Sri Lanka vs England, 1st test: 4 things learnt

#4. Sri Lankan spinners were ordinary and the English batsmen played them easily:

Ben Foakes

The pitch was tailor-made for the Sri Lankan spinners, but they failed to make good use of it. None of the Sri Lankan spinners bowled top-spinners and generated bounce off the pitch. They also did not use the width of the crease to vary the angle of the deliveries. As a result, they were predictable most of the times and the English batsmen did not have to toil too hard to make runs.

Foakes and Jennings showed that the Lankan spinners can be handled easily, even on a turning track. Foakes played some excellent shots in his debut Test and took the battle to the Lankan camp. Jennings, meanwhile, was solid in his approach and played some nice sweep shots against the spinners.

The Lankans might consider playing another pacer with Lakmal in the second Test as they do not seem to have too many good spinners at their disposal. A new-ball bowler, who can bowl with an upright seam and swing it occasionally, might come in handy in the second Test.

Dilruwan Perera took 5 wickets in the first innings of England and contributed some runs with his bat too. Apart from Mathews, he is the only Lankan player who should be satisfied with his performance in the first Test.