Test Match Special - Bowlers bail out England as they beat Sri Lanka

Episode Date: February 22, 2026

Daniel Norcross is alongside 2017 World Cup winner Alex Hartley for reaction to England's victory over Sri Lanka. They discuss England's bowling performance after they got Sri Lanka all out for just 9...5 runs. Plus, Phil Salt reflects on his half-century which helped steer England to 146.

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Starting point is 00:01:02 Boldham, it's all over, done with the Googly. Madashanka went for the swing, he's missed it. And England have pulled off victory in their first game in the Super 8s by 51 runs. Seven wickets for the spinners. In the end, a dominant display with the ball. I'm Daniel Laugros, alongside me is Alex Hartley, World Cup winner as we look back on the first match of England's Super Bowl.
Starting point is 00:01:37 of England's super eights here at Palakale. And a dominant win by England in the end. And I don't quite know how it's happened. They've actually thrashed Sri Lanka, the co-hosts, by 51 runs. Sri Lanka were never in the chase, but the chase was a modest one of 147. Here at Palakale where we've seen some pretty good batting conditions. We've seen the lives of Travis Ed and Mitchell, Marsh, Drunchet, tall past. We've seen Patum Nysanka, hit an unbeaten 100 in one of the most of the most
Starting point is 00:02:07 important and consequential matches of the tournament. But today, Alex Harley, this was a very, very different kind of pitch. It really was. It really was. Well, I think it was. I still don't know. I still don't know about the pitch. There's obviously something in it because England struggled. They only got 146.
Starting point is 00:02:25 Sri Lanka who beat Australia here just the other day, they've been bundled out for the lowest score of the tournament so far 95. So there has to have been something in the pitch. But then when you were watching Phil Salt, he made it look really easy. But then so did Mitch Marsh. So did Nisanka the other day. You know, it's been one of those grounds where somebody has got in and somebody has done well. And look for England, without Phil Salt today, they would have really, really struggled.
Starting point is 00:02:51 And Sri Lanka didn't have that Phil Salt in their batting lineup. No, they didn't. England were put into bat by Sri Lanka. And that was absolutely no surprise because there's been so much rain around here in the candy. the original across all of Sri Lanka. We've had over one and a half times the amount of rain for the whole of February has fallen in just the last 24 hours in various parts around where we are.
Starting point is 00:03:16 And so with rain forecast as well, the very real danger is getting an abbreviated game or a game which will be decided on Duckworth Lewis. That really encouraged Dustin Shamika to bowl first. Also the fact that they've got a recent memory of having hunted down 182 here to beat Australia, which they did with just two wickets. it's down.
Starting point is 00:03:35 So there was a bit of a blow for England first up, and actually they really struggled. They were told they were going to come out to be fearless. Harry Brooke had said that. He wanted people to be fearless, not get out chipping to cover. But Alex, the batting looked a bit timorous to start with. Tentative.
Starting point is 00:03:50 Yeah, timorous is right. It's a bit tentative, a bit all over the place, not quite the aggressive side that we've seen this England side to be in the past. And look, Josh Butler, 7 off 14, he's struggling. He's not in the richness of form. He will be. He will come good. It almost looks like he's one cover drive away from being back. You know, but he struggled again today.
Starting point is 00:04:12 He wasn't moving his feet. The ball outside the off stumpy kept swinging and missing. Then he went for the reverse sweep and ultimately got out LBW after facing four consecutive dot balls. And nobody else really got in. You know, Sam Curran hit a six got himself out. Just a strange old day. I mean, look, Josh Butler tried to get going, didn't he?
Starting point is 00:04:32 But we saw Time and again. He was just being defeated by the left arm of Dilshan Madashanka, who bowled through the power play. He bowled three overs from the far end. Well, in our game, bowled two overs alongside him. It was one of those kind of days where the bowlers had the wood over the batters. There was no chopping and changing. It wasn't a matter of, you know, one over goes for 15.
