ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 – England vs Sri Lanka Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is England vs Sri Lanka taking place? Friday 21st June – 10:30 (UK)
Where is England vs Sri Lanka taking place? Headingley, Leeds
What is the expected weather for England vs Sri Lanka? 17c with sunny intervals and no rain expected
What television channel is England vs Sri Lanka on in the UK? Sky Sports Cricket
Where can I stream England vs Sri Lanka? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match live on Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for England vs Sri Lanka? There are tickets still available for purchase on Stubhub.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Last meeting: Sri Lanka beat England by 219 runs (D/M method)
THE TEAM NEWS
ENGLAND
Coach: Trevor Bayliss
Captain: Eoin Morgan
- England have bounced back superbly from defeat against Pakistan, winning their following three World Cup games on the bounce with the latest being a thumping 150-run win over Afghanistan, where the host nation amassed an English World Cup record total of 397 after winning the toss and batting first.
- Captain Eoin Morgan was a doubt for the game following a back spasm, but he recovered in time to play and hit a stunning 148 runs from 71 balls, which included a record 17 sixes in a one-day international innings and he was backed up by Jonny Bairstow who made 90 and Joe Root, who continued his great form with a typically classy 88.
- James Vince is expected to open once again with Jason Roy remaining unavailable for selection due to a hamstring injury while Moeen Ali made a strong claim to retain his place over Liam Plunkett, smashing 31 from nine balls against Afghanistan. Plunkett returns to his old stomping ground at Headingley, but is not guaranteed to return to the side after sitting out in favour of the extra spinner at Old Trafford.
SRI LANKA
Coach: Chandika Hathurusinghe
Captain: Dimuth Karunaratne
- After two successive washouts, Sri Lanka returned to World Cup action against Australia last Saturday but despite winning the toss, they proved no match for a strong Aussie side, losing by 87 runs, leaving them still with only one win in the competition so far.
- The two Sri Lankan openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera impressed despite the loss, hitting 97 and 52 respectively but no support from the rest of the order saw them collapse from 153/1 to 247 all out, losing nine wickets for only 94 runs.
- Isuru Udana performed well with the ball, taking two wickets for the loss of 57 runs as the left arm fast bowler will need better support from his right arm counterpart Nuwan Pradeep who had an expensive economy rate of 8.80 with no wickets to show for it while Suranga Lakmal remains an injury doubt.
THE PREDICTION
England are back to their fearsome best and a truly destructive batting display against Afghanistan sent a message to the rest of their World Cup opponents. Sri Lanka will not envy having to bowl at this batting line-up which shows no signs of weakness despite the absence of Roy. A win for England could see them qualify for the semi finals and this should provide the motivation needed for the host nation to comfortably dispatch a relatively poor Sri Lankan side at Headingley.
