England got all-out on 156 runs in 33.2 overs against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday.
New Delhi: Former England cricketer Nasser Hussain slammed defending champions England’s batting, and Hussain made a strong statement that they lack rhythm and fluency after the Jos Buttler-led side was just bowled out for 156 runs in 33.2 overs against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday, October 26.
Having logged just two points from four games, England were expected to show some urgency but the defending champions struggled massively on a pitch that offered spongy bounce after batting by choice.
But more than the surface or the enterprising Sri Lankan bowlers, the English batsmen battled inner demons, save Ben Stokes who made a gritty 43 off 73 balls.
Opener Dawid Malan who milked 45 runs with Jonny Bairstow, could be excused though.
Angelo 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 Kusal 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.
Joe Root got run out while taking off for a non-existent single, captain Jos Buttler made an expansive drive outside the off-stump off Lahiru 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.
Stokes did try on his own. He had the assistance of fortune as well when Sadeera Samarawickrama floored a tough chance at point off Kumara when the all-rounder was on 12. England were 86 for 5 then.
Stokes dismissal, caught by substitute Dushan Hemantha, at deep of Kumara, effectively ended England’s chances of posting a challenging total despite them having an extra-long batting line-up.
Adil 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.
Kumara (3 for 35) 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 also crank up some serious speed to hustle the batters.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain expressed his thoughts that none of the Three Lions batters seem to be in form at the moment and the squad lacks rhythm and fluency.
“The problem is with England, I look at their batters and I honestly can’t say one of them is in nick at the moment. There’s no rhythm and no fluency to their batting and this is the gun line-up they’ve had for some time now,” Nasser Hussain said.
The Former English cricketer also said that the English batters should occupy the crease for some time and get the rhythm back. “Maybe occupy the crease for a while and form will come.”
Left-handed opener David Malan is the highest run-getter for Jos Buttler-led England at the moment, amassing 220 runs with none of the others even crossing the 200 mark.