Brook slams 'worst pitch' as England prevail in spin-heavy contest

Visitors prevail on slow and low surface, but Root also critical of conditions in five-wicket win

Despite their relief at winning away from home for the first time in 12 attempts, both Joe Root and Harry Brook voiced their criticism of the Khettarama pitch after England's five-wicket win in the second ODI against Sri Lanka.

The pair were their team's mainstays in a 220-run chase, adding 81 for the third wicket on a dry and slow surface on which England used six different spin options across 40.3 overs of Sri Lanka's innings, both a record by their team in ODIs.

Root followed on from his 61 in Thursday's opening game with a Player of the Match-winning 75 from 90 balls, but admitted at the post-match presentations: "I don't think that's a great wicket for ODI cricket, if I'm being brutally honest."

Brook, England's captain, was even more succinct in his appraisal. "That pitch is probably the worst pitch I've ever played on," he said, after resisting his natural impulses to make 42 from 71 balls - a strike rate of 56.00 which was slower than all but two of his ten Ashes innings (one of which was a first-ball duck).

Nevertheless, it contributed to a slow-burner of a contest in which England were indebted to a flying finish from Jos Buttler (33 not out from 21 balls) to spare them any late dramas. And, seeing as they had not won a single overseas ODI since the tour of West Indies in November 2024 (and none since Brook took over as captain last year) the winning feeling came as some relief.

"It's nice to get a win away from home and on a tough surface," Brook said. "We're happy to get the victory.

"The pitch is probably the worst pitch I've ever played on. You had to go out there and adapt as quick as possible, and just try to get off strike and get the other batter on strike."

Few do that better than Root, who now averages 64.9 in 14 ODIs in Sri Lanka, dating back to 2014. "His ability to be able to get off strike, and put the bad ball away when they slightly miss, is awesome," Brook said. "He's a phenomenal player to have in our side."

Root's record in Sri Lanka also includes his most recent Test tour of the country in 2021, when he secured back-to-back victories with massive first-innings hundreds.

"I always love coming to Sri Lanka," he said. "It's a great country. I always feel extremely welcomed from everyone, and obviously enjoy playing here. So it's nice to get the win on a very difficult surface.

"I was just trying to take the ball as late as possible," he added. "I don't think that's a great wicket for ODI cricket, if I'm being brutally honest. But we found a way today, and we adapted and learned from the mistakes we made in the first game, both with bat and ball, and that got us across the line.RelatedEngland succumb to spin-bowling choke as Sri Lanka go 1-0 up

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"We knew it was going to be a case of trying to maximise the powerplay and then a couple of big partnerships. If a couple of guys batted for a period of time, it was going to be difficult for Sri Lanka to wrestle momentum back in their favour. So that's how we tried to approach it. And thankfully, we got the job done today."

The conditions were a far cry from England's experience in the Ashes earlier this month. But Root, with almost 400 international appearances to his name, said he had taken the swift turnaround of continents and formats in his stride.

"I just used experience really," he said. "I've played a lot of cricket in the subcontinent, played a lot of cricket here in Sri Lanka. I have an understanding of the different nature of the bounce, and how the ball can turn, and trying to work out the delivery from the hand as much as possible.

"As soon as you can get that consistent spin, the ball gets softer and a bit older, then it makes it a little bit easier. But the start, when it's a bit newer, and there's some skid, some spin, then you've got to be really precise with your footwork."

Charith Asalanka, Sri Lanka's captain, recognised that his team had been "at least 30 runs short", and admitted that his batters had been complicit in their own downfall, not least Kusal Mendis, their matchwinner in the opening ODI, who ran himself out for 26.

"There are a few areas to need to improve," Asalanka said. "Yes, we were short some runs. Credit goes to their batters, especially Joe Root and Harry Brook, they batted really well in that middle period. We were trying a lot in the field, and the bowlers did everything, but credit should go to them."

England bowled Sri Lanka out with three balls of their innings to spare, and Brook was proud of his bowlers' efforts, including the recalled Will Jacks, who served up 10 overs for 47 having replaced the injured Zak Crawley.

"The bowlers did an amazing job there," he said. "Obviously, they're used to these conditions, so to bowl them out was awesome work from them guys.

"It was just about rotating the spinners really," he added. "Obviously we lost Creeps [Crawley] for selection just last night with his knee, so we brought Jacksy in to replace him, bat in the middle order, and obviously he did a really good job with the ball."