SaqAssistant coach Paul Collingwood admitted England had a bad day at the office as they let control of the third Test against Sri Lanka slip through their fingers at the Kia Oval.
In pursuit of a second success of the summer, having won each of their last five games by a comfortable margin, England faltered as they neared the finish line.
Boasting a 62-run lead in the first innings, they were bowled out for 156 in just 34 overs, handing Sri Lanka a golden opportunity to end a gruelling tour on a high note.
Chasing 219, they reduced their target to 125 in the space of 15 overs, with Pathum Nissanka (53 not out) and Kusal Mendis (30 not out) scoring better than a run-a-ball.
Collingwood did not attempt to downplay the team’s struggles, but attributed it to a misfire rather than a lack of drive.
“It’s certainly not been one of our best days of Test cricket this year,” he said.
“It’s quite easy to make an excuse and say it’s complacency, but there’s a lot of enjoyment and desire in it. We wanted to wipe the slate clean. The lads are very proud to play for England, so there was certainly no complacency going into this game.
“We always try to put the bowlers away and find a way to put pressure on the opposition. Sometimes it doesn’t work and today it didn’t work.”
Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Sir Alastair Cook have expressed disappointment at the way the team approached the game this week, suggesting they had taken their foot off the gas. Vaughan even warned Harry Brook that he risked “making a mockery of the game”.
Collingwood brushed off the advice, insisting the team had thick enough skin to deal with it.
“I haven’t seen any criticism, but we all know that if you don’t perform, you will be criticized, and that’s okay,” he said.
“The guys in the dressing room will be throwing their hands up in the air. But we still have a chance to win the game. There’s enough ground on the pitch to take nine wickets, but we need a lot of things to go our way.”
One player who managed to emerge from this rather disappointing performance was Jamie Smith, whose score of 67 was a rare bright spot. Without him, England would have been beaten already.
Collingwood faced one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batsmen of all time in his playing days and found himself searching for superlatives to describe Smith’s impact.
“He’s certainly an artist. You remember the Adam Gilchrist days when he came over as a seven-year-old for Australia,” he said.
“He (Smith) is going to put a lot of teams under pressure when he has the skills and power that he has. It sucks the life out of the opposition when someone has the ability to do something like that. He’s certainly shown great skills in his short Test career.”
Saq
