England national cricket team’s white-ball captain, Harry Brook, and batting great Joe Root did not hold back in their criticism while giving their verdict on the pitch on offer in the second ODI against the Sri Lanka national cricket team.
Joe Root said that the surface at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium is not a good wicket for ODI cricket, while Harry Brook said that it is probably the worst pitch he has ever played on.
Spinners’ heaven has been decorated at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium.
A spin-friendly pitch was prepared for the second ODI between Sri Lanka and England. The English team used eight bowling options in the match, six of which were spinners.
He bowled 40.3 overs of spin and broke his old record of bowling 36 overs of spin in an ODI, which was set in Sharjah in 1984–85.
England bowled out Sri Lanka for 219 in 49.3 overs and achieved the target in 46.2 overs thanks to a brilliant 75 from Joe Root, who also took wickets with the ball early in the innings.
This win helped England register their first ODI win on foreign soil after a long time and they managed to level the series 1-1 with one match remaining.
Notably, Colombo is set to host several matches in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, including the India vs Pakistan match on February 15.
This pitch is probably the worst pitch I have ever played on – Harry Brook
Speaking after the match, Harry Brook was brutal and termed the pitch prepared for the second ODI as the worst he had ever seen. Harry Brook said:
“It’s good to get a win away from home and on a tough surface. We are happy to get the win. The pitch is probably the worst pitch I have ever played on. You have to go out there and adapt as quickly as possible, and just try to get out of the strike and get the other batsman on strike.”
Meanwhile, Harry Brook was impressed with the way Joe Root batted on the hard surface. Harry Brooke said:
“His ability to get strikes out and put away bad balls when there are little misses is amazing. He’s an amazing player on our team.”
I don’t think this is a good wicket for ODI cricket – Joe Root
Joe Root has always scored big scores in Sri Lanka and he loves touring the country. However, his love for Sri Lanka did not stop him from criticizing the Colombo pitch. He said:
“I always love coming to Sri Lanka. It’s a great country. I always feel very welcomed by everyone, and obviously enjoy playing here. So it’s nice to get a win on a very difficult surface.
“I was trying to take the ball as late as possible. If I’m honest I don’t think it’s a very good wicket for ODI cricket. But today we found a way, and we tried and learned from the mistakes we made with both bat and ball in the first game, and that got us over the line.
“We knew it would be a case of trying to maximize the powerplay and then have some big partnerships. If a few guys bat for a while, it will be difficult for Sri Lanka to get the momentum back in their favour. So we tried to do it that way. And thankfully we got the job done today.”
Also read: With the match between India and Uganda being fixed at Narendra Modi Stadium, the pace of Pakistan’s withdrawal from the T20 World Cup has increased.