England vs Sri Lanka: Like playing Barcelona at the Nou Camp, England in May are unbeatable

Playing England’s cricket team at home in May is a difficult proposition for visiting teams, as tough as taking on Barcelona at the Nou Camp or the All Blacks in the Otago mud.

Since Tests were arranged in the first half of the season in 2000, England have lost just two from 26 of those begun in May, one to New Zealand a few years ago and the other Pakistan in 2001. Otherwise, they have been largely untouchable, winning 19 and drawing the others.

That is a rare dominance for any team, especially as the weather often shortens games at that time of year, increasing the chance of a draw. Set against that is the quality of the opposition, England never playing Australia or South Africa until after June, but it is nevertheless a proud record.

But is England’s supremacy in spring due to their craft and experience in the conditions or their opponent’s naivety? Of course both those forces can be present simultaneously. When that happens you end up with the walkover which occurred here at Headingley these past few days, with England winning by an innings and 88 runs after making 298 in their first innings.

open image in gallery

It must be difficult for Sri Lanka. Having won the series here two years ago (their victory came in June) with their two world-class players, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene still on board, they have returned with a young side of promise but with zero skills for surviving a dank and cloudy Headingley.

Graham Ford, Sri Lanka’s coach and someone who knows all about early season conditions in England from his time at Surrey, acknowledged how tough it is. Not that any of Alastair Cook’s team will have any sympathy having played on slow, bare pitches in Colombo in 100-degree heat, conditions that had one dehydrated England bowler reportedly seeing pink elephants.

In an interview with David Lloyd on Sky Sports, Ford said it was a “mental thing” more than anything else and that the team had discussed playing on fruity pitches like this one at length. He may be right. A bit of devilment in the surface can often have the mind’s eye seeing things that aren’t there, but Sri Lanka’s batsmen, used to having time to fashion big shots on their batsman-obliging tracks at home, look wanting technically as well.

open image in gallery

It was in a different era, though the surface was just as perilous, but Sri Lanka would have done well to prepare for this match by watching a video of Graham Gooch’s magnum opus here against the West Indies in 1991. Against one of the greatest pace attacks ever assembled, Gooch made an unbeaten 154 in England’s second innings, setting up England first home victory over the West Indies in 22 years.

Gooch is one of the finest batsmen England have produced but the thing he did that day, and the cornerstone of his success in that innings, was to put the ball that had just gone, and there were plenty that beat the bat that match, out of his mind. That, and not to follow the ball once it had moved of the seam, something Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka, among others, were guilty of yesterday as they edged behind to Jonny Bairstow.

Gooch was 37 when he played that innings, and it takes a depth of resolve to occupy the crease like that in hostile conditions that has probably yet to form in the young minds of Sri Lanka’s batsmen. It probably hasn’t even lodged in Bairstow’s mind yet, despite his brilliant hundred this match. Mind you, even the most generous of Sri Lanka’s supporters would acknowledge that their bowling attack is not a match for James Anderson, Stuart Broad and an off-colour Steven Finn, let alone one containing Malcolm Marshall, Curtley Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Patrick Patterson.

Mismatches like the one here (a five-day match over in 162.4 overs) are not good for the game, except to give the winning players more time at home. In the past, most countries had a slew of cricketers playing for various counties. It provided them with an education in English conditions that held them in good stead when their countries toured. That finishing school is now ceded to ‘A’ tours. But while the likes of Australia can afford those other Boards like Sri Lanka’s cannot. Until that changes, England’s mastery in May looks set to continue.