Sri Lanka’s batters Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka celebrate after Sri Lanka won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against England, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, on October 26, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

England’s reign as the 50-over World Cup champion sunk into serious jeopardy as resolute fifties by Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama along with a set of on-the-money bowlers spurred tenacious Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket victory here on Thursday.

England, opting to bat first, suffered a baffling batting implosion and were bundled out for a paltry 156, courtesy the five wickets shared among themselves by comeback man Angelo Mathews (2/14) and impressive Lahiru Kumara (3/35).

Despite losing a couple of early wickets, Sri Lanka confidently finished their chase as Nissanka (77 off 83 balls) and Samarawickrama (65 off 54 balls) led the process with an unbroken 137-run stand for the third wicket.

With just two points from five matches, England retain a mere theoretical chance to make it to the semifinals, while the Islanders, who now have four points, can eye a few stronger outings in the remaining four matches.

England might have hoped for a miracle when they dismissed opener Kusal Perera and Lankan captain Kusal Mendis through left-arm pacer David Willey to reduce their opponents to 23 for 2.

But Nissanka and Samarawickrama, two of SL’s best ODI batters this year, combined to produce a solid partnership to ease Lanka’s nerves.

The right-handers are capable of elegance but with a victory very much in need the pair traded flair for compactness for a good part of their alliance.

Flashes of their natural batsmanship, though, were there. Samarawickrama delectably drove Wiley through the covers, while Nissanka waltzed down the track and smoked leg-spinner Adil Rashid over long-on for a huge six.

Nissanka brought up his fifty, his fourth in the tournament, with a flowing cover drive off pacer Mark Wood and Samarawickrama reached his second half-century of this edition with a wristy single to mid-wicket off Chris Woakes.

But otherwise, the Lankans batted within themselves and gathered runs in a determined fashion to keep England bowlers at bay.

And England lacked determination on the day. It was just a matter of a couple of batsmen sticking out in the middle for the Three Lions to reach a far better and competitive total.

But none barring Ben Stokes (43) and Dawid Malan (28) did not even remotely attempt to bat with purpose for a team that was playing in a must-win match.

There was a bit of spongy bounce on the M Chinnaswamy Stadium deck and the Lankan bowlers were accurate but the shambolic way in which the England batsmen played could not be shielded.

Opener Dawid Malan who milked 45 runs with his partner Jonny Bairstow, could be excused though.

Mathews, an injury replacement for pacer Matheesha Pathirana, put him in two minds with a delivery that bounced from the length just enough to take an edge off his bat to Mendis behind the stumps.

However, Malan during his 25-ball 28 showed that the pitch is not a hard one to bat on while essaying some gorgeous drives through the off-side.

Unfortunately, several subsequent batters were culpable of playing really poor cricket.

Joe Root got run out while taking off for a non-existing single, captain Jos Buttler made an expansive drive outside the off-stump off Kumara to get caught behind and Bairstow never timed the pull off Kasun Rajitha to find Dhananjaya de Silva at mid-on.

Liam Livingstone played the wrong line off Kumara to get trapped leg-before. Moeen Ali went for a cut off Mathews when there was no width on offer, and Kusal Perera snaffled the simple offering at point.

These were batsmen who were expected to lead England’s batting charge and they failed to respond.

Stokes did try on his own. He had the assistance of fortune as well when Samarawickrama floored a tough chance at point off Kumara when the all-rounder was on 12. England were 86 for 5 then.

The left-hander played some archetypal power-packed shots through either side of the wicket, but the day was not made for a one-man show.

His dismissal, caught by substitute Dushan Hemantha, at deep of Kumara, effectively ended England’s chances of posting a challenging total.

Rashid’s comical run out while backing up too far could be taken as a symbol of England’s drudges with the bat on the day.

But the inept batting display of England should not rob the Lankan bowlers of the just credit.

Kumara has the tendency to be all over the place but when he hits his lengths correctly, the right-arm pacer is a different beast who can hustle the batters.

And hustled England were indeed on the day by a vastly superior Lankan side.

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews, during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between Sri Lanka and England, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (KSCA), in Bengaluru on October 25, 2023.
| Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K

Some cricketers never fade away. Fifteen years after his ODI debut, and with just three matches under his belt in the last two-and-a-half years, Angelo Mathews and his unwavering temperament are back.

The 36-year-old is in as an injury replacement for speedster Matheesha Pathirana and the 2023 edition of the World Cup will be his fourth for Sri Lanka. In a charming twist, the current skipper Kusal Mendis (standing-in for Dasun Shanaka) made his debut under Mathews in 2016.

Transformed man

“He’s evolved so much over the last five, six years,” Mathews said of Mendis, ahead of the encounter against England. “Now he’s showing his maturity [by] playing fearless cricket. I’ve played under so many different captains and they’ve also played under me. It’s a cycle. So playing under Kusal gives me pleasure.”

If Mathews makes the playing XI, his batting prowess and Mendis’ free-spiritedness will be crucial against England.

“It’s always a contest with the English. We know the brand of cricket they play and you got to be positive. If you take a backward step, they are going to jump on to you. You have to fight fire with fire.”

Not fading away

England’s Moeen Ali, on his part, hoped that the reigning ODI and T20 world champions’ competitive fire hadn’t been doused. “There are still a lot of players that can play for a long time,” the 36-year-old said when asked if this England side was on its last legs.

“There’s obviously a few of us who are a bit older, more than likely won’t make the next World Cup, but I don’t think it’s the end of anything. It could potentially be the start of something else.

“We’re still in the competition. We’ve got to win every game. But we know that we can do it.

“We’re obviously disappointed from the result [vs. South Africa]. Not just the result, but the way we played. But you’ve got to move on. Everything is a must-win and we’ve been in this position before, probably not to this degree. We have to get our confidence [back] and perform.”

England’s Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali, during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between Sri Lanka and England, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (KSCA), in Bengaluru on October 25, 2023.
| Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K

In the football World Cup, there are rungs of respectability for teams exiting the competition. You can suffer the ignominy of going out in the group-stage, the round-of-32, the round-of-16; or you can have the tags of an honourable quarterfinalist, a worthy semifinalist or a deserved finalist attached to your name.

Cricket World Cup, in contrast, is a boom or bust tournament. The difference between teams finishing fourth and fifth is a semifinal place and a group-stage ouster. On Thursday, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Sri Lanka and England will clash with the singular aim keeping alive their hopes of the former.

Unaffordable

Both Sri Lanka and England have lost three of their four matches thus far and sit seventh and eighth respectively in a 10-team World Cup. Keeping in mind the fact that they are yet to face table-topper India, neither can afford a loss.

England has to recover from a 229-run shellacking at the hands of South Africa. Its batting hasn’t clicked, skipper Jos Buttler has totalled less than 100 runs in four games and the bowling has been mauled by South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan alike. The feeling may well be that England can only go up from here, but it cannot take Sri Lanka lightly.

Proud record

The Island Nation hasn’t lost to England in any of the four World Cup games since the turn of the millennium. Last week’s five-wicket victory over the Netherlands may not be ideal preparation for Sri Lanka, but it would have certainly banished the bad memories from three chastening defeats.

The last time England visited the Chinnaswamy for ODIs back in 2011, it lost a match after scoring 327 (Ireland) and tied a match by scoring 338 (India). This World Cup, Sri Lanka has conceded 428 and 345-run totals. Another run fest looks likely and England would finally want to finish on the right side of it.