Cricket world cup: England dreams fall flat

England were defeated but not disgraced in Colombo as their wild World Cup adventure finally came to an end. The scoreline suggests a thumping, and it was, but importantly it was not a humiliation.

From the very first overs when the ball barely bounced and the pace of the pitch was like an asthmatic snail, England were out of the game. Sub-continent conditions just do not suit England's orthodox style of cricket and when the pitch is as exaggerated as this one then there is no chance. Sri Lanka knew the conditions and played to them perfectly.

They offered no pace to the England batsmen and even opened with Tillakaratne Dilshan, a workmanlike off-spinner. That was the end of the game. Andrew Strauss thrashed around like a stranded fish but to little effect and his dismissal, bowled heaving once more at Dilshan, could be considered a merciful blow. His latest opening partner, Ian Bell, accumulated, but not convincingly. Sri Lanka took a stranglehold on the game and did not relinquish it.

Not that this is an excuse. Sri Lanka are a far superior one-day side and showed it, apart from some poor fielding. Apart from Dilshan they have three wonderful conjurors as spin bowlers and the extraordinary Lasith Malinga, who bowls a mixture of deceptive slower balls and yorkers at the end of the innings. Any side with Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath bowling 29 overs of mystical twirlers in Colombo would fancy their chances and it was England's inability to manoeuvre these spinners into the gaps and hit the occasional boundary that stifled the innings.

Actually, England lacked a coherent aggressive plan against all the spinners and that was disappointing but maybe the early wickets of Strauss and Bell necessitated the more staid approach.

It was only Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan that offered England any hope in setting a target. Trott continued his excellent winter with a splendid 86 but it did lack dynamism. It was an innings that ensured a total but not one that offered anything more and by the time he departed he was exhausted, all energy sapped by the heat and humidity. More than two boundaries in his knock would have helped him but he did well. Morgan also reached 50 before holing out although he was dropped three times.

The final total of 229 had a chance of being competitive but only if England grabbed every chance and Sri Lanka suffered a psychological meltdown like South Africa on Friday.

Neither of these happened and any luck on offer was firmly with the home side and their rejoicing crowd.England cannot complain as they have enjoyed plenty of good fortune themselves in the past month.

What was interesting was how the Sri Lankan batsmen played on the pitch. The opening pair of Upul Tharanga and Dilshan were so comfortable that both scored centuries and no other batsmen was needed.

They enjoyed the greater pace that England's seamers deliver and they attacked the spinners by coming down the wicket late and with great speed. It was wonderful to watch, but clearly the kind of skills that are developed over many years. England's batsmen just do not experience such conditions and do not possess the necessary knowledge.

Without pace, swing or bounce the England attack became nothing more than bowling machine practice and Tharanga and Dilshan extended their opening partnerships in this tournament to over 700 runs.

It is revealing that only one non-Asian side has made it to the last four. The Asian countries play the most 50-over cricket and are at home. The shock would be if there were not three in the last four.

For England now there should be no recriminations. In the end their spirit was not enough. They need a rest. Send them home to wives, kids and girlfriends, plenty of sleep in their own beds and a few nights in the local pubs with their mates.

The post-mortem can wait. It has been an exhausting but thrilling winter and that should not be forgotten among the ruins of a loss in Colombo.

England

AJ Strauss b Dilshan 5

IR Bell c Samaraweera b Mathews 25

IJL Trott c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 86

RS Bopara lbw b Muralitharan 31

EJG Morgan c Mathews b Malinga 50

GP Swann lbw b Mendis 0

MJ Prior not out 22

LJ Wright not out 1

Extras (lb3, w6) 9

Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 229

Bowling: Malinga 10 0 46 1, Dilshan 6 1 25 1, Mathews 5 0 20 1, Herath 10 1 47 0, Mendis 10 0 34 1, Muralitharan 9 0 54 2. Fall: 1-27, 2-29, 3-93, 4-184, 5-184, 6-210.

Sri Lanka

WU Tharanga not out 102

T M Dilshan not out 108

Extras (b9, lb6, w6) 21

Total (39.3 overs) 231

Bowling: Bresnan 8 1 40 0, Swann 9 0 61 0, Tremlett 7.3 0 38 0, Bopara 5 1 22 0, Tredwell 6 0 38 0, L J Wright 4 0 17 0.

Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets

New Zealand v Sri Lanka

Tuesday, 29 March

Colombo, 10am

Pakistan v India

Wednesday, 30 March

Mohali, 10am