Brook runs dry as England's winter of discontent goes on

Despite a promising start to their chase, the visiting batters were left in a spin

- Taha Hashim

After a year in the job, it was on: a first one-day international victory away from home for Brendon McCullum as England’s head coach, a touch of joy in a troubling winter. With Ben Duckett and Joe Root hitting watchful half-centuries, the base was set on a turner, chasing a target of 272.

But the discontent continued as 129 for one turned into 165 for six, Sri Lanka’s spinners ripping everything apart under lights in the first of three ODIs. The left-armer Dun-ith Wellalage combined his 12-ball 25 with two wickets in the collapse as the hosts triumphed by 19 runs.

The numbers are grim for England’s 50-over side. This was their 11th consecutive away loss, Harry Brook’s reign blending into the final, miserable days of Jos Buttler’s time. The latter was at the other end as Rehan Ahmed played some of the shots of the night in a briefly promising seventh-wicket stand, and the rescue suddenly felt alive again with Jamie Overton’s late burst of 34. With 20 required from the final over, it was doable - but a clunk off Pramod Madushan’s full toss killed it.

“The pitch got a little bit more extreme, it was proving very difficult to start as a batter out there,” said Brook of the defining middle passage. “Ducky and Rooty made it look fairly easy when they were set and going but they both came off and said it was hard to start on there; just getting used to the turn, bounce and sometimes the lack of spin when it just skids through.”