By Max Hunter
England Captain Joe Root has been talking about the importance of his spinners in the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, “bowling with the new ball might be a serious option for me.”
Sri Lanka with its dry, dusty pitches is a spinner’s paradise and will play a key role if England are going to have success. Root has seasoned veterans Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid at his disposal with Jack Leach in reserve hoping to force his way into the first 11 in what will be near perfect conditions for his specific trade.
“It doesn’t happen very often for English spin bowlers but it’s for the guys to start thinking about now.” However, Root will have to bide his time before he starts making decisions as Eoin Morgan takes charge of the five ODI’s and one T20 before the three Test match series begins.
World number one side England will want to put right a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of their hosts suffered four years ago. England coach Trevor Bayliss spoke on the upcoming ODI series “Coming to a place like Sri Lanka, where most away teams have struggled to play away from home, is a good challenge for us.”
With such a key piece of solving the Sri Lankan puzzle placed in the hands of the spinner’s it is important they get off to a strong start. In this morning’s first warm up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI, off-spinner Ali the only spinner who played four years ago, put those bad experiences behind him taking 3-42 from his 10 overs. Leg breaker bowler Rashid was not as successful in the wicket column finishing with 1-46 in his 10 overs, but as a pair the pair bowled efficiently, suffocating run scoring opportunities.
England will play one more warm up match before their five match OD series begins on the 10 October.