Starting point is 00:04:52 We're going to bring somebody else on, you know. It was that, wasn't it? The bowlers were just on top throughout. It was old-school T-20 cricket is what it felt like, where you got, okay, let's just hit the. the bad ball. Let's allow a bowler to settle. Every single bowler that bowled today for both teams was allowed to settle into a spell. There was a bit of panic that started to set in because the runs just weren't coming. It didn't even make it to run a ball in the power play.
Starting point is 00:05:18 Butler went, Lvdbw to Will Allergate playing a reverse sweep at the first ball of an over palpably out. Jacob Bethel was out for three. Butler had made seven, Bethel three. Then Tom Banton desperate to get on with it. He was run out. Just at taking a run on that wasn't there. Great work from Shanica. No surprises who the player of the match was today. It is Will Jacks for a round brilliant performance. It was at three for 22 and some very important runs
Starting point is 00:05:45 as he receives that medal from the great former England captain and World Cup winner Owen Morgan. Will, I mean, front line spinner, shall we call you that now? What a brilliant performance with the ball today. Yeah, we're buzzing with that, obviously. Halfway stage we were pleased to get up to 145, but obviously knew we were going to have to bowl well and work hard and we had such a brilliant start in the power play.
Starting point is 00:06:04 Jof goes off to a good start and then we managed to continue taking wickets all the way throughout. I mean, for all money, we thought 146 wasn't going to be enough on what looked like a good looking wicket. But a bit slow, stopping a little bit. What about the conditions suited your bowling today? Yeah, we seem to do well here. We've obviously just come off a series against Sri Lanka here at this ground.
Starting point is 00:06:23 So we do know well, yeah, with minimum really 12 overs of spin here. That suits us. I think we spin the ball hard, which definitely helps here. and we seem to do well defending, squeezing the game. A rookie's very tight on us, like squeezing, eking every dot out that we possibly can, and we know as a chasing side how hard it makes it. More and more responsibility with the ball as well. You're bowling in the power play now.
Starting point is 00:06:44 You're bowling through those crucial middle overs. How are you feeling about your game as well? Because you're contributing in all facets. Yeah, I love getting that responsibility with the ball. I think it encourages me to get into the game and perform better. I think I like that responsibility. And bowling in the power play is something I've done a lot of. So it's not foreign to me.
Starting point is 00:07:01 And when we get on the surface like that, I come into the game knowing what I need to do. A bit of an up and down tournament for England so far. Getting the wins when it matters, but that was such an emphatic performance. What was the word in the team room ahead of, you know, this one must win encounter rather coming into the Super 8s? Well, yeah, like you say, we haven't quite been at our best,
Starting point is 00:07:20 but importantly, we've been winning those close games. And I think it's quite relieving in a way to get through that stage where you're expected to win. coming back here and against the better teams in a way some of that pressure is off you, you can just go out there and play your way and that's something we've done today, play with freedom and it's just about trusting our own game.
Starting point is 00:07:39 We know we're good enough and we know if we play with that freedom and that unity that more often than not will be in the right position. Sticking with that same side as well, no matter the conditions, wonderful to see it working so well for you in Sri Lanka today. Congratulations on another wonderful performance and best of luck for the next one.
Starting point is 00:07:54 Thank you. That was Will Jax, referencing freedom, And what we were talking about just before we got that interview was actually it looked like England weren't playing with a lot of freedom But the pitch the pitch must have made so much of a difference Today I've been given a stat from a hypercourse Seven is the most number of wickets taken by England spinners in a men's T20 international behind the nine they took here in the third match of the three-match series they played before this world cup started So it's spin to win here at Palakale in England know to do that
Starting point is 00:08:26 So did Sri Lanka for that matter because Dilip Walalegay took three for 26. Mahith Tikshada bowled superbly, two for 21. Dishmanza-Cimera, the quick bowler was very good at the back end. But the reference there to important runs from Will Jaxx because one of the strange features of England today was that their highest partnership, the entire innings was just 26. But they had eight further partnerships between 11 and 19. People were getting in, but they just weren't able to keep going.
