Colombo, February 22 – England captain Harry Brook described the team’s comprehensive victory over Sri Lanka as a special occasion, praising his side’s adaptability and bowling discipline after they successfully defended 145 and bowled the hosts out for just 95 in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super 8s clash at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
“It was a wonderful birthday gift. I thought we played exceptionally well, and to get over the line and bowl them out for less than 100 is an amazing achievement,” Brook said during the post-match presentation.
Reflecting on the conditions, Brook emphasised how England’s bowlers adjusted their approach after assessing the surface during the first innings.
“I didn’t think there were really any difficult conditions on the pitch. I think the spinners on both sides used the pace really well, and that’s what brought a lot of wickets. We saw how it was behaving in the first innings, and the lack of pace was creating opportunities. So we had a good discussion about that before going out, and we adapted to the surface really well,” the England captain said.
Brook credited England’s batters for laying the foundation despite difficult batting conditions, reserving special praise for Phil Salt, whose gritty half-century proved decisive. He said, “It was just a slow pitch. It was hard to time the ball, and I thought Salty played an exceptional innings to get 60, despite everyone struggling around him. Not the fluent Phil Salt that everyone knows, but he managed to get us to a very good score, and also formed some good partnerships at the end. It was a fantastic performance.”
The England captain also backed Jos Buttler despite his recent struggles, expressing confidence in the senior batter’s ability to perform later in the tournament.
“I’m not concerned at all. He’s a world-class cricketer. He has been for many years. He’s arguably the best white-ball player to have ever played the game. He’s just lacking a little confidence at the moment, but I’d rather he starts the competition like this and finishes with a flourish. I’m looking forward to seeing how he performs in the next couple of games. It has worked for us, we’ve played a lot of cricket here in the last few weeks, and we knew that it was going to play a big part today. And Jacksie was pretty annoyed with the way he got out, so he told me that he always bowls better when he’s angry, and thankfully he got off to a cracking start,” he mentioned.
Brook also revealed the tactical clarity shared among England’s spin attack, including Player of the Match Will Jacks, stating, “I had a chat with the spinners as well, and we realised that we didn’t really need to vary our lines; it was more about pace. As we saw, we got rewards for that, with a few caught and bowleds, like I said, and also a couple of catches on the boundary. It was a perfect adaptation to the surface.”
Despite operating in challenging conditions, Brook insisted that England remain confident of performing on any surface.
“No, not really. I feel like we can play on any surface. Like you said, Joss hasn’t fired yet, but when he does, and he gets on a very good wicket, he’s going to get 100 and dominate the team. And same with Salty, he got 60 today, but like I said, it’s not the flourishing Salty that we know. Once we can figure out the powerplay and get on top of them with the bat, then we’re going to be a very difficult team to beat,” he concluded.
