Murali: England learning in defeat
February 05, 2012 12:08:24 UK
Former Sri Lanka spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan believes that England will perform better in his homeland as a result of their humiliation at the hands of Pakistan.
England are staring down the barrel of a 3-0 Test series whitewash in the Middle East, but Muralitharan thinks that their struggles against Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman will eventually stand them in good stead.
He told BBC Five Live's Sportsweek: "I was not surprised because England always struggle coming to the sub-continent.
"On the sub-continent you have to learn to play spin very well and in that department they are lacking, so you can see the results now. Pakistan are dominating with spin.
"They are not used to the conditions. They need to play here more often and get used to the conditions better."
England play two Test matches in Sri Lanka at the end of April and the beginning of May and Muralitharan expects a close match-up, with his country's current crop of spinners not quite up the the standard of Ajmal and Rehman.
He added: "They might play well in Sri Lanka because they have now played so many matches (in the UAE) before coming here."
England will return to Sri Lanka later on in 2012 to defend their ICC World Twenty20 crown and they are 6.00 to do so successfully, with Pakistan 9.00 and the hosts 6.50.
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