It's the batters, batters, batters. Right through the series , Sri Lanka have emphasised that it was their batting order that was letting the side down. Four innings in , with Sri Lanka never having got close to 350, with none of their top seven having got to triple-figures, captain Dhananjaya de Silva has reiterated the importance of top order runs again.
In the first Test , Sri Lanka were 72 for 5 in the first innings. In the second Test , they were 83 for 5 in the first innings. Here's where de Silva believes they lost.
"Our batters have to score runs, and that's the biggest issue we've had, " he said. "Those who got starts didn't turn them into hundreds and 150s. If you look at Joe Root on their side, he's consistently made runs and it's around him that others made runs. That's what someone on our side needs to do as well, so we can get to 300 or 350. First-innings runs are what's crucial to victory."
The only Sri Lanka batter to make serious runs on tour has been Kamindu Mendis , who batting at No. 7 has made scores of 113 in Manchester and 74 at Lord's. He arrives at his sixth Test with a batting average of 78.87, having made six fifty-plus scores in nine innings, and having gone onto triple-figures on three of those occasions.
Sri Lanka would have been tempted to shunt him up the order for this match, given not only his form, but the fact that he bats in the top and middle order frequently for domestic sides. But they will leave him where he is, for now, de Silva said.
"I think if Kamindu plays well down there there's no reason to change what he's doing and put him in trouble. If he's scoring there, it's good for his career as well. In the future, maybe we will talk to him, about his plans as well and see what changes we can make. But right now we're thinking of him as a No. 7."
The remainder of the batting order, even those on their third tour of England, have struggled badly against England's seamers meanwhile. A lot of this has to do with their discipline, de Silva said.
"They [England] have a lot of control in addition to their experience. They have great control of line and length and we don't get many loose balls in England. We need to be prepared for that and our plans have to take that into account. That's just what you get in England. In the two previous matches they didn't let us execute our plans. That's why they were successful."
Root, who has made 350 runs in four innings so far in the series, has also helped pound Sri Lanka to a 2-0 scoreline. Earlier this week, Dimuth Karunaratne spoke about Sri Lanka needing to go back to square one with their planning for him. De Silva hopes they've now got something together that will surprise Root, at the very least.
"It's not that our plans against him didn't work - he just very quickly recognised what we were trying to do and countered it. That's what world class players do, and that's why he scored runs. We've hopefully come up with something now that he won't expect."
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