODI series was against India at home and they were soundly beaten 3-1 despite having decimated the Indians in the preceding Test series. Prior to that, they lost an ODI series against Sri Lanka 3-2, again at home.
The results are a surprise because England are not a bad team. Far from it. They have some excellent players in their line-up who, if taken in isolation, look like potential world beaters.
Joe Root has had a brilliant 2014 with the bat across formats while Moeen Ali has raised his game considerably and looks set to take on the new role of a hard-hitting opener. And most importantly, England have a bevy of top-class all-rounders.
Chris Jordan, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes all are good enough to make it into most teams in the world on the basis of their bowling alone. It’s a huge bonus that all three are sound batsmen and reliable fielders as well. And to top it all, they have a swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman in the form of Jos Buttler who can change the tempo of a match in half an hour.
However, collectively, England as a whole don’t add up to what the 11 individuals are worth. And that’s because there are some crucial ingredients missing.
The main one being the lack of confidence captain Cook is suffering from. Not only have the runs dried up for Cook, but the controversy that emanated from Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography, which alluded to presence of a bullying sideculture in the team, has clouded his mind and that of the senior members like Ian Bell and James Anderson.
In such a scenario, most of the younger players have been caught up in a battle that is not even theirs. The focus has been allowed to shift away from the field and it is crucial England put an end to it. And Sri Lanka is a good place to start that process.
The islanders must still be hurting after the thrashing they received at the hands of India in the five-match ODI clash – their worst ODI whitewash in history. Sri Lanka have some major personnel issues with the form of batsman Kumar Sangakkara, seamer Nuwan Kulasekara and paucity of reliable batsmen at the top a worry.
In such a situation, England will fancy their chances. They can genuinely look forward to making an impression against a beleaguered opponent in their own den, which can only do them good as they look to put forth a challenge at the World Cup next year.
Sri Lanka is no Australia and the conditions will be different Down Under. But a hard-fought win against a formidable opponent away from home will make many of England’s problems go away.
