Washout leaves England lacking practice ahead of Sri Lanka bout
ENGLAND are at risk of heading into the one-day series with Sri Lanka severely undercooked after their second warm-up game in Colombo was abandoned due to heavy rain without a ball being bowled.
Peter Moores’ side face their opening clash on Wednesday with only one rain-affected match under their belts – the team’s sole exposure to cricket since T20 success against India in September.
England, who have lost five of their last six ODI series, completed a resounding 56-run victory against Sri Lanka A on Friday as all-rounder Moeen Ali claimed three wickets before cracking a 21-ball 56.
Batting coach Mark Ramprakash insists the approach of Moeen in their sole warm-up fixture was exactly the philosophy he expects England to adopt this winter, especially against Sri Lanka who were recently whitewashed by India.
“Essentially, the mindset for the England one-day group this winter is to go in and try and put pressure back on the opposition, try and impose ourselves,” he said. “You don’t often see an English player go out and play with that flair.”