Starting point is 00:08:56 Were they trying to get a bigger score that actually turned out to be needed? Do you think there was a certain kind of like, oh, we've got to try and get 160, and that was stopping them get to 155 sort of thing? I mean, it turns out they didn't need a bigger score, but even Will Jack said at the halfway stage we knew we would have had to bowl well. And they did, they bowed fantastically well. The wicket was turning.
Starting point is 00:09:17 There was a bit in it. But even on a turning surface, you would expect this England side when you look down and the quality of the players that you've got, you would have expected them to have been a little bit more settled than they were out there in the middle. Yeah, and all the while, and you referenced it earlier, it was Phil Salt, 62 from 40. He looked at a spot of bother out there at times. He looked at a bit lacking in Puff.
Starting point is 00:09:39 He did quite a few twos, but he's a very fit man. He was out there fielding, though, wasn't he? He was out of fielding. I did think maybe we won't see him again if he's picked up a little tummy bug or dodgy burger or something at the hotel. But he was okay. Maybe he was just out of Puff. He struck six fours and two sixes. Another intriguing feature was for a long time he was the only person who hit a boundary.
Starting point is 00:09:59 Harry Brooke came in and got A4, made a seven ball 14 before he was out very tentatively actually to well allegation, just propping forward onto the front foot, the ball striking him on the shin, reviewed but shown to be out. Sam Curen hit a six, but he was out caught in the deep trying to repeat the trick. Jamie Overton hit A4. Other than that, it was only Will Jacks with four-fours in his 14 ball 21. that could find the boundaries. And that was a sort of feature of today that it was just not coming on in the way that it has done,
Starting point is 00:10:31 which was a bit of a surprise. So the halfway staging, England were 146 for 9. We thought, right, where we're actually sort of doing things like, well, if England were to win the next two, it wouldn't matter that they'd lost this, they would automatically go through
Starting point is 00:10:45 because the first game was rained off. Well, what a sensational start, an extraordinary start, After a relatively quiet two and a half overs, Sri Lanka were 15 without loss after 2.3, and suddenly, wickets just rained down. So they'd survive 15 balls of the power play without losing a wicket. By the 35th ball of the power play, they'd lost five for the addition of a further 19 runs. And some of them, Alex, were excellent bowling, good fast bowling from Archer, good bowling from Jax.
Starting point is 00:11:16 But some of them were horror show wickets, weren't they? They really, really were. I mean, you can't lose five wickets in the power play. and you're never going to win a game from there. It's going to take something remarkable and something outstanding to do. So they were poor, Sri Lanka. They allowed England to settle.
Starting point is 00:11:32 They allowed England to bowl at them. The one wicket that sums up the performance from Sri Lanka was Himantha hit wicket. That was just how on earth has that happened? And you go, okay, it's been a really, really bad day for them. They've been bundled out for 95. If you could sum it up in one day, one bloke hit his own stumps. Yeah, and it's quite a rarity, isn't it?
Starting point is 00:11:52 in T20 World Cups. David Oboeya for Kenya against New Zealand did it. Nassan Ahmed, Bangladesh against South Aragon, Hardik Pundia, India against England and the only other instances in a T20 World Cup. So yeah, that was emblematic of what they did, but perhaps the most heinous of all the shots was when Pavan Ratnaika walked to the wicket
Starting point is 00:12:14 with the score at 20 for three, 20 for two, I beg you pardon, when he walked out to bat. Kusel Menderson got out, Nisankra got out. Two crucial players, the two that have been part of that massive partnership that got Sri Lanka over the line. The crowd had been silenced. Pavan Ruk Nica has had a really good start to his T20 career and he just hurled himself at Will Jax with Gay Abandon and hit it straight up the chimney and was easily caught by
Starting point is 00:12:42 Banton for a first baller. Jacks was on a hat trick. England couldn't believe their luck and at that point you kind of thought hang on this is not going to go the way we were anticipating. No. No, and I don't know what happened to Sri Lanka. Them beating Australia, has it just, has everyone got a little bit giddy? Have they got a little bit giddy? They've been brought back down to earth. Cricket's a real leveler, isn't it? They say the mother of cricket will get you, and she absolutely does. Cricket is one of those sports where you can have the highest of highs like they have done against Australia,
Starting point is 00:13:13 knocking them out of the tournament, and then you can have the lowest of lows being bundled out for the lowest score of the tournament just a few days later. You're just going to be realistic. It's only Australia. They're up against England next, and that was a different proposition altogether, as it turned out, certainly with the ball. Now, let's hear from Dustin Shalankan. How do you reflect on that disappointing result for you and your team?
