England eye improvements, Sri Lanka need a win

Friday, June 24
Start time 2pm local (1300 GMT)

Eoin Morgan wasn't buying the euphoria that drenched Trent Bridge on Tuesday night, after Liam Plunkett's long levers had bludgeoned England to a share of a thrilling contest which, on balance, they deserved to have lost. "We are very lucky to get out of this game with a tie," he said. "That was as bad as we have performed with the bat over the past year."

Morgan's honesty was as refreshing as the attitude that had hauled his team back from the brink, both in Tuesday's contest and, more generally, over the course of the past 18 months. There are genuine and attainable goals in the offing for England's 50-overs squad in the not-so-distant future, but lapses such as they displayed in their first limited-overs outing since the World T20 final won't be forgiven by better-drilled opponents.

That said, it was no accident that England had the wherewithal to regroup after shedding their top six wickets in the space of 18 ill-disciplined overs. Their astonishing depth of batting is designed for occasions such as these - and you might even argue it is important that players such as Chris Woakes, England's Man of the Match for his two wickets and 95 match-salvaging runs, are put under pressure to perform rather than allowed to gather dust as luxury tailenders, as has arguably been the case with Moeen Ali in recent months.

But then again, it took a crisis to concentrate England's minds, as if each of the top order had subconsciously been passing the buck to the next man without ever quite assuming responsibility until they really had to. Joe Root, the rock of their renaissance last summer, completed his fourth single-figure score in five innings this summer; Jonny Bairstow, their form man from the Test series, faced six balls all told and should have been out to two of them.

Morgan himself fought hard against his troubling recent lack of form but was persistently challenged, and eventually undone, by Sri Lanka's angle across his bows. But the major exception to England's ennui was Jos Buttler, whose sojourn with Mumbai Indians perhaps reaped fewer grandstand moments than he had personally hoped for, but certainly sharpened his instinct for rising to an occasion. A brilliant catch on the long-on boundary denied him his fifth ODI hundred (and what would have been his slowest by a distance) but served notice that his team would not be quitting on their task.

It was certainly a bitter denouement for Sri Lanka, who had entered the contest with intent following two galvanising triumphs in Ireland and produced, in Seekkuge Prasanna's thrilling half-century, the most eye-catching performance of the day. The loss, however, of their captain, Angelo Mathews, was probably the difference between victory and the tie. His six overs of wicket-to-wicket wobblers had been just what the surface ordered, but the recurrence of his hamstring injury meant a spell of 2 for 22 was cut off in its prime.

In Mathew's absence, Sri Lanka's attack closed ranks as best they do - Prasanna's legspin matched that of the parsimonious Adil Rashid, while Farvez Maharoof, Suranga Lakmal and even the unfortunate Nuwan Pradeep all bowled better than their economy rates would suggest. But in the final analysis England did just enough to overcome their rustiness and salvage a share of the spoils. They will expect better things in Birmingham. The question is, will their opponents?

England: TLLLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: TWWLW

His captaincy has been a significant and acknowledged factor in England's upsurge in recent fortunes, but Eoin Morgan's batting remains under a significant cloud. At the World T20, he mustered 66 runs in six matches - almost half of those in the opening fixture against West Indies - and so by that rationale, his return of 43 from 49 balls on Tuesday was a step in the right direction. It was, however, a painstaking knock - understandable to a degree, with England floundering at 30 for 4 when Buttler joined him to begin the rebuilding effort. But despite the odd flash of his most fluent self, most notably a handful of straight drives back down the ground, Morgan is still fighting to unleash the inventive instincts that made him such a stand-out performer in his pre-leadership days.

There's no ignoring the joie de vivre that Seekkuge Prasanna brings to his destructive slogging in the middle of Sri Lanka's innings. Pinch-hitters are thought to be rather old hat these days - why risk swinging through the line when you can contort your stance and ramp a six into no-man's land at fine leg? But the combination of a sharp eye and a fearless mind will never go entirely out of fashion, and the glee with which Prasanna brought up his fifty from 24 balls was understandable - at Malahide last week, he biffed 95 from 46 balls so he is enjoying a rare appetite for destruction. Whenever Sri Lanka choose to unleash him, brace for fireworks.

Plunkett's retention ahead of Steven Finn for the first match came as something of a surprise but was, in hindsight, due reward for his role in the team that reached the World T20 final. His bowling may not have hit the mark consistently, but his six-hitting heroics amply justified his selection. Finn has been released to play for Middlesex in tonight's T20 Blast contest against Somerset at Lord's. Jason Roy, meanwhile, has received an injection for a wrist problem, but batted in the nets and is expected to be fit to retain his place in an unchanged XI.

England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Adil Rashid.

All eyes are on Angelo Mathews as he undergoes a fitness test on the hamstring strain that bugged him during Sri Lanka's elimination, against England, at the World T20 in Delhi earlier this year, and flared back up during his bowling spell on Tuesday. Sri Lanka are considering dipping into their A-team squad for reinforcements, but the skipper is one man they simply cannot do without. He was rated at 70% on Thursday, pending another test before the match. He'll surely play on one leg if needs be.

Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Upul Tharanga, 7 Seekkuge Prasanna, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 9 Farveez Maharoof 10 Nuwan Pradeep, 11 Suranga Lakmal

As in Nottingham, wet weather over recent weeks means the Edgbaston pitch has not seen much sunshine. But the ground has a reputation for good limited-overs surfaces, as demonstrated by the last ODI held there, when England broke 400 for the first time. Friday's forecast is for a relatively clear afternoon and evening.

"We're not at all concerned about the top order not scoring runs in Nottingham. If anything we should come out and play even more shots. That's the way we want to play our cricket. We want to put teams under pressure and there's no reason to change."
Jos Buttler suggests England will not be holding back

"We were very good with batting and bowling, the only thing is we have to improve is our fielding. If we fielded well [at Trent Bridge] it would have been a different story but we are improving."
Danushka Gunathilaka pinpoints where Sri Lanka can get better