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England slam T20 World Cup venue pitch at RPICS
Daily FT
|January 26, 2026
Probably the worst pitch I've ever played - England Captain Harry Brook I don't think that's a great wicket for ODI cricket — Joe Root
Player of the Match England's Joe Root
BARELY two weeks before the start of the ICC T20 World Cup, the pitch at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), which is one of the three venues hosting the World Cup matches, came for some harsh criticism from England Captain Harry Brook and star batsman Joe Root at the end of the second ODI played there on Saturday.
Although England managed to win the contest by five wickets to level the three-match series one-all, the slowness of the pitch and the lack of pace in it was a real struggle for the batsmen.
England did well to bowl Sri Lanka out for 219 in 49.3 overs, and had to depend on Root’s extraordinary skills as a world class batsman who has excelled on subcontinent pitches to get over the line. Root’s magnum opus knock of 75 off 90 balls saw England home comfortably with 22 balls to spare.
This story is from the January 26, 2026 edition of Daily FT.
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