Sri Lanka the overwhelming favourites

England hold a 19-18 edge in the 37 one-day internationals they have played, but that's only because they won eight of the first nine. Sri Lanka have won seven of the last ten, while they swept all five in England last summer. The only consolation for England, stats-wise, is that they've won six of the seven World Cup encounters against Sri Lanka.

Sanath Jayasuriya is the most successful Sri Lankan batsmen against England. He has scored 1077 runs at an average of 44.87. His 28 wickets are also the highest by any bowler from either side against the other. The other Sri Lankan batsman who has outstanding stats against England is Mahela Jayawardene, the captain: he's aggregated 798 runs at 49.87. For England Paul Collingwood has scored 393 runs at 35.72.

Sri Lanka's two best bowlers, Muttiah Muralitharan has Chaminda Vaas have both taken 24 wickets against England, but while Murali has managed it in just 15 matches (average 21.25), Vaas has toiled 27 matches to get those wickets (average 34.14).

England's batsmen have generally struggled against Sri Lanka, and the problem starts right at the top - Michael Vaughan, their captain, has only managed 84 runs in six innings, at an average of 14.

In contrast Sri Lanka have generally enjoyed a good time against England, with Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga having excellent records.

Sri Lanka's spinners have ensured that they've kept a tight control over things in the middle overs. England score at just 4.38 per over, averaging 37.75, between overs 20 and 40. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have scored at 4.87 per over at a healthy average of 45.87. The Sri Lankans have been able to take the initiative during this period largely due to the exploits of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

Thanks to Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff, England score at 6.49 per over in the last ten since 2002, averaging 24.25 per wicket. Sri Lanka have struggled during this phase of their innings, averaging 14.62 per wicket and 5.45 per over.