Starting point is 00:13:35 See, it's very disappointing, but at the same time, we had a lot of positives with the ball. So I think we kept them to a score, which is 20 rounds less. And, you know, I expected my players to bat well. It was a very low scoring game. How do you explain that? Was it pitch?
Starting point is 00:13:54 Was it bad batting? Was it good bowling? Or a combination of all those things? Yeah, a combination of all the things. I think the pitch played well. Certainly it was a bit slow side at the first string, but with the light zone, it settled a bit, which is we played badly.
Starting point is 00:14:12 It affects our batting. So, yeah, so all the bowlers in our side, the ball well. And it's not that their bowlers, really well. We played some fresh shot in critical intervals. And let's talk about the good things, first of all, your bowling. You've got a wonderfully varied attack. That must be a nice attack to captain given all the different options at your disposal. Absolutely, so in this World Cup we tried with five main bowlers, I mean, including all rounders. So it is a nice attack to have, so which I can restrict most of the sides to lowest course.
Starting point is 00:14:46 And what were the instructions going? the instructions going out to chase 146, 147? Because you lost five wickets in the opening power play. It's hard to come back from that. Yeah, the discussion was they are to take it deep. So as, you know, played a lot of cricket in these sort of, because it's about taking it deep and taking the positive options and the right options, so we didn't, which we didn't took.
Starting point is 00:15:11 So eventually it's one bad, bad game, so which is not affordable in a World Cup, but you know we need to bounce back in the next couple of games. Absolutely right. I mean, do you have confidence that you can do that now given the way your batting performed here? Yeah, see, as I mentioned, it's a one bad game. The Baseman, the top board, they have done really well in recent past, so I'm pretty sure that they will do well in the upcoming games.
Starting point is 00:15:38 Okay, we're looking forward to watching you play the next two. Thank you for your time. Harry Brooke, England's captain. Nice birthday, present. for you to win this opening game of the Super 8. Yeah, a beautiful birthday present. I thought we played exceptionally there. To get over the line and ball them out for less than 100
Starting point is 00:15:57 was an awesome effort. I asked Asson about the fact it was a low-scoring game and how to explain that. How would you look at the scores there and explain why it was so low-scoring? I didn't think there was really any demons in the pitch. I think the spinners on both sides used the pace really well and that's what brought a lot of wickets, really caught and bold,
Starting point is 00:16:17 and lack-off pace was. creating chances. So we had a good chat about that before going out and we adapted to the surface really well. Well come on to the good stuff with the ball. But given that you felt there were no demons in the pitch, were you disappointed with the batting performance? It was just slow. It was hard to time. And I thought Salty played in exceptional innings there to get 60 with everybody tumbling around him as well. Not the fluent Phil Salt that everybody knows, but he's managed to get us to a very good score there. And a couple of partnerships at the end as well. of a performance. How concerned are you with Josh Butler's form? Not concerned at all. He's
Starting point is 00:16:53 a powerhouse of world cricket. It has been for many years. He's arguably the best white ball player to have ever played the game and 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. So looking forward and really excited to see how he goes in the next couple of games. Will Jackson is having an exceptional tournament. You gave him the new ball today. Just explain the theory behind that. The spin worked for them guys and yeah, we played a lot of cricket here in the last few weeks and we knew that he was going to play a big part today and Jackson was pretty annoyed with the way he got out
Starting point is 00:17:29 so he said to me, oh his balls better when he's angry and thankfully he got us off to a cracking start. And you said that the change of pace was critical today given that the pitch was quite slow and holding a touch. Yeah, and 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 of our paces. and as we saw we got rewards for that as well with a few caught and balls like I said and a couple of catches out on the boundary but yeah it was perfect adaption to the surface. Do you think your team is better set up
Starting point is 00:18:00 for Super 8 games here in Sri Lanka given the surfaces are likely to turn a bit more than perhaps in India and given the balance of your team? 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 wiki he's going to get 100 and blitz a team away. Same with Salty as well.
