England vs Sri Lanka – 1st One-Day International Match Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is England vs Sri Lanka taking place? Tuesday, June 29th, 2021 – 11:00 (UK)
Where is England vs Sri Lanka taking place? Emirates Riverside, Chester-le-Street
What is the expected weather for England vs Sri Lanka? 17-18c with sunny intervals and a gentle breeze
What channel is England vs Sri Lanka on? The match will be televised live on Sky Sports
Where can I stream England vs Sri Lanka? The match can be streamed live via SkyGo
LAST MEETING
Sri Lanka beat England by 20 runs
THE TEAM NEWS
ENGLAND
- Reigning 50 over champions England contest their first One-Day International of the summer on the back of a comfortable 3-0 series victory in the T20 internationals that saw them hardly tested against a weak Sri Lankan limited overs outfit.
- Captain Eoin Morgan will be without a number of his key players for this match, with Ben Stokes continuing his recovery from a broken finger playing for Durham in the T20 Blast, whilst wicketkeeper batter Jos Buttler is absent with a calf strain and fast bowler Jofra Archer also remains sidelined.
- T20 international batter Dawid Malan has been called up to the squad in the absence of Buttler and made a case for his inclusion in the side by hitting 76 in the third T20 between the two teams, so he will likely be given the nod to open should Jason Roy fail to recover from a tight hamstring.
SRI LANKA
- Sri Lanka will be desperate to put up more of a fight in the One-Day Internationals as they did in the three T20 matches between the two sides, with the latest of those games seeing them thrashed by 89 runs after being bowled out for just 91.
- They head into the series however, in somewhat of a mess having been forced to send home Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka and Niroshan Dickwella due to a breaching of their bio secure bubble, whilst Avishka Fernando is out through injury.
- Following an outstanding test debut against Bangladesh earlier in the year, 22-year-old left-arm spin bowler Praveen Jayawickrama will be hoping to make his Sri Lanka ODI debut and could provide a handy option in the middle overs alongside leg-spin bowler Wanindu Hasaranga against a hard-hitting England batting card.
THE PREDICTION
England made light work of Sri Lanka in the three T20 internationals and a similar outcome is expected in the three One-Day internationals. The tourists will have to improve considerably, but the gap between the two in terms of squad depth in particular is vast. Even with a number of key absentees, captain Eoin Morgan has a plethora of riches to choose from with both bat and ball as many fringe players who have struggled to nail down a regular starting spot hope for an opportunity to impress. With that in mind, motivation will be high within the England squad and the hosts should ultimately prove too strong for a Sri Lankan desperately low on confidence in this first One-Day International, especially when considering England’s deep batting line-up. Any outcome other than a home win would be a real surprise.
