Sri Lanka v England: England need Trott to dig in deep

Test previews / Ed Hawkins / 03 April 2012 / Leave a Comment

Jonathan Trott needs to play an innings like the one he did in Galle last week

"So it is with nervousness that one studies the stats for second-innings scores on this ground. Can past records be relevant when we are dealing with such timid minds as England’s collective grey matter?"

England had Sri Lanka in all sorts of trouble early on but failed to pick up the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene and so missed out on a great chance to dismiss the hosts cheaply. Don't bank on England to make a big score when they eventually bat, says Ed Hawkins.

It is fair to assume that at some point on day two of the second Test between Sri Lanka and England at the PSS in Colombo the tourists will have to bat. They are probably dreading it, particularly after a strong sense of déjà vu on day one.

Just as they did in the first Test, England started superbly, and reduced Sri Lanka to 30 for three - Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara have been hopeless so far - but then the heat got to them and Mahela Jayawardene ground them down, eventually breaking their spirit with another century.

The tone had been set once more by the Sri Lanka captain. England, sweltering and knackered, were going through the motions and were just waiting for the new ball. When it did arrive they made inroads and they will probably argue it was their day as Sri Lanka closed on 238 for six. They will need to show spirit and character more consistently when it is their turn to bat.

How likely that is cannot be gauged by the state of the pitch. It looks a good one but so did Galle and England collapsed twice horribly on it.

As we have said before it is unlikely that England will have solved their psychological issues against spin. If anything, they may be suffering more than ever before. Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv are tipped to give them problems once more.

So it is with nervousness that one studies the stats for second-innings scores on this ground. Can past records be relevant when we are dealing with such timid minds as England's collective grey matter?

The average score is 417 in eight Tests since 2002. Given that England have scored more than 300 only once in eight innings in the UAE and Sri Lanka this winter, don't rush to back them for 400 or more on the second-innings runs market. Instead, caution would be advised and it might be worth laying them at around [2.50].

As far as a winner in England's top runscorer market goes, we briefly discussed the qualities of Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell in the match preview. Having seen the conditions, it may be that Trott is best suited for what looks a war of attrition. Cook is not far behind, of course. He can bore with the best of them.

But as well as remembering Trott's second dig ton in Galle, one cannot help but be impressed by his assessment of his innings and, a thinly veiled swipe at his fellow batsmen. "I just played normally," he said. "I didn't try going in with any pre-conceived conceptions." That was a reference to England's obsession with the sweep shot, which they must cut out. Trott doesn't bother with it and might be our man at [4.70].

Sri Lanka are [2.44] favourites with England [2.86] and the draw [4.00].

Recommended bet

Lay England to score 350 or more at [2.50]

Ed Hawkins, the Betting Writer of the Year, gives his exclusive verdict on the second Test between Sir Lanka and England, which starts on Tuesday...

Sri Lanka are 1-0 up and have already shown what a tough a side they are in their own conditions. Winning the toss will be crucial and puts the team batting first in pole position but the bet is that...

It's difficult to understand how the Ian Bell who played magnificently in the first innings of this match is the same one who failed so miserably against Pakistan. He will be crucial if England are to come out on top...

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Michael Vaughan: Trott on the up

ODI preview / Michael Vaughan / 04 February 2011 / Leave a Comment

Jonathan Trott looks a class act as a middle order batsman in ODIs

"Long tour or otherwise, Jonathan Trott has been England’s outstanding player in these ODIs and whereas he may have been a doubt to feature in the World Cup during the summer, he’s just about the first name on the teamsheet at present."

Michael Vaughan has plenty of praise for Jonathan Trott and very little for the schedule that sees England have just three days rest in between their tour of Australia and their departure for the World Cup.

England blew a fantastic opportunity to get their second win of the ODI Series during the week and on Sunday morning they have one last chance to beat the Aussies. After that, they fly back home and have a grand total of three days in the UK before flying out for the start of the World Cup.

Yes, you read that right, three days. Is it any wonder that England have never won the World Cup when more often than not they have to take on the world's best on the back of a long Ashes tour? I know our lads in the army are sometimes away for four month spells - and I have the greatest of respect for them - but sport is a little different. Duncan Fletcher complained about how little recovery time we had in between the 2002-3 and the 2006-7 Ashes Tours and the World Cups but no-one listened. Or at least if they did, they didn't do anything about it. Andy Flower has spoken out once again and I sincerely hope that this time people listen to him for the good of English cricket.

Long tour or otherwise, Jonathan Trott has been England's outstanding player in these ODIs and whereas he may have been a doubt to feature in the World Cup during the summer, he's just about the first name on the teamsheet at present. He obviously loves batting up the order and he loves making big scores, match-winning contributions. If there was one small criticism I'd aim at him it would be that perhaps he doesn't score off enough balls. In other words, he's happy to play out a lot of dot balls early on in the innings because he's confident he can improve his strike rate once he's played himself in. Of course the problem with that is you run the risk of scoring slowly to start with and then getting out before you have a chance to make amends. But hey, Trott is still relatively new to ODI cricket and that's an area of his game I'm sure he's working on.

For what it's worth, I think this England team tick most of the boxes when it comes to being a very well-balanced 50 over side. Again, if I was to make one criticism of it it's that the two openers probably don't score enough big hundreds. But then again, not every side has the luxury of opening with Ghambir/Sehwag or Watson/Haddin! Well, that and the fact that with just two weeks to go I'm not sure anyone knows just who our best eleven is, the exact same problem we had back in 2007. Should Matt Prior open or should it be Ian Bell? Can we fit Trott, Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan into the same side? Where does Michael Yardy figure in the team? Or maybe he doesn't?

The best sides are often the most settled sides and right now, England can't de described as such.

The absence of Australia's rested duo Shane Watson and Michael Clarke is good news for England's prospects ahead of the final ODI but with injuries and fatigue aplenty for both sides I wouldn't want to try and pick a winner. Instead I like the look of Trott to outscore Callum Ferguson at around [1.8] and it may also be worth taking a punt that whichever side bats first scores in excess of 275 runs. After all, Perth tends to be a decent wicket and we've seen batsmen getting the better of bowlers for most of the Series.

Recommended bet:

Back Jonathan Trott to outscore Callum Ferguson at [1.8]

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