Starting point is 00:18:20 He's got 60 today, but like I said, it's not the flourishing Salty that we know. And 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. Thanks for your time, well done. Thank you. That's a very, very well-spoken Harry Brooke there, I thought.
Starting point is 00:18:36 Very fluent, very articulate. And he spoke very well about Josh Butler, say. Yep, not a concern about his form. He's too good a player. I'd rather have him come good at the back end of the tournament. It's easier to say in a win. For those of the rest of us watching on, this tournament's now five games here in England to play.
Starting point is 00:18:55 And Josh Butler hasn't looked in any kind of form today, and he didn't at all. All sorts of sixes and sevens. Anything is to touch him on a wicket like that, I'm still slightly confused, the one thing that Harry Brooke there saying, well, didn't think there was anything wrong with the pitch, but it was quite slow.
Starting point is 00:19:14 Really slow. And look, there must have been something wrong with a pitch because England had got a powerhouse batting line up. They've got 146. And Sri Lanka are no mugs with the bat. He's got 181 here the other day against Australia and were bowled out for 95. So there must have been something in there.
Starting point is 00:19:28 He said got the spinners to vary the pace, not the lines and lengths? Yeah, I think. So attacking the stumps, vary your pace, worked for both spin and seam. A little bit tacky potentially. We've had so much rain. You know, it's been covered. And when they're covered here, they are covered,
Starting point is 00:19:41 aren't they? The whole ground's covered. so there is no breathing room at all. So maybe a little bit tacky, but still a surface you would expect England to dominate on, you know, with the bat, sorry. Well, you would, wouldn't you? And it didn't quite happen,
Starting point is 00:19:54 and it's been part of a feature of their World Cup. But it seems churlish to dwell on that when what we have seen was a really good bowling performance. And yeah, some of those wickets were gifted. We mentioned Rapp naika throwing it away. But, you know, this is a dangerous Sri Lankan side who came hard at England, and they got more boundaries in the power play.
Starting point is 00:20:15 They were more aggressive to find those boundaries more frequently than England were. And the bowlers didn't buckle, and particularly Will Jacks at top of the bowling line up, to bowl three overs in the power play, bowled four on the spin, didn't he? Yeah. I mean, that's a massive bonus of your Harry Brooke. But to get three for 22 bowling in the power play and the over after is fantastic. As a batting all-rounder as well. So, you know, made me laugh there.
Starting point is 00:20:37 Harry Brooks saying Will Jack says he's a better bowler when he's angry. Well, he's going to have to be angry every single time. He has the ball in his hand now because he's bowled superbly well today. He got away with a couple of deliveries, you know, short, wide outside the off stump. But you can't blame him for that. Ida Rishid, Liam Dawson were very fine supports. But Joffre Archer with the new ball, we've got to have some mentions for him because today has been largely about spinners.
Starting point is 00:21:03 But Joffa Archer. See his celebration, by the way. It looked like he was doing the Steve Smith. Do you remember in the ashes when he gave it the C? Yeah. Or the, I don't know how else. describe what I'm doing to you. Half a circle.
Starting point is 00:21:14 Yeah. Half a circle, semi-sum. Joprault just started doing it today. Is that a little little nudge to Australia being kicked out, do you reckon? Well, I wonder. I wonder.
Starting point is 00:21:23 I mean, in England, that precious little to celebrate during the ashes. I suppose you take what you can when you get it. And today, he bowed well, didn't he, he made those crucial incisions earlier, Nysanka and Camille Mishara. Good bowling, good fiery fast bowling.
