By Dominic Farrell
England Lions batsman Moeen Ali was happy with his efforts on a day when runs were hard to come by against Sri Lanka A Emerging Players.
Captain Chris Woakes won the toss and elected to bat but wickets fell at regular intervals and Worcestershire’s Moeen was the only man to pass 50 in a total of 201 all out.
The hosts faired little better, closing on 92 for fouras the Lions’ opening three-day match of their tour progressed apace.
Durham’s Mark Wood was England’s hero with the ball, taking 3-18 from eight excellent overs that included the dismissal of dangerman Bhanuka Rajapaksa for a blistering 60 – county colleague Scott Borthwick taking his third catch of the innings in sensational fashion.
Earlier, Tharindu Kaushal was the Lions’ chief tormentor as he claimed 5-57 and the off-spinner was backed up well by 2-44 from slow left-armer Chatura Randunu.
Both players impressed Moeen in a contest he believes is evenly poised.
“I feel good now that we’ve got them four down,” he told ecb.co.uk.
“Personally, I played alright today. It’s just important to spend some time in the middle.
“They had a couple of good spinners. The left-arm spinner was very accurate and Kaushal is hard to pick, has got a good doosra and stuff.
“I felt I played him alright in the end but we’ve got to watch out for the offie, I reckon.”
Of more immediate concern to Moeen are early wickets from the Lions attack tomorrow morning – something he believes is vital given the depth of the Sri Lankan batting line-up.
“I think it’s very important that we have a good start tomorrow because the guys here bat until nine, 10, 11,” he said.
“So we’ve got to make sure we start well tomorrow, get a couple of early poles and then hopefully wrap them up.”
Another three-day game will follow this one against today’s opponents before a three-match series versus Sri Lanka A, and Moeen is relishing a busy month of cricket in subcontinental conditions.
“I’ve been here a couple of times before and it’s a great place to come and play,” he added.
“It’s hot, obviously, but the people are nice and the training has been very intense and rewarding.”