Key events
Team news: Rashid dropped
England make two changes from the defeat to Pakistan. Josh Tongue and Liam Dawson replaces Sonny Baker and… Adil Rashid, who of late has been nowhere near his magical best.
Sri Lanka bring in the left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage for the leggie Sachindu Colombage. Their team also includes the opener Avishka Fernando, who looked a star of the future when Sri Lanka stunned England at Headingley in the 2019 World Cup.
Fernando, aged 21, made an audacious 39-ball 49 in that game. He’s had a stop-start career but I’m looking forward to seeing him again.
England Banton, Duckett, Root, Brook (c), Cox (wk), Curran, Jacks, Overton, Dawson, Atkinson, Tongue.
Sri Lanka Kamindu Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (c/wk), Rathnayake, Arachchige, Liyanage, Shanaka, Wellalage, Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Madushanka.
Sri Lanka win the toss and bowl
That might not be a bad thing for England, who are better at setting targets than chasing them.
At the risk of misquoting Black Grape, it’s a big day in Gqeberha, where Australia have a helluva job on to save the second Test against South Africa. Geoff Lemon is on OBO duty.
Preamble
There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.
The little girl with the little curl, the subject of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, has plenty in common with this England team. They’re a one-day side with two faces, and we saw both during Tuesday’s defeat against Pakistan.
England seemed to be cruising to victory, only to flunk a 300+ chase for the second time in three games. There’s no need to get carried away – that’s what social media is for – but negative patterns are never a good thing for a cricket team, especially when they involve batting collapses. After a largely positive 2026, the tame manner of Tuesday’s defeat was a setback.
It means today’s match against Sri Lanka is, if not a must-win, then at least a need-to-win. The losers will be bottom of the tri-series at the halfway stage, with nul points and a lot of work to do. May the best team not lose.
Leave a Reply