Starting point is 00:21:39 Yeah, well, he's gone for 20s. He's taken two wickets. gone for 20 runs in his three overs. One of his overs went for 13. So he bowled fantastically well. That over that went for 13 there was one good shot off the stumps and it angered him. You could see that he was a bit irked by it and then the next one was down leg side. Then he was a slower ball down the leg's side and he went for a couple of extra boundaries there but yeah no he bowled fantastically well and with real control. Jamie Overton was the other Seema used two overs one for 13. He was the one
Starting point is 00:22:07 who got the mad, the curious wicket, the hit wicket which summed up Sri Lanka's really. He went to pull the ball and did Hamantha and he went all the way around and just tap the top of the stumps with the face of his bat. It's a very rare dismissal to see. It means that Sam Curran wasn't required. I mean those four overs from Will Jack's something of a bonus and while he didn't wait for Jacob Bethel to be fully bowling fit. If he does get to be fully bowling fit before they finish their last game here, they will have four strong spin options to go with Joffar Archer and then Overton and Sam Curran, how quickly we go from saying,
Starting point is 00:22:48 well, England have stuttered and spluttered their way into tournament to going, oh, they could be a real powerhouse in Sri Lanka in this group. Yeah, I think they can be anyway. I really do. I think one of the best teams in the world, they're just finding ways to win, which I think is a dangerous place to be as a team or a great place to be as a team
Starting point is 00:23:05 because you're finding ways to get over the line. and, you know, teams that win tournaments do find ways of winning. You get that winning momentum behind you, and you find you sort of find ways of winning games you necessarily shouldn't. So today, England should have been a lot closer. It should have been a lot closer. It should have got more on the board. Sri Lanka is so much better than they batted today,
Starting point is 00:23:24 but they found a way to win. I think when they found a way to win their group games. So, and then they're going to have, you know, pick up that momentum leading into the letter. The later stages. I was going to say a phrase, I keep getting told off of saying, So it's, I got...
Starting point is 00:23:38 The knockout stage, the semi-finals, whatever we want, right? Word on Adil Rashid. He hasn't had the best order, but he is... He's a stellar bowler. He's now the fourth equal leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals. He's only a couple of wickets behind third place.
Starting point is 00:23:56 He's getting on. Don't get me wrong. What is he now? 38 years old. Could be his last World Cup. Could be? Should be? I don't know. I don't think it should be. I mean... Well, no, it shouldn't be.
Starting point is 00:24:07 There's no one else better than him. He's evergreen. He doesn't play red ball cricket. No. He looks perfectly fine to me. But he hasn't had the best tournament on those Indian pitches where it was really flat and postage stamp outfields and getting walloped around. Goldcutter and the Scots getting after him needs a bit of confidence.
Starting point is 00:24:24 Today I'll give him that. Will, weren't it? Yeah, he's only gone for 13 runs. Yes, he's picked up wickets, but, you know, he's picked up wickets throughout the competition. He's just gone at 10s, which is so unlike him. So the fact that he's been able to, I guess, just bowl straight, mix up his pace, not go for many runs, will obviously give him a little bit more confidence.
Starting point is 00:24:42 And these surfaces do suit him. And the bigger outfields, you know, when they go back to Colombo as well, massive outfield at the Premadasa. Yeah, well, it's important you should mention that, because England have got two matches left. If they were to win one of them, by my calculations, they will be through because they would get to four points. And New Zealand, or Pakistan, wouldn't be able to get anywhere near that.
Starting point is 00:25:07 Sri Lanka could get to four points if they win their last two. But if they did get to four points, they would necessarily have to take points off New Zealand and Pakistan. So if England get to four, with two sides having got one point, there's no way that two sides can get four. That's basically how it will. They play the strongest team in this group last. They play New Zealand last.
