Colombo, Feb 22 (IANS) 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.

“A beautiful birthday present. I thought we played exceptionally there and to get over the line and bowl them out for less than 100 is an awesome effort,” 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 demons 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 lack of pace was creating chances. So we had a good chat about that before going out and we adapted to the surface really well,” the England skipper 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 slow. It was hard to time, and I thought Salty played an exceptional innings there to get 60 with everybody fumbling around him as well. Not the fluent Phil Salt that everybody knows, but he managed to get us to a very good score there and a couple of partnerships at the end as well. It was a hell of a performance.”

The England skipper also backed Jos Buttler despite his recent struggles, expressing confidence in the senior batter’s ability to deliver later in the tournament.

“Not concerned at all. He’s a powerhouse of world cricket. 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 bit of confidence at the minute, but I’d rather him start the competition like this and finish with a flourish. Looking forward and really excited to see how he goes in the next couple of games. It has worked for them, we’ve played a lot of cricket here in the last few weeks, and we knew that it was gonna play a big part today. And Jacksie was pretty annoyed with the way he got out, so he said to me 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 were like, we don’t really need to vary our lines, it’s more about paces, and as we saw, we got rewards for that as well with a few caught and bowleds, like I said, and a couple of catches out on the boundary, it was perfect adaption to the surface.”

Despite operating in challenging conditions, Brook insisted 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 fire and he gets on a very good wicket, he’s going to get 100 and blitz the team away. And same with Salty as well, he got 60 today, but like I said, it’s not the flourishing Salty that we know. Once we can figure that power play out and get on top of them with the bat, then we’re going to be a very hard team to beat,” he concluded.

–IANS

vi/