Tammy Beaumont ran an admiring hand over the R Premadasa pitch on Friday, then calmly stated the obvious: batting here is no longer a free-hit exercise. Two of the strongest line-ups – India and Australia – have already been tripped up by spin on this square, slipping to 124 for 6 and 76 for 7. Pakistan were bundled out for 129. England arrive unbeaten, yet under no illusion that conditions in Colombo might haul Sri Lanka closer to them than history suggests.
“I think the conditions here, obviously it being a lot more spin-friendly, is certainly bringing all the teams together,” Beaumont said. “I think that you see a team like Bangladesh playing us in the last game, [they were] so well-disciplined with the ball that it makes life a lot harder when you can’t necessarily trust the spin off the wicket and go to those big release shots; you have to really earn your runs.”
England’s chase against Bangladesh in Guwahati was a timely warning. They made it, but only thanks to Heather Knight’s patient 79 from 111 balls. The talk since has focused on repeating that approach.
“What we spoke about mainly from Heather’s innings was about how patient she was and how precise she was in the balls she went to score off. And almost putting maybe your ego to one side and just trying to really graft one out for the team and be gritty,” Beaumont explained. “I think that’s the kind of words we’re trying to use, to make sure that we’re working incredibly hard. And we might have to sit in for a bit, but we know that the longer you bat, the easier it gets. It certainly seems like a lot of runs have been scored in the last 15 overs in a lot of games, and actually sometimes you’ve just got to try to make it to that point as a batter.”
The numbers underline her point. In six World Cup matches at Premadasa this month, scoring rates across the first 30 overs average 3.4 an over, lifting to 5.2 in the final quarter. Spinners account for 62% of the wickets. England’s own tweakers – Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone and the in-form left-arm Linsey Smith – therefore take on extra responsibility.
Smith, with five wickets from two games, is England’s only left-armer and only left-hand batter. The imbalance has forced a dash of improvisation in the nets.
“Actually there’s been a few of us that have batted left-handed for her [Smith],” Beaumont laughed. “She’s obviously the only left-handed batter we have in the squad, so she’s also getting a lot of batting, but obviously she doesn’t get to practise against left-handers.”
The topic of left-handers keeps surfacing because Sri Lanka’s top five contains three of them. The hosts have beaten England just once in 18 ODIs but are better organised than that record suggests.
“I think they’re a really well-structured team and certainly a team on the rise,” Beaumont noted. “They’re really well-organised. Obviously, they’ve got a lot of left-handers, which is not something we’re that used to. Not having any left-handed batters in our squad, I think makes things a little bit trickier.”
England’s analysts have highlighted that Sri Lanka average nearly 45 runs for the first wicket in this tournament, a platform that allows captain Chamari Athapaththu to dictate terms later on. Containing that opening partnership will be key, and the likelihood is that Smith’s angle into the lefties earns her a prolonged bowl.
Experience still tilts the contest England’s way. They have won ten of their last eleven ODIs on the road and, crucially, carry momentum from successive tight victories. Beaumont, though, refuses to take anything for granted.
“I think that means that it’s a lot closer together for all the teams, and certainly the standard and depth of every single team has risen in the last four years. And we’re certainly going to see a few upsets in this World Cup, but hopefully not involving us.”
Should the surface behave as it has, the match may again hinge on whichever side keeps its nerve deepest into the chase. England’s plan is clear: graft first, flourish later. Whether that blueprint survives a Sri Lankan spin assault remains the most intriguing question heading into Saturday.
