England tour to Sri Lanka 2018-19 [Preview]
England is all set to tour Sri Lanka in the coming month of October to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and one-off T20I game. The visitors are going to start their tour with the five-match one-day series. The opening game of the one-day series will be played on 10th October at Dambulla.
Eoin Morgan will be focused and make sure that his side is well prepared for the one-day series in Sri Lanka. Since January 2017, England has won 29 games out of 39 played in the limited-overs format. They are currently at the top of ICC ODI Team Rankings as they have match-winners in the batting department.
Alex Hales, Jason Roy, and Jos Buttler are capable of destroying any attack in the world in the format. England also managed to beat strong teams like Australia and New Zealand in their own backyard.
It is certainly a testament that England’s achievements in limited-overs cricket over the past two years are not to be taken lightly. They will certainly start as favorites to win this one-day series against Sri Lanka.
Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have consistent performers for England over the last 12-month period. The duo has produced splendid performances to help England win games on a regular basis. Jason Roy is a swashbuckling opener for England, who has a tendency of going after the bowlers from the start.
Ben Stokes has not been in the best of form in the limited-overs cricket due to various reasons. The all-rounder will be focused to get back to his best for this new cricketing season. There is no doubt that Jos Buttler is the most lethal finisher in limited-overs cricket. He can certainly shift gears and played according to the situation.
In the bowling department, England have three frontline seamers in Chris Woakes, David Willey and Liam Plunkett. The pace trio will certainly need to work hard for their wickets given the placid nature of surfaces in Sri Lanka.
Adil Rashid has been a premier bowler for England in limited-overs cricket. He has taken over 30 wickets so far in the limited-overs format this year.
Moeen Ali also produced breathtaking performances in the recently concluded Test series against England and will be keen to continue his rich vein of form in this one-day series.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka will need to raise their game against a formidable side like England. The Islanders crashed out of Asia Cup competition following heavy defeats against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the group stages.
Newly-appointed ODI captain Dinesh Chandimal will need to lead this team in the right direction. Sri Lanka is currently going through a terminal decline in limited-overs cricket and have only won 10 matches out of 41 played since January 2017. The quality has certainly declined as they lost a one-day series to Zimbabwe, which is not a strong one-day side.
Senior players like Upul Tharanga, Kusal Perera, and Dinesh Chandimal will need to produce runs for the side. Tharanga will certainly to come up with a lot of runs as he has struggled for form throughout this year. He does have experience and capability to turn things around for Sri Lanka in limited-overs cricket.
Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella and Sadheera Samarawickrama are promising players that certainly need to bring their A-game to the table if Sri Lanka wants to end their losing streak in one-day cricket.
Angelo Matthews has been dropped from the side following his fitness issues over the past two years. Dasun Shanaka and Thisara Perera are capable all-rounders for Sri Lanka in the limited-overs format.
Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwan Pradeep and Dushmantha Chameera are four prominent seamers for Sri Lanka in the one-day series. Amila Aponso, Akila Dhananjaya, and Lakshan Sandakan are three spinners in limited-overs cricket.
The culmination of one-day series will be followed by a one-off T20 game. The three-match Test series will start from 6th November at Galle. The other venues for remaining two games are Kandy and Colombo.