Starting point is 00:25:29 And for me, they're the strongest team. So they've got a real opportunity to cement the next stage in the next game. Before I give you all the scenarios for that, just a quick word on Liam Dawson because this is his first, he's been around World Cups, but it's the first time he's been able to get out there and play an active role,
Starting point is 00:25:50 and now he's going to be relishing it, isn't he? In two days' time, he gets to play against Pakistan on a surface it could be totally different. It could be, I mean, and it's a seven o'clock game, so the more could come on a bit different, but he'll be thinking, oh, this is nice,
Starting point is 00:26:03 at last, at my age, I'm 35 years old, Finally getting the opportunity. Young. He's young. He's young. Finally getting the opportunity. I mean, carried the drinks. Been doing all that.
Starting point is 00:26:14 I mean, it's a lovely story really, isn't it, in the way? Yeah, it really is. I love to see him out there in the middle and doing well. And, you know, he's been in and out of England teams, and it's just nice to see him out there and performing on the stage. Now then, we've talked about all the bowlers, but there's been one batter, one badder who stood out head and shoulders above all the other batters today from both sides
Starting point is 00:26:36 and Artif Noirz has been down pitchside talking to Phil Salt. I've got Phil Salt alongside me right now. Phil, a terrific win for the side. What's the mood like in the camp? Yeah, obviously pretty buoyant after a win like that, part of our World Cup was coming out here and playing them in a bilateral series and we won a very similar game to that on this same ground. So we had a lot of confidence going in.
Starting point is 00:26:58 And yeah, it just sort of reaffirms that belief, I suppose, that we can win from anywhere. Halfway through, when you put that total on the board, Did it feel below par? Or did you feel quite confident you could defend it? I felt pretty confident at the time because I'd spent a bit of time out there and it wasn't the easiest wicket, you know, to play on. But, you know, quietly confident.
Starting point is 00:27:19 You know that they've got some good players in their side and probably most important to sort of cut the head off the snake with Nisanka and Kuselmendis. And we did that and just kept the momentum, kept the aggressive mentality and paid off for us. How did you find conditions here in Palakale? Very different, I'd say. You know, you can play one wicket over
Starting point is 00:27:40 and it could be something that you play on in England. And then you come today and it's low, you know, it spins a bit, it's holding, it's quite inconsistent. So it's a whole range of conditions that you can get here. You must be pleased with your own form. Terrific knock today here in difficult conditions. Yeah, really pleased with it. Just about helping the team.
Starting point is 00:28:03 And, you know, that's what I wanted to do. You get into these stages of tournaments and you want to be the person putting the hand up and you know putting in those performances so yeah pleased. You guys have managed to get a game happened today as well the forecast was a little bit iffy. Yesterday New Zealand, Pakistan was rained out. You have Pakistan next on Tuesday. With points on the board, top of the table to start with, what's the feeling like at the moment with the team going forward? We know we've got to win our next game, next couple of games. You know, I don't think we're going to be doing backflips, you know, going,
Starting point is 00:28:38 we've done it because we haven't. We've got, you know, more important games coming up in this tournament, and that's the nature of tournament cricket. The most important game is the next game at this point, so just looking forward. And how are you doing? Because you looked like you were cramping a little bit when you were batting, but you were obviously throwing yourself around the field,
Starting point is 00:28:54 so I figured you were okay. Yeah, no, it wasn't cramping. I've just had a bit of a chest thing. You can probably hear it in my voice. You know, and that was the time that, everything in my chest decided it was time to come out. Not ideal, but that's what I was dealing with. A few dry heaves, but no, we're good to go.
Starting point is 00:29:13 Well, you batted well nonetheless, and congratulations on the win today. Thanks very much. That was Phil Salt there. That's it for this episode of the TMS podcast. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. TMS will have ball-by-ball commentary of England's next match against Pakistan, which is on Tuesday at 1.30 p.m. Win that?
Starting point is 00:29:32 and they are sailing into the semifinals. Thanks for listening. We'll speak to you next time. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. If there was a big rent button that would just demolish the internet, I would smash that button with my forehead. From the BBC, this is the interface, the show that explores how tech is rewiring your week and your world.
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