Asitha Fernando and Eshan Malinga were excellent with the scuffed-up ball
- With the old rule Sri Lanka would have been mostly beaten well inside 50 overs
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Sri Lanka finally broke the shackles that held them from beating England on their current tour to post a 16-run win in the second ODI played at Headingley, Leeds to set up a thrilling series deciding contest for Sunday at The Oval, London.
In some ways Sri Lanka has to thank the ICC rule change in ODIs that came into effect from July 2025 that enabled them to keep England down to a score of 305-9 chasing 322.
The key details of the ODI Ball Rule:
- First 34 Overs: Two new balls are used from opposite ends (one from each end).
- From the 35th Over Onward: The fielding/bowling team must select just ONE of those two balls to use for the rest of the innings (overs 35 to 50). The other ball is kept as a spare.
- Reason for Change: Allowing a single ball to get older and scuffed up helps bring Reverse Swing back into the death overs, creating a fairer balance between bat and ball.
On Thursday we saw the benefit of this rule change. The ball reversed and Sri Lanka won a game which previously under the old rules would have been difficult. Without that rule, Sri Lanka would have been mostly beaten well inside 50 overs. The scuffed-up ball reversed and Asitha Fernando and Eshan Malinga were excellent.From the 37th over till the end of the 50th they conceded just a four and a six which ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Ben Duckett and Tom Banton had set the platform for England with a 118-ball 143-run opening stand. With the pitch flat, England were racing away towards their target.
Dunith Wellalage was superb, his three-wickets that of Banton, Duckett and the inform England captain Harry Brook gave Sri Lanka hope. Jos Buttler›s hamstring pull allowed Sri Lanka a glimmer and they took it with both hands.
Will Jacks Player of the Match in the first ODI lost his timing and fell to Malinga and Sri Lanka nailed the yorkers at will with Malinga, Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka who bowled the final over, at their best.
It was excellent captaincy from Kusal Mendis too as he relied on the seamers knowing the ball was reversing. The seamers were backed up by some brilliant fielding holding onto the catches that came their way. The win should infuse a lot of confidence into Sri Lanka who just hung in there and then took their opportunities.
Kudos to the ICC for bringing back the excitement of reverse-swing in ODIs and taking us back to the nineties and early 2000s when the death overs was not merely slam-bang cricket.
