England’s spinners arrive in Pallekele for Tuesday night’s World T20 meeting with Pakistan carrying numbers that look almost too neat to be true: four matches at the venue, four wins, 24 wickets between them and a collective economy rate of 5.81. Those figures, built against Sri Lanka over the past month, have nudged captain Harry Brook towards trusting slow bowling more than most England skippers have done in this format.
Liam Dawson, fresh from 2 for 27 in Sunday’s 51-run win, puts the recent success down to variety.
“We’re all very different types of spinners,” he said. “Jacksy gets a lot of overspin and a lot of bounce. Dilly [Rashid] has all his variations. Me – I sort of don’t get the bounce that the other two get. It will be a different challenge on Tuesday night [against Pakistan]. We’ll have to see.”
Key facts first, for anyone who has not followed England’s tour closely. The slow-bowling group now reads: Adil Rashid (leg-spin), Will Jacks (off-spin), Dawson (slow left-arm) and Jacob Bethell (slow left-arm, though a cut finger has kept him from bowling since the West Indies game). In Sri Lanka the working trio of Rashid, Jacks and Dawson have claimed seven, seven and six wickets respectively. Jacks in particular has thrived with a powerplay role, conceding only a run a ball across those four outings.
The next strip at the Pallekele International Stadium is fresh rather than used. Conventional wisdom says that means more runs, and Dawson is preparing for that possibility.
“The beauty of this ground is that you can bowl whenever and be versatile,” he said. “We’ve got four good spinners, with Bethell. And we’ve exploited conditions here in the past. If it’s a lot better wicket on Tuesday, we might need different plans and to work differently”
Experience is another theme Dawson keeps returning to.
“I think we’re all very experienced as spinners,” Dawson said of the frontline trio. “Adil and I have played a lot of cricket, and Jacks has as well. It’s probably only Bethell who has a little less experience when it comes to bowling.”
Brook’s willingness to lean on the slower options has grown visibly. After Sunday’s win he conceded England were “15-20 runs short” at the halfway stage but “had the faith” his bowlers could defend 146 for 9. Seven wickets from the spinners later, Sri Lanka were all out for 95.
Dawson took time to credit his captain. “I think the way Harry Brook captained against Sri Lanka was phenomenal – he used us all differently,” he said.
Analysis
Pakistan, unlike Sri Lanka, are generally happier taking on spin. Babar Azam favours hitting straight, Mohammad Rizwan sweeps often and Fakhar Zaman attacks anything in his arc. England’s challenge will be to hold their lines while adjusting speeds, rather than relying solely on turn. Rashid’s googly, Jacks’ extra bounce and Dawson’s flatter, skidding style cover a broad tactical range, yet the same depth raises a selection headache if the pitch looks genuinely full of runs.
For the neutral fan, that is the appeal of Tuesday night: England’s revamped slow-bowling identity going up against a batting side comfortable against spin on a ground that might not aid it at all. If the surface does break up, the numbers suggest England remain favourites. If it doesn’t, we find out whether those numbers travel well.
