It has felt like an age. Sri Lanka played the World Cup opener on 30 September, watched the rain scrub out their meeting with Australia and, nearly a fortnight later, finally get England on Saturday in Colombo. The wait has been useful, coach Rumesh Ratnayake insists, but it has also left a dressing-room itching for middle time.
England are not exactly a welcome sight in the record books – one Sri Lankan win in 18 Women’s ODIs tells that story. Ratnayake prefers not to dwell on it. “The last meeting will be tomorrow,” he said on the eve of the game. “So those are the things which we will encourage them with just before the match. But in our preparation we talk of the present, and we talk of the present team and where they are and what we can do.”
The message is simple enough: concentrate on controllables – the fields to specific batters, the phases where spin might grip, the moments to be patient with the bat. “What our strengths will be against them, and where we are going to bowl – if it is bowling – at a particular batter at what stage,” Ratnayake explained. “So we have broken it into three stages, that’s just an example. And even in our batting, I think what we want most is patience and discipline.”
The India defeat, their only completed fixture so far, still nags. Sri Lanka had the hosts 124 for 6 yet allowed them to scrape up 248. The reply petered out because, again, nobody went deep. Chamari Athapaththu called it out at the time, urging her top order to “shoulder more responsibility”. Ratnayake has pushed that point hard in the long gap since.
“In our batting, the girls are really up to it and wanting to do well,” he said. “That’s a huge plus because they know it’s a big stage. Sometimes we need to bring it down and say it’s just another match. But they are excited about this big stage. To capitalise on that, to maximise on that, they need to have runs on the scoreboard. They are aware of that. They are also aware that somebody, at least one or two, should bat till the end.”
Colombo surfaces have tended to ease as the night sets in, rewarding sides who keep wickets in hand. It is why late-order cameos have propped up totals across the competition. Sri Lanka, whose genuine hitters run out around No. 7, accept that one of the established batters must still be around when those runs are on offer.
“We actually spoke about this in detail, about how those coming lower down the order – even below number seven – need to score more,” Ratnayake said. “Our main responsibility, is that top seven needs to score the most runs. We’re addressing it differently, because even in the last game no one scored even 50 – not that 50 would have been enough.
“We’ve spoken about how you need to bat deep – at least one of the top six needs to hang around. It’s because none of those batters hung around that we were unable to chase down India’s score.”
England will bring their customary seam depth and, more lately, a concerted push to bowl spin through the middle overs. Sri Lanka’s plan is to limit damage early, keep wickets in hand and let Athapaththu play her natural game. If the captain receives support – particularly from Harshitha Samarawickrama and Nilakshi de Silva – the side believe they can post or chase a competitive number.
Ratnayake’s final note was pragmatic. Sri Lanka have impressed in flashes; consistency remains elusive. Saturday offers another marker. Past failures against England are acknowledged but not, he stresses, a burden.
“We talk of the present team and where they are,” he repeated, a touch of steel in his voice. Fair enough. After 12 long days, the present is finally here.
