England v Sri Lanka: Decision to axe Bell backfires as Broad makes a losing start

Broad, making his bow as England’s Twenty20 captain in Bristol, would have hoped to be answering questions about his first victory in the job but was instead left to explain away a crushing defeat.

Let down by all of his batsmen bar Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, who shared a rapid 83-run stand, and left to celebrate a solitary wicket in the field, this was not the start Broad, or England, had in mind.

The decision to leave out Bell, who plundered two hundreds and two 50s in the Test series against the tourists, in favour of a bevy of all-rounders seemed a strange one but Broad does not believe the game was won and lost on that gamble.

“I certainly don’t think the team’s disappointing performance is down to one man not being in the team,” said Broad.

“I think, looking at the top of the order, Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb have shown fantastic tempo in the county game and looking back to the World Twenty20, they did their job very well.

“Belly has been in top form in the Test-match arena obviously but I don’t put a disappointing performance down to him not being in the side.

“In the middle order that extra bowling option felt necessary, certainly at a ground the size of Bristol and in conditions where any given bowler can go the distance.”

The captain’s rationale was not entirely obvious – with four specialist bowlers, three all-rounders and the occasional off-spin of Pietersen all on hand, the team appeared to lack balance.

Wright, in particular, was used as something of a spare part, batting at seven and not called on to bowl.

But Broad explained the Sussex man was a victim of England’s under-par 136-9.

“Wrighty would have been lined up to bowl at some stage because he’s a very good yorker bowler, certainly in the later overs, but Ravi Bopara’s variety and different slower balls were a bit more of a threat and I thought he bowled well.

“Wrighty would have bowled a little later on in the innings, to get it under batsmen’s feet and bowl straight at the stumps but chasing a low total, that was probably not what we needed.

“In an ideal world, he’d have come on but with them needing five or six an over it wasn’t really worth it.”

Broad, who has been known for his fiery temperament in the past, refused to draw the spotlight on Nottinghamshire team-mate Samit Patel, who endured a dreadful international comeback.

The 26-year-old was making his return from two-and-a-half years out of the fold due to misgivings about his weight and work-rate, and was promptly run out at the striker’s end for a duck, having lazily failed to make his ground.

Two modest overs for 18 completed a miserable day, but Broad was eager to spread the blame. He said: “Getting run out is a disappointing way to go and we know what a dangerous player he can be – he can take the game away from other teams.

“But it wasn’t just him, that whole middle period where we had lost KP and Morgs we just stuttered. The balls were catching up with the runs, so to speak, and we lost our momentum.

“At one stage we were looking like we could get up to 160 or 170 and I think that would have been defendable.”

The tourists, largely outclassed in a rain-affected Test series, showed their limited-overs credentials as Mahela Jayawardene (72 no) and Kumar Sangakkara (43no) saw them home with 16 balls to spare.

Chasing a sub-par total, Sri Lanka milked 14 off the first two overs, bowled by a rookie new-ball attack of debutant Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes.

The latter saw his second over leak 17, Jayawardene plundering two fours and a six off the first three balls.

Broad, looking to swing the momentum, brought himself on and was promptly taken for eight, including Sanath Jayasuriya’s first four.

The 41-year-old became Dernbach’s first international wicket in the fifth over, finding Pietersen at mid-off.

Jayawardene continued to fire, ensuring his side’s powerplay total of 54-1 comfortably exceeded England’s 33-2.

Sangakkara picked off a handful of singles before taking two boundaries off the eighth over, an innocuous second from Patel.

After 10 overs, the tourists had 80 on the board and looked comfortable. Jayawardene moved serenely to 50 off 40 deliveries, finally showing the class that deserted him throughout the Test series.

Seven runs off the 13th over, bowled by Dernbach, eased Sri Lanka into three figures as Broad’s changes failed to alter the flow.

Sangakkara flexed his muscles with a short-arm pull for four off Graeme Swann and Jayawardene deflected Woakes over the wicketkeeper’s head as the runs continued to come with ease.

Broad returned with six needed and duly conceded them off his first two balls as Jayawardene deservedly picked up the winning runs.